Juvenile detention has been a part of the United States legal system for many years, and many people accept it without knowing the terrible reality of this institution. Juvenile detention is an ineffective and outdated system that needs to either be radically reformed or removed all together for the betterment of our society’s youth. These detention facilities often have unhealthy conditions for the incarcerated juveniles who live within the halls. Along with horrible conditions, the staff who work in these institutions often do not care about these young adults, and are unequipped to help them. Lastly juvenile detention often does not deter children from the life of crime, and only sets them on a path that could lead to more crime. Juvenile …show more content…
Unfortunately, that, simply, is not true. According to a study done by Anna Aizer of Brown University and Joseph Doyle, Jr. of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Young offenders who were incarcerated were a staggering 67 percent more likely to be in jail (again) by the age of 25 than similar young offenders who didn’t go to prison,” (Beauchamp, 2013). Based on this study, incarcerating juveniles will not only increase their chances of being reincarcerated, but it also reveals that incarcerating juveniles does not necessarily decrease the crime rate. Locking up young offenders together where they can introduce each other to more crime and corrupt each other is not the most effective way to rehabilitate them. These juveniles may look to each other for a makeshift family within the facilities. This can lead to juveniles searching for “family” within gangs, which can lead to more problems later in life. The same study also revealed, “…incarcerated youth were more likely to commit ‘homicide, violent crime, property crime and drug crimes’ than those that didn’t serve time,” (Beauchamp, 2013). Incarcerating juveniles ultimately does not effectively work at making sure juveniles stay out of crime and can only cause more problems and future crimes. People may argue that juvenile detentions are needed to make sure that those who committed the crimes are held responsible for their actions, however there are better ways to accomplish this. There are many options besides juvenile detention, “…resource families and communities to safely hold youth accountable; invest in each young person’s success, and; address the root causes of youth crime…” (Fazal, 2015). A juvenile detention center is a place that should be where children should be provided with the skills and the tools to
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...
Arya Neelum , Ryan Liz , Sandoval Jessica, Kudma Julie . “Jailing Juveniles: The Dangers of Incarcerating Youth in Adult Jails in America: A Campaign for Youth Justice Report” The Campaign for Youth Justice Nov.2007 ebscohost. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
The juvenile justice system faces a significant challenge in identifying and responding to the psychiatric disorders of detained youth because research has shown that it is difficult to define the best means to use and enhance the scarce mental health resources (Kessler & Kraus, 2007). According to Cocozza and Skowyra (2000) “Children’s and adolescents’ mental health needs have historically been addressed inadequately in policy, practice, and research and have only the number of youth with mental illness and their level of unmet needs recognized” (p 4). Furthermore, that the juvenile justice system has gone from treatment and rehabilitation to retribution and punishment, that the prevalence is higher for youths who are involved with the system have mental health disorders when compared to the general population. In this paper I will be discussing pathways of juvenile detentions, types of mentally ill juvenile offenders, working alliance, treatment/intervention options available, challenges of untreated mental illness, and research findings.
The adjustment from incarceration to society causes a series of problems, making rehabilitation difficult. When the juvenile’s leave home to be detained, all ties with society, the support systems they had, the gangs they associated with, school they attending are no longer in close proximity, which is essential for successful rehabilitation (James, Stams, Asscher, Katrien De Roo & van der Laan 2012). Another problem association with the reintegration is that juveniles are in a particularly fragile state in that they are not only transitioning from society to detention, but from adolescence to adulthood, both of which are overwhelming adjustments. Research has shown, however, that if youths stay out of trouble within the first few months
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.
...ing with young minds and punishing them in juvenile courts may be of advantage to the young people and at the same time reduce propagating them into developing a violent future in criminal activities. Correctional facilities that address and cater for the juveniles are the way forward to streamlining the youths (Kristin, page4).
A deep look into juveniles in adult prisons. Touch bases on several smaller issues that contribute to juveniles being in and effects of adult prisons. The United States Bureau of Prisons handles two hundred and thirty-nine juveniles and their average age is seventeen. Execution of juveniles, The United States is one of only six countries to execute juveniles. There are sixty-eight juveniles sitting on death row for crimes committed as juveniles. Forty-three of those inmates are minorities. People, who are too young to vote, drink alcohol, or drive are held to the same standard of responsibility as adults. In prisons, they argue that the juveniles become targets of older, more hardened criminals. Brian Stevenson, Director of the Alabama Capital Resource Center said, “We have totally given up in the idea of reform of rehabilitation for the very young. We are basically saying we will throw those kids away. Leading To Prison Juvenile Justice Bulletin Report shows that two-thirds of juveniles apprehended for violent offenses were released or put on probation. Only slightly more than one-third of youths charged with homicide was transferred to adult criminal court. Little more than one out of every one hundred New York youths arrested for muggings, beatings, rape and murder ended up in a correctional institution. Another report showed a delinquent boy has to be arrested on average thirteen times before the court will act more restrictive than probation. Laws began changing as early as 1978 in New York to try juveniles over 12 who commit violent crimes as adults did. However, even since the laws changed only twenty percent of serious offenders served any time. The decision of whether to waive a juven...
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
According to Yoder, Whitaker, and Quinn (2017), recent years have shown that although detention as well as incarceration is necessary for a given small percentage of deliquescent youths, long-term confinement experiences can lead to more harm than good to the youths, and it often lead to continued offending as well as recidivism. Instead, the use of community based programs have proven that it can lead to decreased re-offending for all youths including those who commit violent and serious crimes. Additionally, the public opinion in the United States concerning the use of punitive approaches while dealing with the youths have been changing as more people suggest the use of a more rehabilitative system. However, these community based systems and provisions have been left to take care of the mental health needs of the youth which are always not well addressed. A research by Zajac, Sheidow, and Davis (2015) showed that many of the juvenile justice systems do not have proper equipment to deal with the youths having mental health disorders. The typical mental health services offered to the youths in juvenile justice systems such as detention are often unavailable or inadequate. The inadequate mental health services are helped by a number of barriers. The barriers include lack of proper training of the staff and inadequate
Teitelman, R. B., & Linhares, G. J. (2013). JUVENILE DETENTION REFORM IN MISSOURI: IMPROVING LIVES, IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY, AND SAVING MONEY. Albany Law Review, 76(4), 2011-2017.
“Jail staff are simply not equipped to protect youth from the dangers in prison” (Berlatsky, Juveniles Should Not Be Placed in Adult Prisons). “Transferring the problem of the most serious juvenile offenders to an even more overwhelmed and less effective system makes no sense” (Roush and Dunlop). Does prison actually rehabilitate anyone adult or juveniles? I wish there was a way to actually answer that question, in some cases prison of any sort turns some around. In my opinion this is not the case with real criminals. That is the difference between a mistake and an actual crime. “Juvenile justice systems must balance the public mandates to dispense justice and to rehabilitate youths” (Wright, Tibbets, and Daigle, Criminals in the Making, 263). “Several studies have shown that incarcerated youths experience higher rates of depression, although the highest percentage being youths placed in adult incarceration facilities” (Y.H. NG et. al, Incarcerating juveniles in adult prisons as a factor in depression). Incarcerated adolescents with depression at 30.6% whereas only depressed non-incarcerated youths are at 4.1%. Arrested and detained youths in adult court show 16% are depressed whereas youths
Young people have a serious risk for sexual,verbal, and physical abuse from the adults in jail. “Joey, a seventeen-year-old who had spent six months in Baltimore's adult jail, reported that the adult detainees continually harassed him by throwing excrement and urine in his cell.” The adults think that just because he is a kid and he maybe can not fight back, that they should pick on him and make his life miserable. Minors in adult jail as opposed to a juvenile justice facility are 7.7 times more likely to commit suicide, 5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted, twice as likely to be beaten by staff, and 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon They are more likely to commit suicide or self harm to themselves because of all the bullying and name calling coming from the other inmates. Those percentages are high up there so we know that most all kids get at least one of those done to them while they are doing their time.
The United States, a country who has prisons filled with juvenile delinquents. Many of the offenders are arrested for status offenses, but there are also offenders who are incarcerated for serious crimes. Are these offenders getting the treatment needed to succeed after their release? Are the punishments in the juvenile detention centers creating more problems? Is the juvenile justice system addressing the needs of those juveniles participating in the system? The answer to these questions will be answered from viewing three separate documentaries on the juvenile justice system.
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