Criminal Justice & Law
Juvenile Justice
Should teenagers who commit serious crimes be tried as juveniles or adults in our criminal system? What constitutes a “serious” enough crime in order to justify such a decision and what age of the defendant is critical to this determination? These are questions that face our criminal justice system every day, and face our society as we develop prosecution procedures for certain defendants. The Juvenile Justice class is designed to address exactly these questions by introducing the concepts, principles and practices of the juvenile justice system to students. Students will take an in-depth look at juvenile law and the unique role of the courts in these circumstances as well as the corrections systems that will apply to them. Students will analyze the different socio economic considerations that must be weighed in addressing juvenile justice issues, as well as the manner in which social service agencies (treatment, child protective services, etc.) interact, aid or impede the formal juvenile justice system.
This course gives students an overview of American juvenile justice in terms of both system and practice. It examines the juvenile offender, causes of juvenile crime, the juvenile court system, and juveniles in the adult court system. This course also looks at the institutionalization, rehabilitation, and treatment of juveniles, and the future of juvenile justice in America.
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Define terms related to juvenile justice
- Analyze the impact history has had in juvenile justice
- Describe the various theories related to juvenile justice
- Examine the Juvenile Justice System
- Describe the measurement of juvenile crime
- Describe juvenile victims
- Analyze juveniles in the adult court system
- Analyze the effectiveness of juvenile probation and community based programs
- Appraise the treatment of juvenile offenders
- Analyze the juvenile offender
- Investigate international juvenile justice
This class includes the following eText:
Bartollas and Miller. (2011). Juvenile Justice in America; 6/E; ISBN: 0135050871
This course does not include tutoring.