Juvenile trial in criminal courts

Week 3 

Juvenile trial in criminal courts has its benefits and shortcomings. Some of the trials achieve the desired outcomes while others fail to acquire the intended purpose. According to the reading, there is an increase in the number of juveniles convicted in criminal courts. Some of the shortcomings include longer sentences, abuse, and execution of perpetrators. Such outcomes can increase recidivism by limiting the time a prisoner is integrated into society (Mears et al., 2014; Spooner et al., 2017) . A report by the office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention shows the adverse effects of trying juveniles in adult courts. There is an increase in recidivism for juniors tried in adult courts compared to those prosecuted in juvenile courts. It is, therefore, necessary to try youths in juvenile courts to minimize their chances of continuing to offend. 

According to the American Bar Association, juveniles who undergo the court process benefit from the services availed to their development. However, they fail to acquire competencies, critical skills, and needed experiences for their success as adults and learn from adult criminals in an environment tough on crime (Scialabba, 2018) . Young criminals encounter toughness characterized by delayed court processes, exposure to adult criminals, a more extended period in pre-incarceration, denial of required services, and an overwhelming prison population (Caudill & Trulson, 2016) . Juveniles should be protected while under incarceration and punished for their offenses without being abused. 

Week 4 

According to the readings, there is a high number of adolescents adjudicated who are exposed to substance abuse, trauma, and mental disorders. The juvenile justice system fails to address such issues. The courts do not recognize the problems faced by the juveniles, and instead, it exposes the youths to tough on crime environments without considering their particular needs. The juvenile justice system should understand the various aspect affecting adolescents and sentence them according to ensure that they benefit from the process rather than develop hardened criminals (Caudill & Trulson, 2016; Walker & Bishop, 2016) . Doing so will ensure that adolescents who commit minor offenses do not engage in the same environment with hardened criminals. 

Understanding the various aspects of trauma, mental disorders, and addiction should inform the disposition of justice for juveniles. The justice system should identify such areas and treat juveniles differently, just like adults who are mentally disabled, to ensure that they are restricted from engaging in criminal activities and adopting unwanted traits that will affect their recovery (Mears et al., 2014) . According to the author's perspective on mental health, trauma, and addiction in juvenile delinquency, other aspects also contribute to delinquency; thus, it is critical to understand their impact on adolescents. Many factors contribute to delinquency, and the juvenile justice system should consider their contribution to each case. 

Week 5 

The notion of disproportionate punishment in school setting based on race is correct. Some students receive harsher sentences than their counterparts from different ethnicities, thanks to long-held assumptions that certain groups are likely to commit a crime than others. Similarly, the punisher applies force disproportionately on different races depending on their perception, ideology, and ethnicity, where they are likely to favor students from their ethnic groups. School punishment contributes to increased referrals to juvenile courts by failing to address the underlying factors contributing to increased juvenile delinquency (Spooner et al., 2017; Wolff et al., 2015) . They also expose adolescents to harsh environments and unwanted punishment, further complicating the issue. It is, therefore, critical to address juvenile delinquency at the school level as opposed to referring them to the juvenile court. 

The gun-free schools' act of 1994 failed to address inner-city school shootings since students can easily access guns. The school environment further exacerbates the issue by exposing students to criminal activities. Adolescents can easily interact with peers and friends to engage in illegal activities (Baglivio et al., 2018) . Similarly, other factors like neighborhoods, lifestyle, trauma, and exposure complicates mass shootings in inner-city schools. The project save act, or other similar legislations are proving to be instrumental in making schools safer by taking a holistic approach and addressing the underlying factors that lead to increased crime in school environments. 

Week 6 

It is not appropriate to close juvenile prisons since they can provide the needed environment for hardened adolescent criminals. However, they should not be the ultimate point for all young criminals. It is necessary to develop appropriate programs that will enhance juveniles' lives to deter them from engaging in criminal activities that will drive them to juvenile prisons (Abrams, 2013) . It is also necessary to evaluate school punishment and other factors to determine their contribution to juvenile delinquency. I agree with the Supreme Court judgment that juveniles should not be sentenced to life since the majority do not make rational decisions and are influenced by environmental and other factors that lead to the commitment of a crime. 

The number of juveniles housed in state and federal prisons is still low compared to the overall population. However, the number of youths entering the criminal justice system each year is way too high. The majority have committed non-violent crimes meaning that the justice system should not expose such adolescents to the criminal justice system. The practice does not effectively reduce juvenile crimes at an early age since it exposes the youths to an inappropriate environment that contributes to increased crime rates. When adolescents interact with other hardcore criminals in prisons, they are likely to emulate their behavior and become criminals in the future (Cullen et al., 2011) . It is necessary to develop appropriate mechanisms for addressing juvenile crime since it contributes to increased violence by exposing adolescents to toxic environments and enabling them to create criminal networks that make it difficult to rehabilitate their current behavior. 

Week 7 

An article by Young, Greer, and Church (2017) recognizes the complexity of juvenile rehabilitation. According to the authors, young offenders have complex needs that call for a balanced approach that includes welfare and justice models. The challenge in addressing juvenile delinquency lies in the inadequacy of the legal system and appropriate workforce that understands adolescents' needs. The articles present best practices in developed countries like the UK that use a multifaceted discipline, including legal, developmental, and psychiatry, to rehabilitate juveniles. Such high-income countries use evidence-based therapeutic interventions that have proven effective in reducing recidivism (Young et al., 2017) . The authors agree that such approaches have far-reaching outcomes in rehabilitating juveniles compared to punitive methods. Such interventions are, therefore, superior in addressing juvenile delinquency compared to the justice system that places adolescents in adult prisons. 

There are increased calls across the media and from government quarters for rehabilitation approaches that consider the effect of other factors. The use of punitive policies has not alleviated the situation but instead continues to advocate for adolescents to be sent to prisons for rehabilitation. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt a holistic approach that incorporates criminology, social, and biomedical research to rehabilitate juveniles. The rehabilitation program should consider the effect of mental disorders, trauma, and addiction and address such underlying factors. According to the article, juvenile offenders suffer from elevated mental disorders compared to the overall population calling for a different approach to address the prevailing condition (Young et al., 2017) . The article conveyed equitable results for juvenile rehabilitative efforts by identifying the interaction of various factors and using appropriate models and disciplines to address the issue. 

Week 8 

Texas incorporates treatment programs to address delinquency. Texas enacted state reforms in 2007 and 2011, contributing to a decline in youth incarceration in the correctional facilities. The programs examined the best practices that contribute to improved rehabilitation while considering public safety. The initiatives led to a decline in the number of offenders in correctional facilities shifting the focus to juvenile probation targeting adolescents under community supervision. The program allows for closer monitoring of youths at home as opposed to sending them to state custody. Such kids can closely be supervised at home rat her than sending them to secure state-run facilities leading to better outcomes. 

The number of youths in state-run prisons has drastically declined thanks to the program, contributing to substantial savings. However, the plans have their shortcomings, which raise questions of its efficacy in addressing juvenile delinquency. Cases of re-arrest are stubbornly high, and some of the youths are still committed to secure facilities. The community-based supervision has reduced the number of youths taken to state-run facilities but has failed to mitigate re-arrest of those released from secured facilities. The best outcome can arise from increased training, greater guidance, technical assistance, and performance measurement. It is also necessary to collect appropriate data that can enhance the program's efficacy by understanding the shortcomings of the current practices to improve the outcomes for the juvenile justice system. 

References 

Abrams, L. (2013). Juvenile Justice at a Crossroads: Science, Evidence, and Twenty-First Century Reform.  Social Service Review ,  87 (4), 725-752. https://doi.org/10.1086/674074 

Baglivio, M., Wolff, K., Howell, J., Jackowski, K., & Greenwald, M. (2018). The search for the holy grail: Criminogenic needs matching, intervention dosage, and subsequent recidivism among serious juvenile offenders in residential placement.  Journal Of Criminal Justice ,  55 , 46-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.02.001 

Caudill, J., & Trulson, C. (2016). The hazards of premature release: Recidivism outcomes of blended-sentenced juvenile homicide offenders.  Journal Of Criminal Justice ,  46 , 219-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2016.05.009 

CSG Justice Center. (2015).  Study Reveals Impact of Texas Juvenile Justice Reforms . Knowledgecenter.csg.org. Retrieved 7 September 2020, from https://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/study-reveals-impact-texas-juvenile-justice-reforms. 

Cullen, F., Jonson, C., & Nagin, D. (2011). Prisons Do Not Reduce Recidivism.  The Prison Journal ,  91 (3_suppl), 48S-65S. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885511415224 

LBB. (2019).  Statewide Criminal and Juvenile Justice Recidivism and Revocation Rates . Lbb.state.tx.us. Retrieved 7 September 2020, from https://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/Publications/Policy_Report/Statewide%20Criminal%20Justice%20Recidivism%20and%20Revocation%20Rates2011.pdf. 

Mears, D., Pickett, J., & Mancini, C. (2014). Support for Balanced Juvenile Justice: Assessing Views About Youth, Rehabilitation, and Punishment.  Journal Of Quantitative Criminology ,  31 (3), 459-479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-014-9234-5 

Scialabba, N. (2018).  Should Juveniles Be Charged as Adults in the Criminal Justice System? . Americanbar.org. Retrieved 7 September 2020, from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/articles/2016/should-juveniles-be-charged-as-adults/. 

Spooner, K., Pyrooz, D., Webb, V., & Fox, K. (2017). Recidivism among juveniles in a multi-component gang reentry program: findings from a program evaluation in Harris County, Texas.  Journal Of Experimental Criminology ,  13 (2), 275-285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-017-9288-0 

Walker, S., & Bishop, A. (2016). Length of stay, therapeutic change, and recidivism for incarcerated juvenile offenders.  Journal Of Offender Rehabilitation ,  55 (6), 355-376. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2016.1194946 

Wolff, K., Baglivio, M., & Piquero, A. (2015). The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Recidivism in a Sample of Juvenile Offenders in Community-Based Treatment.  International Journal Of Offender Therapy And Comparative Criminology ,  61 (11), 1210-1242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624x15613992 

Young, S., Greer, B., & Church, R. (2017). Juvenile delinquency, welfare, justice, and therapeutic interventions: a global perspective. Bjpsych Bulletin ,  41 (1), 21-29. https://doi.org/10.1192/pb.bp.115.052274