JUVENILE SEX OFFENDING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE

Introduction

This briefing paper will focus on the proposal that sex offending juveniles who are tried and sentenced by the courts are more likely to have sexual offending recidivism compared to the sexual offending juvenile who have been referred to youth justice conferences. Section 33 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act of 1987 allows the courts to issue any of the following order to the juvenile accused of criminal activity: a good behavior bond that can be with or without supervision, a caution and or dismissal, a fine, conditional or unconditional probation, referral to the youth justice conference, an order that will confine them to a detention period, or an order to carry out certain community service (Becker and Hicks, 2003). Given the psychological and personality reform period given by the youth justice conference and the time they are given to reflect on their role in the community, the sexual offending juveniles referred to youth justice conferences are less likely to have sexual; offences recidivism compared to those sentenced to serve a detention period.

However, there is a school of thoughts that argue that argue that sexual offending juveniles sentenced to serve a detention period have a better time to reflect, reform and seek for better ways to be re-integrated back into the society, which lowers their likelihood to have the offences recidivism compared to the juveniles referred to the youth conferences justice who are handled in a more ‘tender’ way which can encourage them to commit the same offence again (Barbaree and Marshall, 2008). This briefing supports the proposal that court sexual; offenders’ juveniles are more likely to re-commit the crime again compared to the conference ones. The paper recommends that sexual offending juveniles’ should be referred to the a Juvenile Justice Centre (and other rehabilitative centers that offer behavioral training, moral reasoning trainings and vocationally oriented psychotherapy) which plays critical role in preventing sexual offences recidivism, promoting reform, and p…………….