Youth Justice System in England and Wales in Comparison with another Essay

Youth Justice System in England and Wales in Comparison with another Country - Essay Example The three stages of juvenile justice system include pre-trial, trial, and post-trial. The pre-trial stage includes those activities that occur in between the time when a crime gets reported and the young criminal is taken for trial in the court. The trial is the stage when the proceedings occur within a court in order to judge the treatments for the young offender depending on his crime. Once the treatment/judgment against him/her is declared the treatment of the offender is represented by the post-trial stage. In the whole process, professionals including police, prosecutor, as well as judges have a significant role to play since it is their powers that together decide and implement the treatment of the young offender (Swain, 2009, p.230). Earlier it was thought that justice systems do not have much impact on the behavior of the offenders and that such individuals cannot be corrected. However, in England and Wales, the youth justice system was more strictly taken concern of after th e incident of a murder of a young child by another two 10 years’ old boys. This incident had shaken the world and since then the justice systems in these countries had become more strict and severe to take measures against youth crimes. Establishment of Youth Justice Board was considered intending to set up proper leaders and teams as well as standards to focus on the youth crimes occurring in these countries and thereby implementing measures to treat such offenders correcting them and bringing them back into the society (Graham & Moore, 2006, pp.65-66). The present study focuses on the youth justice system prevailing in England and Wales and comparing the system with that of another country that has been considered to be Netherlands for the particular study and discussing the extent to which each of these countries takes into account the welfare and rights of the child. The Youth Justice Board: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) in England and Wales represents a public body that is in charge of the justice system in England and Wales. The Secretary of State for Justice appoints the members of the body. The purpose of this board is to prevent criminal activities by young individuals thus making sure that the offenders are safely and securely taken care of while their trials proceed. The reasons for the youth being involved in crimes are tried to be analyzed by this board such that they can be prevented from repeating the activities in the future (About the Youth Justice Board, 2012). A survey conducted by the British Crime Survey (BCS) reveals that according to the perceptions of the society or the community, young offenders need to be rehabilitated in order to correct them of their crimes that they have committed. Around 45 percent of the respondents of the study by BCS had supported the rehabilitation program and believed that the Youth Justice System should have their focus on such programs. However other respondents had their belief that the young delinq uents were treated very leniently by the justice system (Youth Justice Statistics 2010/11, 2012). To understand these issues, the justice system, the records of criminal activities, and the respective treatments in England and Wales would be relevant for understanding through a detailed study that follows in the further sections of the report. Youth Justice System in England and Wales: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is in charge of the youth justice system in England and Wales. The board has the responsibility of managing the young offenders as well as determining ways through which such offenders may be prevented from performing crimes in future. Of a total ?800 million that is considered as the cost of