Juvenile justice & Delinquency Theory
Assignment Details – in a 300 word post address the following
A young person is caught stealing a bicycle. It is the individual’s first criminal offense. Using what you’ve learned, address the following:
- How would the legal system have dealt with the youthful offender in the early 20th century compared to now?
- Which of these approaches do you think is the most beneficial to that individual? Explain your reasons.
Be specific and refer to sources that have informed your opinion.
Requirements: 300 or more words in depth
This is the course text book we are using that you can use for a reference
Bartollas, C., & Schmalleger, F. (2017). Juvenile Delinquency (Justice Series) (3rd Edition). Pearson Education (US).
Answer preview
In the early 20th-century, state sentencing policies were generally offender-focused and based on a rehabilitative model of individualized sentencing to divert young offenders away from the destructive punishments of criminal courts and encourage rehabilitation based on the individual juvenile’s needs. The young offender would have been sent to a reformatory school or training program in this situation. The focus was on the child or teenager as a person in need of help rather than the behavior that brought them to court. The rehabilitation aimed to influence and help transform the young individual’s behavior; hence they were not sent to jail (Bartollas and Schmalleger, 2017). The proceedings were informal, and the judge was to act in the child’s interest. Legal provisions available to adults, such as the right to an attorney, the right to a jury trial, and the right to confront one’s accuser, were deemed unnecessary (Bartollas and Schmalleger, 2017).
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