Essay on How Youth Deal With the Criminal Justice System With Integrity

In many instances the criminal justice system is always faced with a problem when it comes to an issue to do with the youths integrity. Many countries have had to deal with this issue in a manner that is more precise so that the youths do not feel like their rights are being violated. Identification of the youth as the most vulnerable people when it comes to matters to do with criminal justice system in the sense that they are the culprits most of the times is a recent observation noted in many countries. Diverse ways in which the criminal justice system can be well-stipulated to meet the conditions required by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). The UNCHR organization has set some standards which make it hard for the criminal justice systems to impose arrests and sentences on the youth. The youths take advantage of the fact that most of them are protected by the law and certain acts which give them an oversight advantage from the defense enforcers. The advancement in technologies leading to high rates of cyber crimes conducted by people with brilliant minds who in most cases are the youth; the cyber crimes are now a matter of international concern as they pose threat to the dynamism of the globe. The aim of this paper is analyzing how the youth deal with the criminal justice system with integrity.

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According to Goldson & Muncie (2006), there are several acts enlisted for protection of the young people in the society with regards to the judicial system by various societies and organizations. Among these acts are the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999; the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003; the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005; the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and the Police Reform Act 2002. In learning institutions, teachers and other academic staff members are having a hard time to deal with the young people due to claims of fearing prosecution after punishing the students. Due to this, the discipline levels at learning institutions are depleting which has in turn negatively impacted the performance of students and the schools as a whole. Abolishment of corporal punishment is encouraging many students in doing awful actions at school; taking advantage of the unopposed criminal justice system. Consequently, the youth also need to understand that the laws of a country will always hold for as long as one is an existing citizen of that country. Thus, there are a lot of politics about how the youth are to be efficiently scrutinized with regards to their behavior at the expense of the criminal justice system.

Despite the youth being vehement about their rights, cases of oppression are also reported from various criminal justice departments on the young people. This being the case, the UNHCR has decided to have a direct involvement with the issues appertaining to this group of people as well as marginalized groups. Publishers have gained interest in learning more about how the youth deal with the criminal justice system with integrity. Transient male youth are oppressed with the criminal justice system despite the fact that their rights are advocated for in numerous legislations. There is need for gender equity in administration of laws, so that not one side is oppressed at the expense of the other group. Leniency on the transient female youth when it comes to matters appertaining rules governing a country is a lead cause to the social indifferences between them and the males. The rights of the youth have to be protected equally, regardless of the race, sex, religion, language, or whatever distinction that exists on equity balance. This is a matter of concern in Canada, where the Youth Criminal Justice Act is used with the aim of curbing cases of youth custody and usage of court (Mann 69,415; Bala et al. 139).

One of the main reasons why the youth justice systems have to be rethought is because the specified rights set within these systems in respect to the young people including children are provoked by various treaties, international conventions, rules, and standards. According to the Beijing Rules, the age of criminal minority should not be fixed at too low an age level, bearing in mind the facts of emotional, mental, and intellectual maturity. The government has an influential role to play in ensuring that there is restriction to the extent to which it ratifies the Convention mainly by entering specific reservations. Before prosecuting a child or a youth, one needs to take into consideration the fact that any reaction to the victim being prosecuted should always be in accordance with the circumstances of both the offence and the offenders. Law keepers are also required to reduce cases of wrong prosecutions of the youth based on non-evidence theories. For instance, youths who have dreadlocks are always presumed as thugs and whenever they are found in some cases they are always judged without evidence.

Six core principles are used in defining a youth justice and integrity system through the rethinking project. The first principle stipulates that the policy should address the social and economic conditions comprehensively; these conditions are known to bring about conflicts, social distress, criminalization, harm, and crimes. Poverty and inequality are the main issues that need to be addressed with regards to the first principle. It is speculated that the youth justice system is bent on taking advantage of disadvantaged families, the poor in the society; this should not be the case as it exemplifies discrimination. Secondly, principles of universality, comprehensiveness, and re-engaging the social, advocate for decriminalizing and normalizing approaches. Thirdly, principle of diversion is identified as a strategy that is very effective in prevention of youth crime (Bell et al., 102; Goldson, 2000b; Kemp et al., 2002; Pragnell, 2005). Additionally, the principle of child-appropriate justice is another important aspect of the rethinking project; it is based on connecting the severity of an offence to the duration which the victims are held in custody. Fifth, is the principle of abolitionism; this argues out that children are not supposed to be left alone, to fend for themselves and support themselves. The young people in the society lose a sense of direction when there is no one to guide them, as such, it is important to make sure that they receive the necessary requirements for life sustenance. Lastly, the related principles of depoliticization and tolerance aim at making the young people to at least have a voice before political platforms and political leaders.

Conclusion

The youth are an important group of people in the society and when their lives are threatened, then, the entire world will turn into shreds; this is because young people are vibrant in this dynamically changing world. The youth criminal justice systems and integrity have to device ways through which young peoples rights are advocated for and taken into consideration before prosecuting them for any offence. Ultimately, cases of discrimination in the youth judicial system should be done away with across all levels of social and economic statuses.

Works Cited

Bala, N., Carrington, P. J., & Roberts, J. V. (2009). Evaluating the Youth Criminal Justice Act after Five Years: A Qualified Success. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 51(2), 131-167.

Bell, A., Hodgson, M. and Pragnell, S. (1999) Diverting Children and Young People from

Crime and the Criminal Justice System, in B. Goldson (ed.) Youth Justice:

Contemporary Policy and Practice. Aldershot: Ashgate. 102 Youth Justice 6(2)

Goldson, B. (ed.) (2000b) The New Youth Justice. Dorset: Russell House Publishing.

Goldson, B., & Muncie, J. (2006). Rethinking Youth Justice: Comparative Analysis, International Human Rights and Research Evidence. Youth Justice, 6(2), 91-106

Kemp, V., Sorsby, A., Liddle, M. and Merrington, S. (2002) Assessing Responses to Youth Offending in Northamptonshire. Research Briefing 2. London: Nacro.

Mann, R. M. (2014a). Amending the Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2007-2012: Dynamics and contingencies of a 'transforming Canada' agenda. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 52 (3), 402-422.

Mann, R. M. (2014b). Canada's Amended Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Problem of Serious Persistent Youth Offenders: Deterrence and the Globalization of Juvenile Justice. Journal of the Institute of Justice and International Studies, 14, 59-72

Pragnell, S. (2005) Reprimands and Final Warnings, in T. Bateman and J. Pitts (eds) The RHP

Companion to Youth Justice. Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing