I have worked in Juvenile Corrections for over 16 years, and during that time I have endured the heart-breaking experience of caring for many juvenile offenders in and out of secure care facilities throughout their teenage years. Sadly enough, a large percentage of these youth go on to commit more crimes and find themselves incarcerated in adult facilities for the major part of their adult lives as well, if not their entire lives. First let’s get to the meaning of Recidivism. Recidivism is generally defined as reoffending. There are two types of recidivism that fall under this definition, Pre-release recidivism and Post release recidivism. Prerelease recidivism occurs while a youth is on probation and the probation is violated. Post release recidivism is defined as a fling for a felony or a misdemeanor within one year of termination from program placement for a criminal offense, (Colorado Division of Probation Services, 2010). …show more content…
I will also be discussing the different techniques, programs, and strategies we can use in hopes of reducing the recidivism rate in juvenile corrections in America, and to help some of these youths grow to become productive law abiding citizens. Many youths who reoffend are not just out committing crimes in hopes of being caught and returned to secure care facilities, away from their family and friends for months or even years at a time. Per David Gottesman there are many underlying issues to why juveniles offend in the beginning. Gottesman stated, “Because an adolescents brain is not fully developed, their decision making and thought processes differ from those of adults, in turn youths are willing to take greater risks and show greater susceptibility to peer influences”, (D. Gottesman, juvenile justice in the U.S., July
The quagmire of placing juveniles in adult facilities is the risk factors juveniles may experience while incarcerated. Being that juveniles are young and smaller to the adult offenders, they may be seen as a prey or easy target for rape, assault, mental issues which eventually leads to suicide. We must keep in mind that juveniles are youth meaning they are still a child, not an adult and should not be exposed to adult incarceration environment. Although it is cost saving to place juveniles and adults under one facility, it is unethical because they are not built and yet mentally ready and prepared to experience adult facilities. Alternative strategies are available to assist juvenile detainees such as healthcare, education, recreation, and work experience. The Juvenile Court Act of 1899 gave leniency to youth under the age of 16. Placing youth detainees with adult offenders will result in the reduction of rehabilitation services for youth, while increasing the rate of being a victim as a potential prey o...
Life is precious and we live it only once, however, what we do with it is to our own discretion. It is a shame that many people at young ages decide to live a life of misdeeds and become what we call juvenile criminals, but, every action has a consequence and to deal with these unlawful adolescent we have the Juvenile Justice Department. The juvenile justice system is a network of agencies that deal with juveniles whose conduct has come in conflict with the law. These agencies include police, prosecutor, detention, court, probation, and the Department of Juvenile Corrections. However, when young offenders commit a series of crimes, constantly being in trouble with the law, they are waivered into Adult court where they will be subject to any
According to the National Institute of Justice, recidivism is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. The NIJ defines recidivism as a person’s relapse into criminal behavior, often after receiving sanctions or undergoing intervention for a previous crime. Recidivism is often utilized in evaluating prisons effectiveness in crime control. Reducing recidivism is crucial for probation, parole and to the correctional system overall.
Juvenile corrections officers oversee incarcerated minors. These are youth who were not adult age at the time that they committed their crime. Their Juvenile corrections officers are no different compared to the adult corrections officers. However, juvenile corrections officers have a special duty, These Co’s act as life coaches by guiding the juveniles emotionally, mentally, and psychologically throughout the confinement and rehabilitation period. The goal that every juvenile officer tries to achieve, is for the offenders to have learned a new pattern of behavior by the time they are released from being incarcerated. A second goal is to have them gain enough confidence and self-worth so when they are released back into society they will not return to their old criminal habits
Aftercare programs are used often with juveniles in hopes of preventing recidivism. Recidivism is of high concern to the criminal justice system in that the safety of the public depends on low recidivism rates. Juvenile Incarceration facilities have programs set up, such as education and pro-social behavior classes, to promote bettering the juvenile’s life. However, research has shown that the progress made while incarcerated slowly declines upon release. This is testimony to the importance of aftercare programs in preventing recidivism.
Justice has always been the goal of our court system, but it is not always served, especially in cases involving juveniles. The judiciary process has evolved from a system that did not initially consider juveniles, to one where juveniles have their own court proceedings, facilities, and even rules or laws. The juvenile justice system has come a long way, and people have worked very hard in its creation. A juvenile is considered to be an individual, under the age of 18, resembling an adult. However, resembling an adult does not always mean that juveniles will have an adult mindset. Thus, juveniles may need extra attention to help get their lives on track. This paper will analyze various ways involving juveniles and correction facilities and programs.
The dilemma of juvenile incarceration is a problem that thankfully has been declining, but still continues to be an ethical issue. The de-incarceration trend has coincided with a decrease in crime. It is hopeful that our nation is changing the approach to the treatment of juveniles in the criminal justice system. It means we know what to do and what is working, now just to follow through and continue the change to creating a juvenile justice system that is truly rehabilitative and gives youth tools to be able to be positive members of
The future of the juvenile justice system is promising. The methods and approaches utilized should continue to improve in the next twenty years in the same way that they have improved over the past twenty years. Addressing the main factors that contribute to juvenile offending will help to solve the problem of delinquency in the United States. Juveniles in the present system do have the ability to straighten out their lives. This might be less challenging for them than it has been in the past, but hopefully the future will make the road to reform easier for them.
Introduction: Recidivism or, habitual relapses into crime, has time and time again proven to be an issue among delinquents, which thereby increases the overall juvenile prison population. This issue has become more prevalent than what we realize. Unless a unit for measuring a juvenile’s risk of recidivism is enacted and used to determine a system to promote effective prevention, than the juvenile prison population will continue to increase. Our court system should not only focus on punishing the said juvenile but also enforce a program or policy that will allow for prevention of recidivism. So the question remains, how can recidivism in the juvenile prison population be prevented so that it is no longer the central cause for increased juvenile delinquency? Simply put, we must create a means of measuring juvenile’s level of risk and in turn, form an effective rehabilitation program that will decrease their risk level for future recidivism.
Everyday we read in the newspaper or watch T.V and hear news of crimes committed by Juveniles. With all of the crime being reported by the media about juveniles, one can’t help but wonder if all of our nation’s youth are juvenile delinquents. Although there are many cases where the juvenile did not commit a serious crime, there are others where the crime is so bad the juvenile court system tries the juvenile as an adult. Instead of seeking help for the individual, our justice system places them in adult facilities to “teach them a lesson.” The justice system fails to see what the cause of this outbreak is in a child whether it was abuse, neglect, or where they grew up. The juvenile justice system needs to see that by simply teaching the juvenile a lesson, it does nothing to deter crime.
The novel Crime and Punishment occurs in the summer of 1865; a time when radical legal and social changes swept through Russia. The reforms of 1860’s and 1870’s were known as the Great Reforms because they affected every aspect of Russian life. With “an 1861 decree emancipating the serfs and [a] monumental reform of the court system in 1864,” the Russian society was still transitioning from an Estate-of-the-realm style toward a more just system focused on equality (Burnham 1227). The reformed penal system is not just under the modern sense of justice, yet it provided a far greater level of equality than the previous model, dominated by aristocrats and government officials. Lagging behind a few years, Russia was following the trend of the other European countries by remodeling the penal and criminal justice system (Timasheff 16-18).
Literature Review Introduction Recidivism refers to the tendency of reversion to criminal activities of the released inmates. It is measured by the frequency with which released offenders return to incarceration for new crimes. The rates reflect the effectiveness of instituted programs that focus on integrating the released offenders into the society (Schmallager, 2007). When the rates are healthy, it means that the programs in place are doing well in helping the offender restrain from criminal activities. The importance of correctional programs cannot be downplayed for any reason.
Juvenile delinquency is a serious problem and leads to negative outcomes for youth, families, and society as a whole. Adolescents under the age of 18 who are arrested for committing a criminal act are processed through a juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice system is grounded on the principle that the youth have different needs than adults. During adolescence, youth are forming their identities and still developing mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally. Due to their early stages of development, juveniles who violate the law should be treated differently than adults.
Many believe that locking away juveniles is the best way to keep society safe but they are wrong. Locking juveniles away does more harm than any good. Expert say that there’s “a decline in juvenile crime, concerns about the cost of adult prisons, and growing understanding that adolescents have a greater potential for rehabilitation than adults do.” There’s no need to spend so much money on juveniles in prisons when
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.