Are juvenile transfer laws effective and does it deter recidivism Research Paper

Are juvenile transfer laws effective and does it deter recidivism - Research Paper Example Recently many of the states have established many laws to that expands the scope and purview of the transfer laws under which the juvenile offenders may be directly prosecuted within the realms of an adult court. It was during the 1980s that many legal reforms were framed to bring in stringent measures as regards juvenile crime. One such reform of great significance was the amendment of transfer laws that led to an increase in their jurisdiction (Griffin, 2003). These changes allowed the inclusion of more offense types, and resulted in an increase in the number of young offenders becoming eligible for transfer from juvenile courts to the adult courts. These amendments elevated the total number of offenses that were regarded as being transfer-eligible offenses, lowered the necessary minimum age limit for allowing transfer eligibility, broadened discretionary powers of the prosecution, while decreasing the discretionary powers of the judiciary in taking decision related to transfer cas es (Fagan and Zimring, 2000). A look at the amendments made in the state transfer laws show us that, in 1979 14 US States had transfer laws that allowed certain juvenile criminals to be prosecuted like adult criminals. However by 1995, we find there were 21 States with transfer laws in place, and in 2003, the number rose even further, where 31 States had transfer laws (Steiner and Hemmens, 2003). Furthermore the minimum age for end of juvenile court jurisdiction in 13 states were decreased to 15-16 years (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006, 64-70). In the face of these amendments, the number of juvenile offenders tried in adult criminal courts and later imprisoned in adult prison... The paper tells that evidences from the study of the general deterrent effects of juvenile transfer laws are rather inconclusive and one cannot arrive to any derivations from these studies. The majority of the studies however tend to show that there is very little, or almost zero general deterrent effect, as regards deterring recidivism in the context of juvenile crimes, which are serious in nature. More research work is necessary for exploring the actual deterrent effects of transfer laws, under the appropriate conditions, on the juvenile offenders. On examining the issue of specific deterrence effects of transfers laws, it was found that were primarily six major published studies. These six studies suggested that juvenile offenders tried under adult criminal court laws tend to exhibit increased rates of recidivism after completing their prison term, than the young offenders tried under the juvenile laws. The scholars however do not clarify whether the transfer laws influence recidi vism for property related crimes (non-violent types) and drug offenses. The six large-scale studies conducted on particular deterrent effects used large size of sample population (ranging from 494 to 5,476), varying research methodologies, examined various recidivism measures, and covered five States (Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Florida) each exhibiting varying sets of transfer laws (prosecutorial, automatic, or judicial types).

Indicators of health paper Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Indicators of health paper - Coursework Example An analysis of certain indicators of health and evaluation of the determinants of health is done in this essay to ascertain the cause of poor health in the country. Indicators of health The indicators of health which can be compared and evaluated are death rate, infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate. According to statistics of Haiti, in the year 2009, the death rate is 8.65 per 1000, infant mortality rate is 59.69 per 1000 live births and maternal mortality ratio, as determined in the year 2005 is 670 per 100,000 deliveries (Global Health Facts, 2010). In the United States, according to the 2009 statistics, the death rate is 8.38, the infant mortality rate is 6.25 per 1000 live births and the maternal mortality rate according to 2005 statistics was 11, per 100,000 deliveries (Global Health Facts, 2010). On comparing all the 3 indicators, it is evident that despite similar death rates in both the countries, the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate are very hig h in Haiti when compared to the US. Determinants of health Key determinants of health in Haiti are poverty, illiteracy, environmental factors like calamities and political factors like violence. During its creation, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Critics argued the completeness of this definition and in 1986, in the Ottawa Charter for health Promotion, the WHO modified the definition of health and defined it as "a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities." Even this definition has not been accepted completely and thus several models of health have come up in an aim to provide complete definition of health. Health is determined by an interplay of several factors which are known as health determinants. The main determinants o f health are social factors, environmental factors, physical environment and; various behaviors and characteristics of the individual. While some of these determinants are in the control of the individual, many factors are beyond the scope of direct control of the individual. These factors contribute to health inequalities in a society. Some such factors include social status and income, education status, physical environment of the individual at home and work place, "social support networks", individual genetics, accessibility to various health services and gender (WHO, 2010). Higher the income, higher is the health status of an individual. Thus, poverty is a major contributor for health inequality. Individuals with lower education levels have poorer health status, lower levels of self esteem and decreased self confidence when compared to those with higher education status. Physical environment constitutes of clean and safe air, water, environment and food at home and workplace. Th ose who have better support form friends, family member and various community groups enjoy better health than those who do not have established social networks. Genetics often influences health -related behaviours like smoking, alcohol, coping skills and balanced intake of food and thus indirectly influences health of an individual (WHO, 2010). Public health researchers have identified social determinants as the main cause for health inequa