10.2. Juvenile Justice 
ALISON S. BURKE 
The contemporary juvenile justice system operates under the premise that juveniles are different than adults 
and require special attention and treatment. The juvenile justice system believes that juveniles are malleable 
and can be rehabilitated. The juvenile court is based on the premise that public safety is best served by 
emphasizing the rehabilitation, rather than the incapacitation and punishment of juveniles. 
1 Unfortunately, 
sensationalized media exposure of violent youth has led to exaggerated public fear of juvenile crime, get 
tough legislation, and a perceived need to “do something” about juvenile crime. 
2 This punitive position 
is nothing new. Before the inception of the juvenile justice system a mere 100 years ago, youth were 
treated the same as adults. They were considered culpable for their actions and housed alongside adult 
offenders in jails and prisons. Recent research has utilized neuroscience to support the need to treat juveniles 
differently because they are different. The sections of the brain that govern characteristics associated with 
moral culpability do not stop maturing until the early 20s. Therefore, it is assumed that someone under age 
20, such as a juvenile delinquent, has an underdeveloped brain. 
When addressing juvenile delinquency in America, the pendulum swings from punitive policies to 
rehabilitative policies and then back again depending on media, politics, and the current climate. There is 
no magic bullet approach to preventing juvenile delinquency, but as the court evolves, changes, and utilizes 
best practices, it gets closer. 
Ted Talks: Stephen Case The youth crime ‘problem’ is examined as a social construction and moral 
panic created by institutions in Western societies. The talk traces the evolution of youth crime into a 
phenomenon persistently misrepresented as an escalating social epidemic. The developmental life stages of 
‘childhood’ and ‘adolescence’ as inventions are explored, highlighting differences between young people 
and adults. In this way, ‘youth crime’ can be identified as a social problem requiring distinct responses. 
A running theme is a child as a source of adult anxiety and fear, motivating societies to create structures, 
1. Cox, S. M., Conrad, J. J., & Allen, J. M. (2003). Juvenile justice: A guide to theory and practice. McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences 
& World Languages. 
2. Benekos, P., & Merlo, A. (2004). Controversies in juvenile justice and delinquency. Anderson Publishing. 
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