Benefits Of Juvenile Detention Centers

In America, there is a lot of problems with the juvenile system. The juvenile system was put in place to make sure that the kids who committed crimes were tried differently than adults. If you ask the question “Should a sixteen year old be tried as an adult?” what would you say? Most of the public would say that it depends on the crime he or she is alleged to have committed, and what caused them to commit the crime. While some studies show that the brain continues to develop until around the age of twenty-five this is no excuse to coddle minors in their late teens who commit serious crimes, know the law, and are aware of the societal norms. Yes, they committed a capital crime, but it does not mean that they should just get thrown in adult prison,

they still are pre-teens and should have some protection from the rapists, murderers, and drug dealers.
The juvenile system is a relatively new justice system in the United States. The first court was established in 1899 in Illinois. This was a landmark in the criminal system because previously juveniles were tried as though they were adults and treated as such. The only range was considered in the terms of appropriate punishment, so juveniles were eligible for the same punishment as adults, including the death penalty. They were also housed in the same facilities with the adults, which the Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility writes were “established as "penitentiaries" to denote their prisoners as religious "penitents," serving time for their sins. Early penitentiaries gained national and international attention for their high goals of perfecting society through incarceration, but despite their high moral aims, they soon became as overcrowded, dirty, and dangerous [...]” (Prison History)
The source of this movement for managing the criminal system better corresponded to the Progressive movement, which spanned from roughly 1880 to 1920 as a response to the Industrial Revolution. Some of the areas this movement was focused on being social, economic, and political reform. Activists began to campaign against the harsh living conditions in prisons, and especially the treatment of juveniles. It is for these reasons, amongst others, that the juvenile system began to grow. However, even the new juvenile system had its faults. Architect/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility states that, “Juveniles were separated from adult prisoners for the first time, although so little accountability was built into early juvenile-justice systems that conditions rapidly became far worse than those for adults.” It took the system a while to realize that having juveniles and adult prisoners under the same roof was not a very good idea. Even teenagers who commit serious crimes should not be housed with adults, because it has been done before and was not conducive to their safety or wellbeing. Putting juveniles in adult prison will not prevent anything, if anything it will make the juveniles more susceptible to more violence and anger. (Prison History).
When juveniles are housed with adults, it makes them more susceptible to the physical and mental abuse that adults face in prison. For example, if a sixteen year old boy murders somebody, gets tried as an adult, and is proven guilty, then he has to go to adult prison that could be detrimental to his physical and mental state. Even if the juvenile is old enough to kill someone, they are not ready for adult prison because that will just influence them more and then if they get out they will possibly do more damage to the community. If a juvenile is put in adult prison, then it is more likely that he will be physically and mentally abused while he is in there.
“The Huffington Post reports that, The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission Report stated that “more than any other group of incarcerated persons, juveniles incarcerated with adults are probably at the highest risk for sexual abuse.” The same report stated that eighty percent of 420 boys sentenced to life without parole in Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri reported that they had been raped within their first year in jail. Juveniles in jail are also are 36 times more likely to commit suicide. They frequently do not have access to rehabilitative services. We cannot keep juveniles safe in adult prisons (NPREC).”
The prison system does not tend to be supportive of rape victims, allowing the inmates to typically settle it amongst themselves. However, this hands-off approach does nothing to help young inmates that are being physically abused, and are powerless to help themselves. There is also the negative mental effects of rape, and the psychological scarring it can cause.
Presently, states have different conditions surrounding what constitutes a juvenile. Typically the standard juvenile age ranges from ten to eighteen, but some states have set the upper limits of juvenile age at sixteen. The court system has also adapted to deal with these juveniles. For instance, instead of going through “trials,” juveniles are dealt with in “adjudication hearings.” Also, whatever laws they allegedly break are defined as “delinquent acts” instead of “crimes.” Juveniles do not settle their disputes as they once did, they now use knives, guns, and fighting to settle things.
According to the Justice Policy Institute, “the cost of putting a child through a juvenile detention center is actually very expensive, the average cost per day is $240.99.

Overall, states spend about $5.7 billion each year imprisoning youth.” Detention centers do not have the best of living conditions and, being in the detention centers also has a significant impact on the juvenile's mental health. Being in a detention center really makes an impact on the way these juveniles live and act through the rest of their lives. Looking at the demographics it actually costs tax payers, the state, and the families of the juveniles more money to put the juveniles in detention centers. When they put the juvenile’s in the center they are not guaranteed the best of living conditions in the

centers.
For this costly amount that the parent has to pay, living conditions in detention centers still differ from place to place. The most common thing is that they all give the detainees one white room that may or may not have a bathroom in it. When they enter the center they can only bring a few things and those things must be a specific length and height. Different types of places allow different things and that goes for a very good reason, you cannot have a sharp object or an object that could be sharpened because one of the delinquents could harm other kids that force their hands. So that’s a reason that juvenile should not be places into detentions centers.
Another factor that is important to consider is the matter of who is paying for the resources being used by the inmates. Take California, for example 57 out of 58 counties charge parents daily when their child is put in a juvenile detention center. In some cases, if the juveniles die when they get out of the detention center, their parents still have to pay the fees that accumulated when they were in the center. According to Myles Bess, “In California the parents are able to negotiate fees, but it is not always that easy. If the parents don’t pay, officials can garnish parents’ wages or take their tax refunds.” Zoe Matthews, “in 2010, her son DeShawn Morris was incarcerated for the better part of a year. Months after being released from jail, he was shot and killed. Her son was dead, but the debt lived on, including ongoing calls from county collections, her son was locked up for 208 days at a cost of $30 per day.” (Bess)
As these juveniles are younger they still can be influenced. That is why these centers have different classes and programs for the kids to go through, so they can get better, so when they are let out they can go back to a better life and not resort to violence or drugs. There are some detention centers that have their own programs like anger management, a drug rehabilitation class, or an AA class. Since the centers may have juniors and seniors attending, they may also offer different GED or adult education programs so they can finish high school.
On the other side of this, in the adult prisons they might not offer any extra-curricular activities or any helpful programs. “It is hoped that during the inmates stay in prison that they get rehabilitated or that the programs offered will leave a lasting impression. Unfortunately, research has consistently shown that time spent in prison does not successfully rehabilitate most inmates, and the majority of criminals returns to a life of crime almost immediately. Many argue that most prisoners will actually learn new and better ways to commit crimes while they are locked up with their fellow convicts. They can also make connections and become more deeply involved in the criminal world.”(Crime Library)
There are a lot of different things that factor in juveniles committing crimes.

The most known factor is their parent’s influence. If the parents are doing drugs and being abusive throughout the juvenile’s life then they will grow up probably thinking that is the way the world is and that it is okay to do. The more often the parents do drugs and are abusive the more likely that the juvenile is going to be abusive and might turn into a drug user because that’s what they knew growing up. Family structure is also a known factor family history could cause delinquency. As families grow there could be a chance that if the delinquent is the eldest they are more likely to feel like an outcast and that could lead to delinquent actions. Peers also create a big influence, especially today. If their friends are doing drugs and drinking alcohol that will play a big factor in why they are acting like they do. Community factors just like peer influence could create a bigger influence on the child, if the majority of the community is alcoholic or a drug dealer there is a high chance that the child will grow up to be one of those two things or even worse. The last factor that could possibly factor into juvenile delinquency is the school polices, if the child gets suspended or expelled often then that could possibly factor into the way the child acts. If the juvenile tends to get suspended often and that is all that happens to them, it could mean they do not think anything else will be done

about it so they keep doing it. If they have all these restrictions on the way they learn, dress, or talk, then they are more than likely going to lash out in school and will continue to get worse as time progresses.
Furthermore, the solution that would make sense would be that we do not want the more aggressive and more dangerous juveniles to be in the juvenile detention center because they will possibly corrupt the other influential juveniles there. There are many factors that make that juvenile act out including family, family structure, community, school, and peer influence If the kid murdered somebody you do not want him to be with kids who just stole some candy from a gas station. But on the other hand, you do not want them to be with the adults in the adult prison because they are still young and impressionable themselves and yes, they murdered someone, but there are more people who have been there for years and even decades for manslaughter and double homicide.
If the juveniles’ go into adult prison, they most likely will not even be rehabilitated they will possibly get worse and when they get out they will most likely do even more harm. So I feel like the easiest thing for us to do as a country is just to build a new building and put the juveniles in there so they will not corrupt the kids, but will not get physically and mentally abused in adult prison. Kids should not have to worry about being with a cell mate who is there for rape and