Introduction
Young people are increasingly losing track of the moral behaviors taught to them in this period. Their lives are constantly challenged by the daily pressures. Although this has reached alarming levels, Parents have a role to play in the mitigation of this problem. The lifestyles of children are increasingly becoming difficult to predict with a lot of changes in the global civilization. Family relations that had kept the children intact are falling apart with increasing divorce, separation, and conflicts.
Furthermore; more children are now living in single homes with divided attention, challenging the basic structures of socialization. The effects are grave as more children and youths are turning delinquent and immoral, posing the question of what the future holds for our nations across the globe. Among the most affected countries is the United States which is recording startling records of delinquent youths. This paper will attempt to investigate the roles of the key officials in a juvenile court.
Definitions
Juvenile delinquency is the condition in which children do things contrary to the law. Juvenile legal systems are those institutions set aside to stimulate the processes of dealing with juvenile cases. While the developed countries rate highly with those affected by delinquency, the developing worlds are even worse. They are faced with multiple problems ranging from the pressures of transitions, overcrowding in the towns and slums, inadequate employment opportunities, poverty to faster population growth (World Youth Report, 2003, p.189). Even the female sex known to be more calm have gone into the same behaviors.
Given the few opportunities, youth end up joining illegal lines to survive and this exposes them to potentially harmful experiences. The past decade has witnessed a huge increase in youth delinquency, a situation that is not healthy for the development of any country. Statistics show that children in difficult positions increased to 150 million from 80 million, between 1992 to 2000. many children are faced with a prospect of juvenile delinquency if great care is not taken (Organisation of African Unity and Unicef, 1992).
Juvenile court System
Juvenile court systems are comprised of key individuals responsible for deciding the culprit’s fate in following the processes of the system. These individuals may be from different agencies but serve a common purpose; to help the child in question. The key officers in the juvenile court system are The Juvenile police officers, probation officers, juvenile judges, and prosecutors (Hartjen, 2008, p.106).
The probation officer’s responsibility has been varied depending on the country of residence. In the United States; their role was taken over by the Prosecutors and currently, they are made more as correctional officials to the child than their former task as advocates. Nevertheless, they still can sway decisions depending on their recommendations from their social investigation report.
Prosecutors never had the kind of authority they currently command in the Juvenile court systems, currently, they initiate, present, and direct proceedings in the juvenile courts. They are very important in the proceedings and even have additional authority to propose a waiver of the subject.
The judges are the other officials in a juvenile court system. They are uniquely trained to execute their duties and in some countries are independent of the main regular court system. They are usually considered of lower value than the regular judges, this is because their cases are always considered less compelling. The judge can take an active part in the process or not, in some cases their powers can be delegated while sometimes they do make the ultimate decision.
In the United States, the Judge has the power to reverse the decision but the charging is done by other officials. They also hold the power to end the proceedings once a verdict has been made on the youth, he can assess the validity of the case and give the fate of the youth, and can even dismiss it (Hartjen, 2008, p.108).
There may be Lawyers Juries and other officials. These officials may serve as defense attorneys to the youth. In the United States, the jury is never used for children unless the youth is an adult. In some societies where the role of the community is valued, they can be involved in the trial.
In processing youth, there are three steps followed namely; initiation, charging, and adjudication. The initiation process can be done by anyone although it is mainly done by the Probation officers. In the United States, police officers are actively involved in the initiation process. The charging also referred to as intake screening, is done by the prosecutors and the probing officials. In this process, the youth can be charged, waived, diverted, or dismissed.
Dismissal changes reduce with further processing. Various ways can be used to help reform the youth, some are putting through correctional centers, Educational programs, or by using Therapeutic interventions among others. In a case example where a ten-year-old, Charlie has been charged with several counts of shoplifting at a local store (Hartjen, 2008, p.131). Case the police officer acts as the initiating officer, the judge will wait for the other officials to give the charge (the probation officer and the prosecutor). The Judge will then give the verdict based on the charge given with an option for reviewing. Penalties are reduced to help children from progressing to status offenders (Siegel & Welsh, 2008, p.22).
Conclusion
The key officials have overlapping roles depending on the country of residence. The prosecutors are more dominant than the probation officials, the Judge gives the final verdict, based on the charge given by the other officials and sometimes (depending on the country) can make his/her own decision. Since it is Charlie’s first appearance in the Juvenile court, his charges would be greatly reduced and be given a second chance to reform. The decision should be made in the Child’s best interest.
Reference List
Hartjen, C. A. (2008). Youth Crime and Justice: a global inquiry. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Organisation of African Unity and Unicef. (1992). Africa’s Children, Africa’s future. Web.
Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. C. (2008). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. Stamford, Mass: Cengage Learning.
World Youth Report. (2003). Juvenile Delinquency. Web.