Juvenile Offender Rehabilitation

624 Words3 Pages

From an administrative and monetary perspective, there are very little differences between the juvenile and adult justice systems thus, combining the two would allow for the pooling of resources, streamlining of procedures and elimination of redundancies. In addition, assuming that some of the practice carries over from the juvenile system to that of the adult, offenders from both could benefit from the sealing of records and the use of closed proceedings; we could eliminate stigmas. Nevertheless, combining the two does nothing more than feed the criminality of the young. There is a distinct difference between the adult offender and the juvenile offender; the developing mind. The young may be impulsive and reckless which contributes to …show more content…

As a result, approaches taken with each also vary. For the juvenile offender rehabilitation is favored or incarceration, but for the adult incarceration trumps rehabilitation. With adults rehabilitation tends to center on addressing the major problem. For example, involvement with drugs will lead to participation in a drug program. Whereas for juveniles a broader more comprehensive approach is often taken addressing education, health, and behaviors. We place greater focus on attempting to provide opportunity to change with the young than we do with the old Court Proceedings: Court proceedings in the juvenile and adult justice systems share the right to a hearing, appeal, access to defense attorneys, negotiations, and procedural safeguards. However, in juvenile court proceedings are non-criminal informal events that are closed to the public. Courts are not allowed to share information about the juvenile to the press and records are sealed once a juvenile reaches the age of majority. In contrast, adult proceedings are formal criminal events that are open to the public and