Analysis Of The Juvenile Justice System
Juveniles have been incarcerated in secure facilities since 1974. Juveniles are committing more heinous crimes and citizens have advocated for tougher penalties on crime. They want justice for the violence perpetrated on their families, businesses and communities. The Juvenile Justice system is charged with simultaneously protecting the public as well as reforming those juveniles who are convicted and sentenced to secure facilities. Barry C. Feld (1995) believes that there is a “desire to "get tough," fueled in part by frustration with the intractability of crime, that provides political impetus to transfer some young offenders to criminal courts for prosecution as adults and to strengthen the sanctioning powers of juvenile courts”(p.966).