Juvenile Reform: On the Right Track?.
Fifteen people were found dead, and over twenty-three were left wounded. Two gunmen, part of the Trenchcoat Mafia, walked into their school at 11:30 am in Littleton, Colorado and started firing. Although this is not an everyday occurrence, juvenile delinquency has been a part of our history forever. People everywhere were shocked and afraid when the news broke out about Littleton, Colorado. People were afraid to send their children to school, in fear of what the day holds. Not only did this case surprise parents, family and friends of these boys; it also put a very hard case in front of the judge in court. Cases like these appear all the time, they just are not as publicized. Just because we, the public, do not hear about these cases everyday, does not mean that we should be uninformed of how our juvenile justice system is treating these cases and the problems that are evident. Many problems arise when it comes to different factors within the juvenile justice system. The main problem appears to be the lack of available alternatives to incarceration. Other problems also include discrimination that takes place in court due to lack of research, systems being too ready to send juveniles over to the adult system and ignoring personality traits that form patterns, in order to better help the juveniles. Reformers have been making changes within the juvenile justice system in order to get the system working at its best. Despite reforms made to the juvenile justice system, changes are still needed. .
To fully understand the necessary changes needed, is it important to know the history of the juvenile justice system, along with a specific understanding of the word "juvenile". The fact that there is a mistreatment of juvenile within the juvenile justice system is not something new, nor can it be blamed on the system "slacking off". There are plenty of things that need to be taken into consideration when a youth gets into trouble and it is left up to the juvenile system to figure out the best way to punish him or her.
