The development of the concept of juvenile justice ...

The development of the concept of juvenile justice in the United States of America has been, in my opinion, one of the most important eras of reform in the history of our criminal justice system. This past century has seen many transformations in the field of juvenile justice, due primarily to the combined research of several disciplines, over several years, which in turn has influenced society’s attitude towards and perceptions of young people and young offenders.
In this paper, I will discuss social and historical factors that have played a major role in the development of juvenile justice, the way we see juvenile justice today, and what lies in store for the juvenile offenders of tomorrow.
A Historical Overview of Adolescence
I believe that key developments and theories in psychology regarding the concept of adolescence warrant brief discussion when looking at the history of juvenile justice.
The Children’s Rights Movement
Throughout history, the role of children in society, as well as society’s perception of children, has undergone several changes, due to varying economic conditions and technological advances. According to Gullotta, Gerald, and Markstrom (1999), “one way we can observe this changing view of childhood is through art”. They note that it was not until the 17th century that children were depicted as children, rather than miniature adults, and that is when children became the focal point of family portraits. Before then, children were seen as property, and as soon as they were able to care for themselves, they were considered adults. Many children were forced to work, in poor conditions for long hours, so their family could survive. There were no laws against what we would now consider “beating” your child and some parents even sold their children or sent them to live as servants in another home, where they could learn a trade, or they sent them to live at the monastery or convent.
The Industrial Revolution in America transformed the way we view children. As the number of orphans increased, the new factory owners took advantage of this source of cheap labor, and as a result, many children were injured or died. Growing awareness of these issues led to the implementation of child labor laws, which are still in place today. They specify the ages at which children can perform hazardous and non hazardous jobs, the maximum amount of hours they can work, as well as wage specifications. At this time, children still did not have the full protection of the Constitution, and if a juvenile committed a serious or violent crime as young as age seven, they could be imprisoned with adult offenders and they were subject to the same treatment as the adult offenders, including whipping and even death (Siegel and Welsh, 2008). Again, it was not until society became cognizant of these issues that any reforms were initiated.
Parens Patriae and the Development of Juvenile ...