Violent Youth Offenders in Virginia

The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, in Virginia, has limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. The court has the responsibility to protecting the community of juvenile offenders but, they must also provide protection of privacy to the juveniles. All cases that are heard in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court presided over by a judge. They do not conduct jury trials (Virginia, n.d.).

Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court presides over cases involving delinquents. They can preside over cases involving traffic violations, hearing cases involving children who have been abused and neglected , are in need of supervision or services, abandonment of children, foster care and entrustment agreements, court ordered rehabilitation, and consent for medical treatment (Virginia, n.d.) Unless being charged as an adult, all cases involving minors are heard in Juvenile court with the Commonwealth's Attorney, lawyers, and judges who are specifically trained for the sensitive handling of juveniles.

"In Virginia, there is a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in each city and county that hears all matters involving juveniles. The court system is composed of 31 judicial circuits with 122 circuit courts-there is a circuit court in each city and county in Virginia".(State, n.d.).

Virginia courts have adopted the "once an adult, always and adult" policy, which means that once a juvenile is classified as an adult for trial and sentencing for
one crime, they can never again be classified as a juvenile.

In addition to this, Virginia also has concurrent jurisdiction and blending sentencing. "Virginia's blending sentencing allows the criminal court to impose both a juvenile and adult sentence, with the adult sentence conditionally suspended unless the juvenile violates the terms of the juvenile sentence or commits a new offense" (Ikenaga, 2005, p.8, ¶2). These are usually offered to status offenders or first time offenders. However, concurrent jurisdiction in Virginia means that if a juvenile is charged with a more serious offense, such as rape and murder, then they are automatically charged as an adult (Hess & Drowns, 2004).

Detention and Corrections

There are three purposes that justify putting juveniles into locked facilities. One is to secure the juvenile in efforts of making sure that they appear for their court dates, the second is to hold juveniles who cannot be sent home, and the third is to prevent them for harming themselves or another person (Hess & Drowns, 2004).

In Norfolk, Virginia when juveniles are ordered by the court to be detained they are sent to the Norfolk Juvenile Detention Center, where they are offered different programs to meet the needs of each individual who is being held. The programs help to prepare youth for re-entry into the community. The juveniles are also offered educational programs such as General Education Diploma attainment, and can acquire academic credits (City, n.d.). They provide basic necessities such as "shelter, food, clothing, personal hygiene, and medical care and also provide physical, emotional, religious, and social needs (City, n.d.).

In Virginia, juveniles who are age 14 and older who commit violent crimes against others can be tried as adults. Diane Fener, a lawyer who represents juveniles in Virginia stated, "In severe cases, a youth should be committed to state custody, rather than be treated within the community" (Fener,n.d.). When a juvenile is tried and convicted as an adult they can no longer be considered a juvenile and will be sentences as an adult, and sent to an adult facility for incarceration.

In Norfolk, Virginia, violent juvenile offenders that are charged as adults will be sent to Norfolk Correctional Facility (N.C.F.). They house youth that have been convicted as an adult and anyone ages 18 and over who have committed similar or worse crimes. The goal of N.C.F., is to keep the prisoners in a safe environment and rehabilitating the offenders if they are eligible to be released back into the community.

N.C.F. is required to provide medical and dental screening and services, mail and visitation. They are required by the state to perform assessments and evaluations in order to see if the youth will be eligible for any educational programs. In which case, they are required to provide the educational needs for the youth (U.S. Dept, n.d.).

Visitation is on chosen days by the last name of offender. It is important for juveniles to interact with people. Because incarceration is so traumatic, they need emotional support (U. S. Dept, n.d.). Mail is classified as either privileged (legal issues and entities) or non-privileged (family and friends). All institutions in Virginia agree that interaction with others is important for a juvenile that is being housed in prison settings.

Even though youth can be sentenced to adult facilities on adult charges, they have some disadvantages and some advantages. For example, in the Norfolk Juvenile Detention Center, they use handcuffs or ties to restrain unruly prisoners. In N.C.F. they could be restrained by handcuffs, straight jackets or four part restraints (U.S. Dept, n.d.) They can also be put into isolation, which in the juvenile facilities are mainly for the mentally disturbed patients. But, when a youth is in isolation they are still to be given necessities and are allowed to have books and writing materials (U.S. Dept, n.d). They are also entitled to special educational programs in efforts to rehabilitate the offender.