Discuss status offenses. Should status offenses be decriminalized? Justify your answer
What will be an ideal response?
A status offense is formally defined as "a minor's violation of the juvenile code by doing some act that would not be considered illegal if an adult did it, but that indicates that the minor is beyond parental control" (Garner 2006, 506). Although states differ in their specific legislation regarding status offenses, this category of youthful misbehavior generally includes incorrigibility (also called ungovernability), running away from home, truancy, curfew violations and underage drinking.
The upper age limit for status offenses ranges from 16 to 19, but is 17 in most states. Anyone above the legal age who engages in the same behaviors would not be committing an offense.
Disagreement exists regarding how much emphasis should be placed on the formal handling of status offenders. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974 officially decriminalized status offenses and mandated the deinstitutionalization of status offenders (DSO), requiring the removal from correctional or other detention facilities of youths being held for status offenses. One argument behind this stance was that the labeling effect on such youths, by being identified and treated as "offenders," was so stigmatizing that the result of the system's response did more harm than good to these juveniles.
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As a result, ________ states have legislation requiring different types of offenders to provide DNA samples. A) 50 B) 45 C) 30 D) 42
In general, a person cannot be guilty of a crime unless he or she commits a(n) __________ act
Fill in the blank(s) with correct word
Revocation generally is based on the ________ of the youths
A) support systems B) past history C) age D) attitude
Judicial bodies established by Congress under Article III are known as _____ courts
Fill in the blank(s) with correct word