History of the Juvenile Justice System

1860

1899

1996

2015

History of the Juvenile Justice System

Today

The Rise of the Super-Predator

Expansion of the House of Refuge

New York House of Refuge

• The existing juvenile justice system has resulted from the original Houses of Refuge, the juvenile court system, and most recently the super-predator scare.

• The term “super-predator” was introduced to the national lexicon. Super-predators were brought into the national conscience in October 1996 in a book called “Body Count” written by William J. Bennett.
• The nationwide belief in the super-predator was the cause of mass hysteria that lead to the rise of harsher punishments and stricter laws for juvenile offenders.
• Quickly after the scare of the super-predator created harsher laws for juveniles the prediction was labeled a myth and was thoroughly debunked.

• The first juvenile prison was opened in January of 1825 in New York City.
• It was initially formed by a group called the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism
• Within two months, the House of Refuge began to receive 2,000 dollars a year in state funding.

• By 1860, the New York House of Refuge had gone from 9 to 560 residents.
• By putting children to work, they were able to raise funds to build a new building big enough to hold 1200 residents.
• As the amount of immigrants entering the U.S. grew, so did the amount of juveniles entering the House of Refuge.
• The House of Refuge was replicated all over the nation and by the end of the 1800's every state had a juvenile reformatory in operation.

1900

2000

1825

1840

1820

The Beginning of Juvenile Courts

• In 1899, the Illinois legislature was the first to formalize the means by which children might be remanded to these reformatories, by passing the Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1899.
• The idea of a juvenile court was instantly replicated throughout the nation just as quickly as the juvenile prisons that preceded it.