History

• Since the inception of the juvenile justice system, members of society have wavered between believing it was too harsh or too lenient. In the 18th century, children as young as 7 were tried and sentenced under the same laws as adults. If found guilty, children and youths were imprisoned with adults. Public outcry led to the creation of the juvenile justice system. During most of the 20th century, the focus was on rehabilitating young offenders. Perceived increases in juvenile violent-crime rates led to another reversal of opinion in the 1980s. For the rest of the century, punishments for juvenile offenders became more severe. Many juveniles were certified as adults and tried in the adult court system.
  
  

Juvenile Crimes

• There are violent and nonviolent youths incarcerated in youth detention facilities. According to "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report" from the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 2 million youths under the age of 18 were arrested in the United States in 2003. The majority of these youths, 68 percent, were 16 and 17 years old. Approximately half of juvenile crimes committed in 2003 involved drug violations, simple assault, disorderly conduct, liquor law violations or larceny-theft. In the previous year, youths were responsible for 8 percent of the nation's murders.
  
  

Current Situation

• There is room for improvement in the juvenile justice system, according to the 2002 Juvenile Justice Bulletin, "System Change Through State Challenge Activities: Approaches and Products," published by the National Criminal Justice Reference System (NCJRS). Juvenile detention facilities are overcrowded. Educational and emotional services are inadequate to meet the needs of the young inmate population. The high number of incarcerated youths from minority races is not reflective of their numbers in society. Females tend to receive longer sentences than males who commit more serious crimes. The lack of aftercare and re-entry services leads to a high recidivism rate. A shortage of community-based rehabilitation services has led to an increased reliance on incarceration. The entire juvenile justice system is pushing the limits, with public defenders, prosecutors, judges and probation officers all overburdened with high case loads.
  
  

Intervention

• The Center for Early Adolescence contends there is a lack of effective support services for families in trouble. Most incarcerated youths have substance abuse, family or mental-health problems. Increasing these services would allow juvenile justice officials to intervene before the youth in the family turn to criminal activity.
  
  

Suggestions

• The Center for Early Adolescence suggests improvements for the juvenile justice system. The center recommends separating first-time offenders from repeat offenders. This will help keep the first-time offenders safe and increase chances for successful rehabilitation. Other suggestions include improving inmate-supervisor relationships and increasing resources for substance abuse and educational learning difficulties.