Juvenile justice

Juvenile justice is the system of laws, courts, and services governing children accused of or found responsible for criminal offences. It differs from adult criminal justice through age-specific procedures and an emphasis on rehabilitation.

Age of criminal responsibility: The minimum age at which a person can be held criminally responsible under a jurisdiction’s law. It determines which children can enter the juvenile justice system at all.
Child: A human being who has not reached the age of legal adulthood. Juvenile justice depends on legal definitions of childhood, which vary by jurisdiction.
Adult criminal justice: The laws and institutions that investigate, prosecute, and punish adults accused of crimes. Its procedures and sentencing framework provide the main comparison for juvenile justice.
Recidivism: Repeated involvement in criminal or delinquent behavior after a prior intervention or sanction. It is commonly used to assess whether juvenile interventions reduce later offending.
Juvenile court: A court that handles cases involving children accused of offences, commonly under procedures distinct from adult courts. It is the specialized forum where many juvenile cases are decided.
Delinquency: Conduct by a minor that would constitute a crime if committed by an adult. It is a central legal category for offences handled in juvenile court.
Transfer to adult court: A legal process that moves a juvenile case into the adult criminal court system. It marks a major exception to age-specific processing.
Juvenile detention center: A secure facility that confines young people under juvenile justice authority. Conditions and duration of confinement shape the system’s effects on children.
Juvenile adjudication: A juvenile court proceeding that determines whether a child committed an alleged offence. It replaces the adult criminal trial in jurisdictions using juvenile proceedings.
Status offense: An act prohibited because of a person’s age, such as truancy or running away. These cases concern conduct that would not be criminal for an adult.

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