Mitchell Shinnick

Mrs.Zurkowski

English 9 greens

21 September 2012

Juvenile Delinquency

                   People are speculating that teens are not getting the punishment they deserve because of their age.  Kids are getting off the hook because of their age. Some of them would get stuck with bad judges and they would get off the hook. Kids were starting to break the law more than adults were. Only a few criminals were on death row because of earlier crimes as they were kids. Kids are now starting to break the law more and more because they are starting to get into the wrong crowds. I believe that kids should get punished by the crime not their age.

Today kids are breaking the law more and more because of technology. As kids are more connected now through technology, they are more likely to break the law. The percentage of kids who bring a gun to school is 18%. They are getting access to things they are not allowed to have. People are saying that the crime punishment should be off of the severity of the crime not their age.

When they first held the court in Chicago they weren’t aware of the kids’ actions. Only 1% of cases go to adult court. Juvenile courts are for kids under the age of 17, but the court deals with all kinds neglect. "In 1899, when the first proceeding of a juvenile court convened in Chicago, it is unlikely that those in the courtroom were aware of the momentous impact of their actions." (Justice Department).         

One reason that I’m right is “But supporters of the juvenile court system's approach argue that sentences should be determined by the severity of the crime, not the age of the offender.” (ProQuest Staff). One reason that people disagree with this topic is that they don’t want their kids to get corrupted at such a young age. People who agree and disagree both have very good reasons.

Juveniles are more likely to break the law after they broke it the first time. 29% of kids break the law for the first time. 72% of them will not have criminal records. Kids who served a year in prison are 100% likely to break the law again. Kids from 14 to 17 are confined in adult prison. Most time sentences kids have to serve are 4 to 10 years, but not so many juveniles served over 40 years. But in texas they only focus on 30 of the most intense crimes. “More than 16 states of the 35 for which information was available hold certified youth in juvenile facilities rather than in adult prisons until at least age 18. Six states hold them until age 21 or longer. And a significant number of states have policies either mandating or allowing certified youth to be held in local juvenile detention facilities rather than adult jails while they are awaiting trial” (Michele Deitch)

        The crimes are caused because the kids have nothing to do after school. Most of the crimes are caused after school around 3 to 6. If the justice system keeps the kids busy during that time the percentage will go down dramatically. They could push for after school activities or have school at a later time.

       A solution might be that when they do get caught they should have a fair trial, not one where the judge is undecided on what he or she should do. People are complaining about this topic but they are now working together to fix this topic. They could also make the punishment more severe so they won’t think of breaking the law again.

Citations

                  ProQuest Staff. "At Issue: Juvenile Delinquency." ProQuest LLC. 2012: n.pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 Sep 2012.

               

            Sources: Pryor, Douglas W. "Juvenile Delinquency." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 14 Sept. 2012.

                Sources: "Juvenile Justice." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On  File News Services, 31 Mar. 2002. Web. 13 Sept. 2012                                                                                          Sources: "juvenile delinquency." The Oxford Companion to Canadian History. Ed. Gerald Hallowell.  2004. History Study Center. Web. 13 Sept. 2012                                                                                 Snyder, Howard N., and Melissa Sickmund. "Juvenile Justice: A Century of Change." Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Dec. 1999: 1-20. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 14 Sep 2012 .

Michele Deitch (2011). Juveniles in the Adult Criminal Justice System in Texas,

Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, LBJ School of Public Affairs