Juvenile crimes are mostly identified just like other criminal cases where the police identify crimes from parental complaints, complaints from victims, testimonies from witnesses, direct order to police from the public prosecutor and from police facing the crime.
Nevertheless, juvenile offenders are handled differently from adult offenders in all correctional aspects such as during incarceration, probation or parole.
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Regarding incarceration, policies related to juvenile offenders restrict incarceration and emphasize the significance of transformation and rehabilitation. Thus, after court settlement, a majority of juvenile offenders are placed on probation (Lawrence & Hemmens, 2008). Even if some offenders are sent to confinement, they are mostly sent to juvenile detention facilities that often possess less gloomy names than adult incarceration facilities, for instance, juvenile offenders can be placed on youth camps (Lawrence & Hemmens, 2008). These juvenile facilities act as correctional treatment centres. However, for adults, there are well-known incarceration facilities around the country with different but ominous names known to the public. In turn, this highlights the rehabilitation spirit that differentiates the treatment of juvenile offenders from the treatment of adult offenders.
Besides, the terms of confinement in a correctional facility for juvenile offenders take a shorter period than for adult offenders (Lawrence & Hemmens, 2008). On average, juvenile offenders do not take more than 1-2 years in the confinement facility, even though the length of imprisonment can take longer in certain states, particularly for violent juvenile offenders (Lawrence & Hemmens, 2008). However, the length of incarceration for adults depends on the type of crime they have committed and the confinement period may even involve a life sentence or several months. The differences noted here demonstrate that the main objective of the juvenile confinement as being prevention and treatment, instead of punishment.
Both adult offenders and juvenile offenders are placed under aftercare programs such as probation and parole. The objective of these programs is to offer support to allow offenders readjust to the community. However, juveniles in these programs are managed differently than adults because they are supervised by counsellors or caseworkers who must maintain contact with the juvenile, ensure that the juveniles follow a corrections plan and demonstrate interest and a caring attitude (Siegel & Welsh, 2016). The counsellor must also inform the youth regarding the services that are useful for reintegration and counsel the juveniles and their families.
A vital reintegration aspect is completing education, which is easier for juveniles in probation than for those who are imprisoned. Aftercare supervision of juveniles aims at helping them, not punishing them as is the case with adult aftercare programs (Siegel & Welsh, 2016) . Besides, for adult offenders, probation or parole programs are supervised by probation or parole officers who do not need to demonstrate a caring attitude or interest in the people under their supervision. Besides, adult offenders complete a majority of the tasks to demonstrate their change progress, for instance, they must maintain contact with their supervisors periodically and they may be needed to engage in mandatory unpaid community work and rehabilitation. Besides, if adult offenders violate the probation or parole terms, they may be incarcerated again. For adult offenders, it is up to them to ensure that they do not place themselves in any kind of situation that violates the terms of probation or parole.
In conclusion, juvenile offenders receive different treatment from adult offenders during incarceration and are also managed differently from their adult counterparts during probation or parole. Juvenile offenders are mostly placed in rehabilitation facilities instead of well-known incarceration facilities. Besides, during probation or parole, they are supervised by counsellors or caseworkers who help rather reintegrate. However, in adult probation or parole, offenders are responsible for their individual behaviour and they can be imprisoned if they violate probation or parole terms.
References
Lawrence, R., & Hemmens, C. (2008). Juvenile justice: A text/reader . Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. C. (2016). Juvenile Delinquency . Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
