The Future of Juvenile Justice: Is It Time to Abolish the System?

Abstract

Initially, it is necessary to define what I mean by the juvenile justice system. I have in mind only that aspect of the jurisdiction of a juvenile court that includes criminal conduct and certain noncriminal conduct. Modern juvenile statutes normally label the former delinquency and the latter-often called status offenses-by various names, such as Persons (or Children, or Juveniles, or Minors) in Need of Supervision. Usually included in the latter are running away from home, truancy, and (less often) incorrigibility or ungovernability. I exclude from consideration other elements of the possible jurisdiction of a juvenile court, such as adoption, termination of parental rights, child abuse and neglect, paternity, custody, and support. I include within my definition of the juvenile justice system not only court proceedings but the entire legal process, beginning with law enforcement, through court intake and detention, informal and formal probation, and ending with the juvenile correctional process. It is also necessary to state what I mean by abolition. I have in mind abolishing the juvenile justice system as a system separate from the criminal justice system. The result of abolition would be a merger of the two systems or, perhaps more accurately, an acquisition of the juvenile justice system by the larger criminal justice system. Abolition would not mean that all distinctions based on age would be obliterated; there would still be differences in how the