3. Three Methods of Punishment
Due to the increasing rate of juvenile
crimes committed in the U.S., the
government has come up with some
unusual solutions to the said crimes.
Three examples of methods of
punishment are the following:
Teen Court
Curfew
Parental Punishment
3
5. Teen Court
The idea about the teen court is to
subject the teenage law offender to a
court where everybody is teens just
like them.
The jury are teens, the judge is a teen,
the lawyers are teens, and of course:
the defendant is a teen.
What is the reason for this?
To make all teens be aware of the
seriousness of committing crimes. 5
6. Teen Court
The main objective of this type of court
is to serve as an “eye-opener” for
juvenile offenders.
If everybody could see the harsh
consequences of their wrong actions,
they would think twice before
engaging in such activities
6
8. Teen Court
Case in point:
A 16-year-old defendant shoplifted a
tube of lipstick, now she’s subjected to
the trial of her guilt.
If she would plead guilty, her
punishment would be lighter.
If she denied the charges against her,
but would found guilty later on: the
punishment would be harsher.
8
9. Teen Court
In teen courts, bad attitude is a
serious offense:
sleeping during the session
“dissing” (disrespecting) the court is
punishable
Teen courts are not “Mickey
Mouse”courts – everything is serious
There are more than 50 teen courts
existing around the U.S.
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10. Teen Court
POSSIBLE PUNISHMENTS:
For shoplifting a lipstick
Perform 48 hours of community
service
attend an anti-theft class
write a 1,000- word essay
serve on a teen court jury
10
11. Teen Court
CONTROVERSY:
Teen courts are not a guarantee to
change the behaviors of teens
Legal experts criticize whether teen
courts are really fair to defendants
because sometimes the punishments
are too harsh
11
12. Curfew
New Orleans, Louisiana
14-year-old boys spray gunfire in to the
night
Teenage girls vomit in the street after a
night of heavy drinking
The police arrested two 17-year-olds
and a 16-year-old in a motel room full
of stolen goods
12
13. Curfew
What is a curfew?
Curfew is the directive of the
government ordering teenagers to get
off the street and must be indoors by 8
P.M. on school nights and by 11 P.M.
on Friday and Saturdays
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15. Curfew
The police say the curfew has produced
dramatic results
Rounded up teenagers: 3,900
Decrease in rate:
15
Criminal activities Percentage
Juvenile murders
Rape
Armed robbery
Car theft
33 %
67 %
33 %
42 %
16. Curfew
59 out of 77 largest cities in the U.S.
are implementing curfew
Offenders are either taken in to
detention, handed a citation (like a
parking ticket) and escorted home
Law enforcement groups say that
curfew is successful in curbing the
rate of crimes
16
18. Curfew
CONTROVERSY:
criticism from teens, parents, and civil
liberties advocates
parents and their kids complain that
curfews get in the way of after-school
jobs, social activities, and athletics
civil liberties groups say that curfew
violate the right to peaceful assembly
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21. Parental Punishment
Anita Beck went to court for Jeremiah’s
mistake because of failing to
supervise her son.
In Silverton, Oregon, they passed a law
where parents will be the ones
responsible for their kids’
wrongdoings.
POSSIBLE SENTENCE:
Fine of $1,000 and attendance to
“parent effectiveness” classes for 21
23. Parental Punishment
The law was recently adopted
statewide for being effective
Juvenile crime in Silverton has
dropped 55%
Parents are now making sure that
their children are well-controlled by
them
Getting the parents to be actively
involved in the consequences of their
kids’ actions is deemed effective 23
24. Parental Punishment
CONTROVERSY:
Many parents claim it’s
unconstitutional to charge one person
for someone else’s crimes
These parents say that it’s too much
government intrusion into families’
lives.
A guilty parent would soon appeal to a
higher court where this law would be
judged as unconstitutional. 24
25. Parental Punishment
17- year-old Scott, who was found guilty
of drinking beer and his mother is
stuck in court says:
25
The government’s trying to
be my dad, and it’s not right!