Assignment:
Focus of Juvenile Justice
Early treatment of juveniles focused on punishing offenders who were capable of understanding their offenses. Today, the juvenile justice system has developed as a more benevolent, less formal alternative to the adult system, in which rehabilitation, not punishment, is the desired outcome.
Write in a minimum of 250 words and answer the following:
- Do you think rehabilitation should be the most important goal of the juvenile justice system? Why?
- During the course of processing a youthful offender, under what circumstances, if any, should the juvenile justice system abandon rehabilitation and focus on punishment?
- What criteria should be used when deciding whether to focus primarily on punishment? Explain.