Challenges and Issues of Juvenile Justice System in the 21st Century

Running head: JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
Juvenile Justice System
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Author Note

1JUVENILLE JUSTICE SYSTEM
Prior to 21st century, the juvenile justice system treated adults and children distinctively. Age was
not considered to be a limitation as juveniles were eligible for the same punishment as adults.
However, during the 21st century, the term “criminal” in case of child offenders were replaced
with “delinquent child”. Separate juvenile courts were established and as a result of this, the
treatments of juveniles were allowed differently by the judicial system. In this regard, emphasis
can be laid upon the challenges and issues of the juvenile justice system during the 21st century
(Barrett, Katsiyannis & Zhang, 2015). Firstly, the major challenge faced by the juvenile justice
system is regarding the implementation of various policies in regard to the youth communities.
The juvenile justice system failed to ensure that the youths are treated fairly and equitably.
Secondly, there developed inappropriate limits on the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts (Burke et
al., 2014). The aim was to bring an end to the practice of prosecuting individuals aged between
16-17 years old. Therefore, juvenile justice system could be improved by increasing the age limit
of the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice court. Thirdly, the challenges are faced in the areas of
heath care as well (Kretschmar et al., 2015). It is evident that the youths involved with the
juvenile justice system experiences problems regarding mental health which can be efficiently
treated in the community rather than within the juvenile justice system.
The increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases has created great influence upon
the juvenile justice system. From the very beginning, the government authorities are committed
in improving the response on the part of the juvenile justice system in response the crimes
against the juveniles. In this regard, it is worthwhile to mention here that, not only children are
victimized (Mathur & Clark, 2014). In some cases, adults are victimized as well. These adults
were subjected to child abuse and neglect from the early days of their childhood. It is noteworthy
to mention here that, in present era, the children are at an increased risk for crime victimization.