Juvenile Justice System

The Juvenile Justice System

August 4th 1992 the Juvenile Justice act was passed by the Queensland government arising from a desperate plea from parents and caregivers to help balance principles of accountability and proportionality of sentencing, along with this millions of dollars are spent each year on costs associated with punishing and rehabilitating juvenile offenders. Crimes committed by Juveniles, otherwise known as Juvenile offenders or Juvenile delinquents, are one of the fastest growing group of criminals across Australia and even the world. A juvenile is an individual under the age of 17 (in Qld) for other countries the age can vary from 16 through to 21.
Juveniles are capable of committing the same crimes as adults. However, some acts are considered delinquent simply because of the offender's status as a minor. These "status" offenses include underage consumption of alcohol, driving without a license, truancy from school and running away from home. Status offenses are usually dealt with by social services agencies and do not need intervention with the juvenile court. There are many somewhat small crime committed by Juveniles and these are also given the choice between court or one technique used is to minimise intervention e.g. Instead of going to court the involved will attend a conference, usually between the victim and the accused to face to problems head on with the support of a mediator, this will increase the opportunities for restorative justice and reintegration into the community.
More serious offenses may be charged as felonies or misdemeanours. While minors may be involved in all types of crime, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention says “there are three major categories of juvenile crime: violent crimes, crimes against property and drug-related crimes”. Violent crimes are crimes that result in bodily injury, such as assault, rape and homicide. Property crimes are committed when a juvenile uses force, or threat to...