Juvenile Justice: Crime Causation, Difference In Court Systems, And Rehabilitation VS Punishment

In life, we are faced with trials and tribulations, and how we respond to these problems shape us into who we will be. If we respond poorly to these issues, it could land us in a courtroom or even behind bars. As young impressionable juveniles are exposed to family problems, drugs, and peer pressure, how they react can lead them to a life of crime and dancing in and out of the juvenile justice system. Crime causation factors in juveniles include family life, social environment, biological factors, and educational environments. How they respond to these factors can get them in a juvenile court or- if the crime is severe enough- an adult court. Depending on which court a juvenile ends up in, their experiences within the system can revolve around rehabilitation or punishment.

There are many different factors that can cause a juvenile to turn to crime. Biological makeup and genetics can have a hand in causing criminality within juveniles. Along with biological makeup, psychological makeup can also cause criminality within juveniles. However, these are just internal factors that cause criminality; there are many more external factors that can turn juveniles toward crime. Family is a large external factor that affects juveniles the most. Family, as a crime causation factor, focuses on parents, siblings, extended family members, and the dynamic of the family. There is a correlation between parents’ absence and criminality in their children. For example, the Rochester Youth Study focused on the quality of parent-child relationships. The Rochester Youth Study researchers found that “the relationship between family process factors and delinquency is circular; poor-parenting increased the probability if delinquent behavior, and delinquent behavior further weakened the relationship between parent and child” (Taylor and Fritsch, 67). It is found that the presence of a father reduces the chance of his son being delinquent, first born children are less likely to be delinquents, and the larger the family, the more likely that a child from the family will become a delinquent. Coming from a broken home, or a home plagued by abuse or neglect, can correlate to delinquency or delinquent behaviors in juveniles.

The social environment of a juvenile can also play a role in causing criminality. The social environment of a juvenile can relate to social class, the peers in a juvenile’s life, and the activities and interests the juvenile partakes in. Along with the social environment, the ecological and educational environments also play a role in the crime causation of juveniles. These environmental factors include community, neighborhoods, attitude toward school, and performance in school. If a juvenile performs poorly in school and falls into a bad crowd of peers, it is likely that the juvenile is question will fall into delinquent behaviors. In a recent study, one that examined the relationship between educational factors and delinquency, it was found that a “weak school commitment and poor school performance were associated with increased involvement and drug use” (Taylor and Fritsch, 71). In this same study, it was also found that those who were more attached to school also avoided delinquency, and that the involvement in delinquency increased the chances of the juvenile to drop out of school.

There are many factors that can contribute to the causation of crime in juveniles. Many of these factors are external, but there are also a few internal factors that can have the greatest impact on whether a juvenile will or will not participate in delinquent behavior. A child that is failing his classes, a child that is being abused at home, a child without a father, and a child with a poor living situation all have one thing in common; They are at a higher risk of falling into delinquent behaviors and setting on the path of crime.

Differences Between Juvenile and Adult Courts

The court systems in America follow the same basic guidelines; there is an initial arrest, a preliminary hearing to decipher if there is a case to be made, a trial before a jury of the offender’s peers, sentencing, and appeal. However, in the juvenile court system, there are a few other steps and informal approaches to settle cases. There are similarities between the adult court system and the juvenile court system, but there are mostly differences between the two. The biggest difference between the courts are the cases they handle, followed by who is in charge, and finally the sentencing procedures.

Adult courts handle cases ranging from parking tickets to something as severe as murder. While some types of cases overlap between the adult and juvenile courts, there is a different focus in the juvenile court systems. Juvenile court cases revolve around juveniles under the age of 18, and focus on the welfare of the child on or involved in a trial. “The juve