Chapter 14, Response Paper. (Introduction to Criminology)

Chapter 14, Response Paper (Introduction to Criminology) Name: Institution: Course: Instructor: Date: Chapter 14 (Juvenile Justice), Reflection Paper Summary of the Reading Chapter 14 offers a detailed examination of the juvenile justice system. It begins by highlighting the historical development of juvenile justice and how the punitive traditional approach towards juvenile offenders transitioned post-18th century into a separate juvenile justice system that focuses more on rehabilitation. Early legal systems treated children who committed crimes in an equal way with adults, and this occurrence often inflicted harsh punishments on children, without taking into account their age or development stage. The emergence of, juvenile justice systems and courts by the mid and later 19th and 20th centuries, saw the societal attitudes toward child offenders shift largely due to the new theories of child development and psychology.  It became evident that rather than classifying juvenile delinquents as hardened criminals of the justice system, the juvenile justice system regarded them as individuals who need care, support, and interventions to enable them to deal with issues such as family dysfunctions, trauma, poverty, substance abuse, and mental health disorders which are largely attributed to the high juvenile cases. Of importance is that the juvenile corrective system discourages harsh punishments and instead uses corrective measures such as probation or residential custody to help shape Behavior. Rather than punishing juvenile offenders, probation officers and other juvenile justice professionals often have the key and major roles of providing direction, supervision, and support to offenders. But while in juvenile prisons, rehabilitation and probation conditions generally require juvenile offenders to comply with certain conditions such as schooling, curfews, avoiding drug and alcohol use, and completion of community service. The implementation of such conditions can be effectively overseen by probation officers who would ensure that the offenders are held accountable for their actions and that future delinquent behaviours are reduced. In summary, the juvenile justice system is sti...