Contemporary trends in juvenile justice

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Master's Thesis from the year 2004 in the subject Law - Criminal process, Criminology, Law Enforcement, grade: A, Kyushu Daigaku (Kyushu University, School of Law), course: LL.M. International Economic and Business Law, 20 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Reforms in various juvenile justice systems have traditionally been identified as shifts towards either the welfare/individual treatment model ("Welfare Model") or retributive justice model ("Retributive Model"). In Welfare Model systems, criticisms that the juvenile offender was treated with too much leniency and was not made accountable for his actions resulted into reforms which focused on retribution and greater punishment. In Retributive Model systems, criticisms that retribution and punishment did not actually reduce recidivism of offenders resulted into reforms which focused on their rehabilitation and treatment. The tension between these two models arise in the different treatment accorded the primary actor in this system, the juvenile offender. In the Welfare Model, the juvenile offender is considered victim of his circumstances and is given individualized treatment in accordance with his needs. On the other hand, the Retributive Model treats the offender as a menace to society and punishes and incarcerates him. Both models, however, fail to take into account two other important figures in the system - the victim whom the offender has wronged and the community which is indirectly harmed by the wrongful acts of the offender. The failure of existing models in addressing the needs of the victim and society led to reforms in their key components. A notable reform in the Retributive Model reflects the growing concern for the victim and the efforts made to enhance victim participation in the system. Rather than simply focusing on punishment of the offender through state processes, the victim is given greater participation and role in the sanctioning process. This can be seen in the reforms made in Japan's juvenile justice system. Another important reform in the Retributive Model is the building of positive community support and pressure such as the parent responsibility ordinances and juvenile curfew statutes in the United States.