Juvenile Delinquents vs. Status Offenders

Juvenile Delinquents vs. Status Offenders


Status offender is a term for a juvenile who has committed an act that is an offense only because of the age of the juvenile. If they were an adult there would be no offense. Juvenile offenders are juveniles who commit offenses that are violations of the law at any age (Bartollas, 2008). The status offender and the juvenile delinquent create many separate and distinct problems for the juvenile justice system. The status offender is in the system based on who they are (age), not what they do (Samaha, 2011).
The problem with status offenders is what to do with them. If they are placed with the juvenile delinquents there is a risk of exposing the child to a harder criminal element. This can create adult offenders. Too hard of a hand can send the life of a status offender into a downward spiral ending in criminality, when they did not violate the penal code. Too soft of a hand on the status offender can create future criminals as well. The child becomes labeled with the intake into the juvenile justice system. If possible the least flex of punishment would be an advantageous option. It would be better if they were removed from the juvenile justice system. Status offenders are not accused of violence, theft, abuse, rape, murder, drug dealing or any other such criminal acts found within the criminal court system. Yet, in the juvenile justice system status offenders are treated as such, in some cases, status offenders are treated more harshly that the criminal actors of the same age. The status offender that has less interaction with the juvenile justice system will often “age out” of offending and not receive a lifelong label of delinquent.
Juvenile delinquents pose a problem for the juvenile justice system because of the varying age of the offender and how to punish them. There is a vast difference between the 10 year old offender and the 16 year old delinquent. Placement must be assessed on the age and degree of criminality of the child. Older delinquents are often waived to the adult courts. Do children deserve punishment proportionate to the gravity of the crime, or should the fact that they are children be taken into account? The apparent solution is based on what model the juvenile justice system is using. This is based on public opinion and the current trends in crime. There is no one standard or policy that leads the juvenile justice system. Different states have different guides. Texas falls under a legislative guide that provides recommendations on the protection and care of juveniles (Bartollas, 2008, p. 21).
The “chronic 6 percent” are arrested four or more times. They rarely “age out “of crime. Punishment has little effect on preventing future crimes of the chronic offender, the best solution it to limit opportunity to commit crime. The courts look at multi-pronged solutions to these cases. Research has shown that there are many factors that cause the chronic offenders to continue in the commission of crime. The crime control model is used with chronic delinquents (Bartollas, 2008, p. 25). The crime control model emphasizes punishment. This is not the best solution for chronic delinquents. The “hard line” does very little to influence recidivism rates and the chronic delinquent is not reformed by punishment. If the prison population is composed of 10 percent sociopaths, could the “chronic 6 percent” be the juvenile representation of the adult sociopath population?





Bibliography
Bartollas, C. M. (2008). Juvenile Justice in America (6th ed.). (V. Anthony, Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, U.S.A.: Pearson Education Inc.
Samaha, J. (2011). Criminal Law (10th ed.). (C. Meier, Ed.) Belmont, CA, U.S.A.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.