Reference no: EM132781454

As with most systems, there are pros and cons. The same can be said for the Juvenile Justice System. Not all interpretations of effectiveness in juvenile justice are consequentialist: not all are primarily concerned with using juvenile justice to bring about change in young offenders or in the wider social world. Instead, on some interpretations, juvenile justice is effective where it provides a response to youth offending that is ?tting or satisfying in itself.

An increase in juvenile crime rates in the late 1980s and early 1990s prompted legislators to adopt "tough on crime" policies, depriving certain youth of the juvenile justice system's protections. States enacted mechanisms to move youth from juvenile to adult criminal court for trial and punishment. In some cases, these new laws saddled children with the most severe sentences-death and life without the possibility of parole. Many of the new state laws also exposed youth to the dangers and potential abuses attributed to incarceration with adult offenders-much like they had experienced before the creation of the original juvenile court more than a century earlier.

Today's juvenile justice system still maintains rehabilitation as its primary goal and distinguishes itself from the criminal justice system in important ways. With few exceptions, in most states delinquency is defined as the commission of a criminal act by a child who was under the age of 18 at the time; most states also allow youth to remain under the supervision of the juvenile court until age 21. Youth are also entitled educational programming while incarcerated.

In the juvenile justice system, court hearings are often closed to members of the public and records in some states remain confidential, protecting children from stigma and collateral consequences when their records are publicly available. However, juvenile records have increasingly become more accessible, and in most jurisdictions are not automatically sealed or expunged when the young person becomes an adult. This creates barriers to obtaining employment, serving in the military, or enrolling in higher education programs.

What are your thoughts with keeping juvenile records confidential, sealed or expunged? Support your thoughts and opinions with research to support your work.