Juvenile Justice System

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There are many social institutions and systems that an individual has a potential to interact with at different times during their life. One of these many systems is the criminal justice system which can be viewed as both a social institution and a system. The criminal justice system can be defined as the system of law enforcement that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted of criminal offenses. (Criminal Justice System). A significant subpart of this system is the juvenile justice system. Both systems can be regarded as a multifaceted assemblage of various agencies and procedures traditionally established by the government. Additionally, both are set up with…show more content…
“Usually, law enforcement makes this decision, after talking to the victim, the juvenile, and the parents, and after reviewing the juvenile's prior contacts with the juvenile justice system.” (“Case Flow Diagram”). If the case is sent on, the next step would be prosecution review, which could continue the case, divert it to detention, or move it to the adult criminal justice system. If the case in handled in the system, there are two types of petition which may be filled which are delinquency or waiver. “A delinquency petition states the allegations and requests the juvenile court to adjudicate (or judge) the youth a delinquent, making the juvenile a ward of the court. This language differs from that used in the criminal court system (where an offender is convicted and sentenced).” (“Case Flow Diagram”). In response to this petition an adjudicatory hearing (trial) is scheduled. The trial has time for witnesses and for all facts to be presented. In most of these cases the judge is the individual deciding the innocence, but some states may have a jury…show more content…
In this view, the youth suffers from internalized oppression because the juvenile justice system is oppressive. “While communities of color are disproportionately affected by the criminal laws and juvenile justice policies, they do not make those laws and policies” (Dowd, 2011, p.142). This can also raise one of the lasting effects of being in the system on these youth cause stigma. As demonstrated in the film Kids for Cash, the youth placed in the secure detention facilities faced stigma upon their return to school. Also unless the record is expunged it also can create a stigmatization when the individual goes to start college or work. While a juvenile record is typically expunged, it would not be if they are charged as adults. This typically happens to African Americas, who are eighteen more times likely to be charged as an adult versus white children. In addition, because of the prevailing stereotypes, the youth are viewed as legitimate victims. This allows people to widely accept that the African American youth should be treated harsher than their White counterparts. This also is the reason that African Americans are more likely to be placed into the adult criminal justice system. This is because the children are dehumanized, which leads them to being seen as older. “Human childhood affords strong protections against harsh, adult-like treatment, then in contexts

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