Juvenile Delinquents
(Should Juveniles be Tried as
Adults?)
By: Christie Childs
Overview
 First, the reason for establishing juvenile courts was so that
children did not have to associate with the hardened adult
criminals or have to be in their institutional at all.
 Than the reason for separating juveniles and adults was to
rehabilitate the child rather than punish them
 A “young person or juvenile” is defined in s. 2 in the young
offenders act, as persons 12 years or more, but less than 18
years
 Juvenile facilities teach juveniles how to change their life around
and be an asset to the community.
Overview #2
 Juvenile facilities have different programs such as the
Behavioral Modification System, Pod- Based Programs,
Cognitive behavioral programs, etc.
 “Restoration justice is based on the assumption that none of the
essential functions of the justice system-rehabilitation,
community protection, sanctioning, and victim restoration-can be
effectively accomplished without the joint involvement of victims,
offenders, and the community. It is based on the belief and
value statement that justice is best served when victims,
offenders, and the community receive balanced attention
and gain tangible benefits from their interactions with the
juvenile justice system.”
Questions
 What age should youth delinquents be tried as adults?
 What is the purpose for building juvenile facilities?
 Are juvenile facilities too harsh or too lenient?
 Is juvenile crime rising because juvenile facilities are
too lenient?
 Does the Behavior modification system help youth
reinforce appropriate behavior?
 Should our tax money be spent on helping juvenile
delinquents rehabilitate?
Thesis
 Juveniles shouldn’t be tried as adults
because age appropriate facilities allow
juvenile delinquents to be protected,
juvenile court processions are age
appropriate, and the rehabilitation in
age appropriate facilities benefits
society.
Argument #1
 Age appropriate facilities allow juvenile
delinquents to be protected.
 “The reason for establishing juvenile courts was so
that children did not have to associate with the
hardened adult criminals or have to be in their
institutional at all.”
 “ All residents are in classes appropriate to their age
level and/or cognitive functioning, including middle
school, and GED education”
Argument #2
 Juvenile court processions are age appropriate
 “For the serious cases, the next step is for the city’s legal
department to file a formal petition, a statement of charges,
which present the case against the child. Than the department
sets a date or the hearing which is an informal sort of trail. The
judge might decide to let the juvenile be released to his or her
family until the hearing is scheduled. If the charges are serious
the judge might decide to have the child be detained and sent to
temporary residence facilities for young offenders”
 “Less serious cases go directly to a fact-finding hearing, which is
less formal than a trial but involves a lawyer for the juvenile.”
Argument #3
 The rehabilitation in age appropriate facilities benefits society.
 “Behaviour management system:
1) Ignore (ignore other inappropriate behaviour, focus on current task,
avoid distraction)
2)Talk ( effectively articulating what the resident knows in group and
classes; appropriate use of language, such as no inappropriate, talk or
Swearing.
3)Cooperate/Participate ( follow all directives and expectations, help
out, and take initiative)
4) Area ( rooms are orderly and neat; residence have prepared
materials for group and class; homework is done)
5) Gestures ( no gang signing, inappropriate touching; good touching,
e.g. patting on the back, shaking hands when meeting someone new
and introducing oneself)”
 “Residents receive weekly behavioural goals, which are evaluated
three times per day.”
Counter-arguments
 If a person is old enough to know a certain
action is wrong, and still does it he/she
should suffer the full consequences?
 The court is failing to protect society from
youthful crimes.
 In many cases the juvenile facilities are doing
more harm than good for the young
offenders.
True Story
 JL, who is 17 was released in May. He completed his GED (
obtaining a nearly perfect score), is working several jobs, and is
registered at College of Dupage. He has a long history of crime
and incarceration, including in the state of California.
 “When I came to the detention center, my family wrote me off. I
had no family. I had nothing. In California, when I was locked up,
I was treated like an animal. No one asked me how I was doing.
I came to the Dupage detention center. The staff became like
family to me. They asked how they could help me. They showed
me positive things about myself. They taught me skills: How
to look at my behavior; how to make changed in my life;
how to think positively. I was able to take pride in myself for
the first time. The detention center taught me how to be
successful.”
Work Cited
 Albert R. Roberts, Juvenile Justice Sourcebook, New York:
Oxford University Press, (2004)
 Anothony N. and Carla Cesaroni, Responding to Youth Crime in
Canada, Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2004/
 Barry Krisberg, James F.Austin, Reinventing Juvenile Justice,
Unitied States: Sage Publications, inc. (1993)
 Carney, Dan. “Get Tough' juvenile crime bill approved by Senate
panel.”
TOPICsearch.http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru
e&db=tth&AN=9709102099&site=ehost-live
Work Cited
 D. Owen. Justice Delinquency in Canada, Concord ON: Irwin
Publishing, 1998
 Ellen Heath Grinney, Delinquency and Criminal Behavior, U.S:
Chelsea House

Publishers, 1992
John A. Fraser, House of Commons Debates, Hansard: 1992
 Lacayo, Richard, “Teen Crime”
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tth&AN
=9707161555&site-ehost-live, TOPICsearch
Work Cited
 Nicholas Bala, Youth Criminal Justice Law, Toronto: Irwin Law
Inc. (2003)
 Stephen D. Cook, Young Offenders Act-1991, Vancouver B.C:
The continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia,
1991
 Trumbull, Mark, “Trying teens as adults: Not always hard time.”
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tth&AN
=9508281426&site=ehost-live, TOPICsearch
 V. Moore, Juvenile Crime, New York: Nova Science Publisher,
inc., (2003)