Order ID | 53563633773 |
Type | Essay |
Writer Level | Masters |
Style | APA |
Sources/References | 4 |
Perfect Number of Pages to Order | 5-10 Pages |
Justice for Juveniles Essay Assignment
I choose this topic because the crimes committed by juvenile are on the rise, and too many of our young children are committing adult crimes. An estimated 250,000 minors are prosecuted annually through the adult justice system. With such a high number, it is high time that the matter of punishing these underage offenders be discussed and sorted out. We need not ratchet and self-minded people, but professional and willing stakeholders to handle this. Drawing suggestions and experts globally, solutions to the challenge of dealing with the escalating numbers of young criminals should be invented.
From a personal perspective, I prefer minors not being tried as adults. Though most people are of the opinion that these criminals should receive harsher penalties proportional to their crimes in the adult criminal system, I beg to differ. While addressing law-enforcers, judicial officers and the public, I would argue out my case based on the fact that extensive research on the effect of stricter laws remains to be seen. However, majority of the reformers under the juvenile system are known to pursue a less complicated life after their shortcomings as compared to those in the adult system.
Two criminologists, Simon Singer and David McDowell conducted a research on juveniles in New York. Their conclusion that the threat of adult criminal sanctions has no effect on the levels of serious crime juveniles supports my opinion. In fact, the adult system makes little difference in deterring juveniles from reoffending but increases their chance of committing crimes (Scott & Steinberg, 2010).
Similarly, two social scientists, Linda Metsger and Eric Jensen, obtained non-conflicting results in Idaho. They carried out the effects of the Transfer Statute of 1981 passed in the state.
Young people who had committed serious crimes including mayhem, robbery, attempted murder, murder and forcible rape had been tried as adults. Shockingly, there was no evidence that their sentences had any effect as far as crime was concerned (Jensen & Metsger, 1994).
Large-scale studies show juveniles with harsher punishments tried as adults are not scared and tend to reoffend sooner and more often than those tried in the juvenile system (Bishop, Winner, Lanza-Kaduce & Frazier, 1997). Negative experiences and behavior in the adult prisons are adapted by the minors. From homosexuality, bullying and inhumane acts seen in prisons, the young minors tend to use others, once released, as ‘lab rats’ to see how it feels.
When juveniles are detained in adult facilities they are denied of programs that can correct their behaviors. Most adult facilities lack education centers where they can enroll and further their education which is an avenue to ensure the young offenders become productive members. This creates the need for young offenders to be detained in juvenile centers regardless of their crime, to institutions that can offer juvenile behavior change programs. Such institutions have the capacity to enhance behavioral change in adults’ more than adult detention facilities which instead make juvenile offenders graduate to more heinous crimes.
More than 50% of people believe crime, not the perpetrator’s age, should be used to determine the sentences. It is important to note that most juvenile offences are done due to the young offenders not being able to think rationally leading to their wrong decisions. This can be attributed to their young age, and if the juveniles are placed in correct juvenile systems then there are the high chances that they will mature in their reasoning and minimize on recidivism in the future. A Texas study conducted in 1996 found that juveniles in adult court received longer terms than they would have in juvenile courts (Ross, 2012). Interestingly, the juveniles were also likely to serve only a fraction of their sentences.
Rehabilitation in juvenile detention centers, as compared to punishment in adult centers, give the young criminals a second chance. They receive guidance and get an opportunity to reform after carefully thinking about their actions. However, light sentences do not teach kids lessons. This is simply because minors are more sophisticated at a younger age (Bishop, Winner, Lanza-Kaduce & Frazier, 1997).
Juvenile correction system should have the objective of changing the young delinquent into a productive member of the society. Systems that have been put in place to rehabilitate juveniles are meant to benefit them. For example, a delinquent may be ordered to attend school or work as a way of keeping busy while in the juvenile detention. Professional counseling and community service are also programs in the juvenile systems. Such initiatives contribute to the reforming process of a delinquent. Detention facilities usually cram all types of offenders together from minor offenders to high profile young criminals. If the detention facility does not incorporate extra behavior change programs to change the juvenile’s behavior, then the results of detention facility will be to expose the minor offenders to heavier crimes and make increase the chances of crime recidivism. Alternative forms of detentions such as enlisting the juveniles into community services and other alternate programs it will help the state to reduce reliance on secure confinement which is more expensive, improves public safety, reduces racial bias in juvenile facilities, helps save tax payer money that would otherwise fund the expensive juvenile program and which has shown more reforms in the justice system (Price, 2009).
Among the measures that have been found to be actually effective in enhancing behavior change includes Cognitive behavior therapies. In this therapy process, juveniles or other inmates are taken through a psychotherapeutic to address patients with maladaptive or dysfunctional emotions. Most causes of delinquent or juvenile behaviors are usually caused by unbalanced emotions, negative peer influence, drug induced behaviors and unsupportive families or communities. Punishing the juveniles has been the traditional method preferred by most institutions as many believe that crime is crime regardless of the age of the convict. Socials scientists have carried out numerous studies and found that though practiced in most countries and institutions, does not lead to improved behavior change in the juveniles.
The CBT process employs various problem focused and action oriented measures to help address the specific problem. It is a therapy where the patients are given alternatives to enhance behavior change. It is an avenue to give the culprits an opportunity for behavior modification. The CBT program involves the juveniles getting engaged in the behavior changing process and thus feels more attached to the program, which increases the chances of the behavior correction process being successful (McKenna, 2009). The advantage of the CBT program is that it can be incorporated into a detention facility and will just require extra psychology staff.
Statistics indicate that black juveniles are more likely to be taken to adult courts than their white peers with comparable crimes. Simply, the system is more vulnerable to racism (Ross, 2012). Having all these in mind, is it really in the interest of justice and these delinquents to try them in the adult system? Is there any gain or is it the feeling of punishment that engulfs these young criminals?
Critics may and have in numerous cases opposed the juvenile system but it remains to be the most efficient and unchallenged until a better one is initiated.
References:
Bishop, D., Winner, L., Lanza-Kaduce, L. & Frazier, C. (1997). The transfer of juveniles to criminal court: Reexamining recidivism over the long term. A journal on Crime and Delinquency.
Jensen, E. & Metsger, L. (1994). “A Test to the Deterrent Effect of the Legislative Waiver on Violent Juvenile Crime. Crime and Justice Journal.
McKenna, P. (2009). “Cognitive behavioral therapy for major psychiatric disorder: Does it really work? A meta-analytical review of well-controlled trials”. Psychological Medicine.
Price, J. (2009). “Cognitive-behavioral Therapy in Severe Mental Illness”. Psychiatric Times.
Ross, R. (2012). Juvenile in Justice. Richard Ross Photography publishers.
Scott, E. & Steinberg, L. (2010). Rethinking Juvenile Justice. Harvard University press.
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