Misuse of juveniles in detention centers Research Paper

Misuse of juveniles in detention centers - Research Paper Example These problems cause degradation of the child’s mental and physical health which is explained along each of the issue. At the end, some suggestions are given along with useful tips on how to bring reform and betterment to the system. The conclusion stresses the need to realize the plight of such children and do something about their situation. Keywords: juvenile, detention, sexual abuse INTRODUCTION Juvenile refers to a person who is not yet an adult. The law defines a juvenile to be a person who cannot be held responsible for a crime and cannot be subjected to the sentences reserved for adults. They have separate courts for trials called the Juvenile courts. All the countries have different age definitions for adulthood, but on average we can set the general threshold at 18 years of age. Detentions can be handed to juveniles in juvenile courts over a variety of offenses but these detention terms are different and more lenient as compared to the normal detentions handed out to adults for the same offenses (Krisberg, 2004). There are some laws that are exclusively for juveniles, for instance laws that relate to purchase of alcohol or pornography. The sentences vary in nature from community work to therapy and group discussion behaviors. Tough sentences are only carried out in cases where the crimes are of a significant nature. Though in some developing countries juveniles are send to same prisons as adults. Even in the developed countries, some people are of the view that teenagers should be send to same prisons as normal adults as their crimes have the same repercussions in society. HISTORY The world’s first Juvenile court opened in 1899 in Chicago (Glenn, 2010). Before the nineteenth century juvenile criminals were convicted under the same laws and were termed as young adults. After the advent of the first Juvenile court, the international community eventually realized the need for such courts and separate detention centers. The need arose becaus e when these gullible children were put into prisons where their inmates were mostly seasoned criminals, they came out of the prisons as ones themselves because of the negative influence of those criminals. Some developing nations still don’t possess such separate facilities though. Juvenile courts also take care of the welfare of the children who are abandoned, poor or neglected. Sometimes, crimes such as murders and shootings linked to juveniles are tried in adult criminal courts partly because of the nature and frequency of such crimes and partly because of the public outrage over such crimes (Anderson, 1998 May-June). MSTREATMENT OF JUVENILES Children are an extremely vulnerable class both mentally and physically and therefore, are at the risk of being exploited both outside and inside of detention centers. The main purpose of juvenile detention centers is the rehabilitation of the children. It means that they should be provided with an environment where there problems ca n be handled in a way that makes them give up the habit or act that forced them to end up in the detention center. For example, if the child was convicted for drug abuse, health care should be given to him along with therapy sessions group discussion sessions. But there have been increasing instances where the children have been handled in ways that comes under the