Education in San Antonio

In an Introduction to Criminal Justice course, students will be learning how the criminal justice system works. They will learn about the process of arresting criminals, trying them in a court of law, and following up once the courts release criminals from prison. Learn more on criminal justice colleges to get started on your career.

One career students taking an Introduction to Criminal Justice may consider is working with juveniles who commit crimes. Before the 1970′s, courts placed special consideration upon juveniles that committed crimes, depending upon certain factors.

The juvenile court system called this the child-saving movement. They made the decision to be lenient on neglected, abused, or disadvantaged children. They did this in an effort to save the juvenile from becoming a criminal in their adult life. They instead focused on getting the child the help they needed to get their life back on track. Take advantage of college scholarship to acquire marketable skills.

Part of the child-saving movement involved the courts not placing juveniles in jail, but instead in a group home or in halfway houses. When the juvenile becomes an adult, the court releases them. Then in the mid 1960′s, the courts moved away from saving the child to holding the juvenile accountable. They used two elements in determining the punishment for juvenile crime, both based on competency levels.

The first level was the age of the juvenile and deciding whether they had the ability at their age to claim responsibility for their actions in the commission of that crime. The law states children younger than seven cannot comprehend the seriousness of a crime. The law also states that children older than seven but younger than fourteen will be considered minors. Courts hold children over fourteen accountable as an adult in a court of law.

The second competency test of a juvenile is focuses on two conditions, the psychological, and the legal competency of the juvenile. Psychologists believe that some juveniles at age fourteen do not have a psychological level of competency, as they believe an adult does, to understand right or wrong. Child psychologists also say that a child of that age is impulsive and will react to peer pressure, which can easily lead to a juvenile committing a crime.

The legal competence of juveniles is the other factor courts must consider. Although people differ in their opinions on the legal competence when a juvenile commits a violent crime, law states fourteen year olds are legally responsible for their own actions. Others say courts violate juveniles’ rights when tried as adults, because they think it is cruel and unusual punishment. Courts, therefore, leave it up to the states when determining the punishment based on the age of a juvenile that commits an adult crime.

The knowledge obtained from an Introduction to Criminal Justice course benefits students wishing to work in the criminal justice system, and in the juvenile court process. Work in the juvenile court system to help reform juveniles and prevent further crime. Enroll in a free college course and understand the basics of a given field. Check out Test Drive College Online to sample a course before committing.