A Flow Chart of the Juvenile Justice Process in the State of Washington (Clallam County)

A Flow Chart of the Juvenile Justice Process in the State of Washington (Clallam County)

(Clallam County, Washington, 2013)

The primary objective of the Juvenile Justice System is to ensure that the juvenile is rehabilitated. The chart shows the process that has to be followed in order to ensure that a juvenile suspected of committing a crime is prosecuted. In case the juvenile will be tried as an adult, they will be transferred to an adult court. This means that the case will go on differently as opposed to the one that would have taken place in an adult criminal process. The first part of the process is the committing of the offense. A person who has witnessed a crime should report to a law enforcement agency or the concerned party in the crime area. Secondly, an initial investigation of the crime will be carried out by an officer once the crime has been reported. The witnesses and the victims will be interviewed and an initial report will be prepared. The initial report will be given to detectives once it has been prepared

A follow-up investigation is conducted by an investigator and they contact witnesses to obtain formal statements. For example, if it is robbery, a description of the stolen items should be provided by the victims or witnesses. A photographic line up takes place and the suspected juvenile offender can at times be in the line-up. In case the youth has been identified and evidence exists, a Juvenile prosecutor has to be provided with a Delinquency Referral/Complaint. Depending on whether the juvenile has ever committed a crime, the case is diverted. If there is evidence to prove that the juvenile committed an offense, a Criminal Information is filed.

The juvenile is arrested then proceeds to custody and is put in detention at the Juvenile & Family Services complex. A court then makes a decision as to whether the juvenile shoul.............