Abolishing The Juvenile Court System

Introduction

As several states abolish their separate juvenile court system, it raises the question whether the state of Florida should follow suit or continue to have a separate juvenile system. There are many individuals who praise the juvenile court system, but these same individuals seem to overlook or forget about the systems court comings as well. For these youths, there is a lack of intervention, a large divide, and no sense of rehabilitation. The current separate juvenile court system seems to do more harm than good, which is why the state of Florida should follow suit in doing away with its juvenile courts.

Lack of Intervention

Many of these individuals that are brought into the juvenile court system come at such a young age, and many times do not have individuals in their lives teaching them right from wrong. The biggest issue with the juvenile court is that many of these youths do not receive intervention until they are will into the system (Farrington, 2012). The current system that is in place to help our youths does not actually help them, which in turn harms them and keeps them stuck in this endless circle that they cannot seem to get out of. According to Farrington, only between three to six percent of practitioners believe that the current efforts are working and reaching the goals that are laid out by the juvenile court. If individuals do not believe that current methods are working, and no changes are being done to make things better, then there is no reason to have a juvenile court in place.

Divide Between Youth

While the lack of intervention causes youth to perish in the juvenile court system, the ethnic and racial divide cause certain groups to come out worse than others. While there are some people that state that the criminal justice system treats everyone equally, the evidence and court practices show otherwise. Minority youths, especially Blacks, are treated worse than the majority. They receive tougher treatment, longer sentences, and many times are neglected mentally. There is a much higher chance of a White youth to receive mental health treatment than for any minority group (Cochran & Mears, 2015). While intervention is already scarce, these minority youths have a lesser chance or receiving help just because of their skin color and ethnic background. The juvenile court system that is in place does not assist the minority youths and seems to put them at a greater disadvantage to do better in the future.

Waiver Hearings and Sentencing Disparities

During a sentencing hearing, there is the discussion of the dangerousness of a youth and whether they will do well with treatment or just end up back on the streets reoffending again. These waiver hearing allows for racial inequalities, which adds to our division of youth, and many times leads to sentencing disparities (Feld, 1997, pg. 76-77). When youths in the juvenile system and youths in the adult system are convicted to the same violent crime, the youths in the adult system receive a substantially longer sentence. In terms of property offense, youths in the adult system will receive lesser sentences than the youths in the juvenile system (Feld, 1997, pg. 81). Having these two separate systems allows for chronic offenders to be overlooked, increasing recidivism rates. These large disparities tend to hurt the youth, rather than helping them like it should.

Conclusion

The state would benefit by having one united system, which is why Florida should abolish its juvenile courts. The practices that are in play do not seem to be working, and there is a large divide ethnically and racially throughout the youths in the system. Having two separate systems leads to much confusion and allows for any things and individuals to be overlooked.

Works Cited

1. Cochran, J. C., & Mears, D. P. (2015). Race, Ethnic, and Gender Divides in Juvenile Court
2. Sanctioning and Rehabilitative Intervention. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 52(2), 181–212. https://doi-org.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/10.1177/0022427814560574
3. Farrington, D. P. (2012). Should the Juvenile Justice System be Involved in Early Intervention?
4. Criminology & Public Policy, 11(2), 265–273. https://doiorg.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/10.1111/j.1745-9133.2012.00806.x
5. Feld, B. C. (1997). Abolish the Juvenile Court: Youthfulness, Criminalresponsibility, and
6. Sentencing Policy. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 88(1), 68. https://doi-org.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/10.2307/1144075