Essay On Juvenile Recidivism

The data for this project was collected by administering an anonymous survey to incarcerated juveniles at (name of facility), the (name) receiving center and at the NAACP office in Sacramento, California. The survey asked for gender and parental status (incarcerated versus not incarcerated). Participants were given a paper survey and a pencil to complete the survey. See Appendix for a copy of the survey.

In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While

The juvenile justice system is a foundation in society that is granted certain powers and responsibilities. It faces several different tasks, among the most important is maintaining order and preserving constitutional rights. When a juvenile is arrested and charged with committing a crime there are many different factors that will come in to play during the course of his arrest, trial, conviction, sentencing, and rehabilitation process. This paper examines the Juvenile Justice System’s court process in the State of New Jersey and the State of California.

Edwin H. Sutherland’s formulation of differential association theory proposed that delinquency, like any other form of behavior, is a product of social interaction. On October 14th, 2002, 17 year old Lee Boyd Malvo was charged by the state of Virginia for two capital crimes: the murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin "in the commission of an act of terrorism" and the murder of more than one person in a three-year period. Sutherland’s nine propositions of differential association best explains Malvo’s act for the following reasons: (1) Malvo learned how to commit each heinous crime through his social interaction within his intimate group, (2) Malvo learned the techniques to commit each crime through his mentor, i.e. learning the skills

In 2006, the Colorado Legislature passed a reform bill changing juvenile life without parole to 40 years before parole eligibility, but the bill did not make the reform retroactive, so the reform does not apply to any juveniles sentenced before 2006.

The juvenile justice system was subject to a lot of corruption and civil rights violations in its early stages. Juveniles did not have the same rights as adults and could be forced into terrible living or working conditions. With no child labor laws, delinquent juveniles could be sentenced to forced labor in factories or to houses of refuge. With the ruling of Ex Parte Crouse, the state took ultimate responsibility of children and send them to these institutions, even against the will of the parents. Some of these institutions, such as houses of refuge may have started with good intention, but they ultimately led to rampart corruption and abuse of juveniles.

Studies suggest that young people are often at risk of re-offending (e.g. Sharkey, et al, 2003; Vincent & Seagrave, 2005). Sharkey and his colleagues explained that youth often reoffend since, as they prepare themselves in returning to their respective communities, they are usually confronted by similar situations that had influenced their behaviors prior to committing offenses. Another group of researchers however show that youth engaged in education, employment and other productive endeavors in their communities within 6 to 8 months after their release are less vulnerable to commit another offense (e.g. Keating, et al., 2002, Bullis, et al, 2002, Grossman & Tierney, 2008).

Not only this but, “offenders who commit new offenses after court contact are at risk for a variety of poor developmental and life course outcomes, including school failure, out of home placements, occupational marginality, and long-term involvement in criminal activity” (Schwalbe 2004). As seen here, this is a downward spiral. Active reform has never before been at such a demand. As recidivism and juvenile delinquency continues to increase, not only will national crime rates and juvenile prison populations inflate, but the diminishing of an educated, safe, and economically stable society will also be affected regrettably. If juveniles whom continue to commit repeat criminal offenses lack school initiative, family support, and job exposure, than relatively as recidivism and juvenile criminal activity increases, our nation’s standard of living will consequently lower.

When thinking of reforming the juvenile justice system one has to think; what can we do to make this better for everyone involve? There are some programs that can be implemented when trying to make a change in the juvenile system. The main thing is getting parents or the guardian more involved in the child’s whereabouts. Secondly the community where the youth will have a place to go and have something more constructive to do to keep them out of trouble. Law enforcement can get involved in giving ride along and having visits to the local jails or prisons from the youth to talk to some of the inmates. Crime in life isn’t racist at all it has a no age limit, no certain gender and no social status for most of those whom decide to partake in a criminal activity. From the beginning juveniles have been an issue with law enforcement, the question has always arisen of whom will take control without cruel and unusual punishment and assist with the rehabilitation and prevention future crime actions.

Juveniles offenders demonstrate higher rates of substance abuse indifference to non-offending juveniles. Recidivism increases more often with substance abuse and mirrors a deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system. The likelihood that a youthful offender will have extensive interaction with the system is in part due to drugs and alcohol use. Substance abuse has also produced rebellious behavior in juveniles. More serious offenses are linked with severe substance abuse and increase the rates of offending.

Measuring recidivism is vital not only to see what is working but also to show accountability to taxpayers for the funding that goes into operating these facilities. An article published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), defines recidivism and details how it is measured. In doing so, the article elaborates on the common and varying ways in which recidivism is measured. The OJJDP defines recidivism as being comprised of two elements: 1) the commission of an offense, and 2) by an individual already known to have committed at least one other offense. In order for recidivism to be measured successfully, one must clarify and qualify both parts (Measuring Recidivism in Juvenile Corrections, 2016). The varying ways that states record recidivism data makes it hard to distinguish what exactly is being measured and comparing the

  The punishment of juvenile criminals, specifically those between the ages of 13 and 18, in the event that they commit crimes of murder, is not severe enough. Minors between these critical ages in the teenage life who commit crimes of murder should be prosecuted as adults in all situations and locations.

The criminal activities done by youth who are under age of eighteen is called youth crime. There are many types of crime which are done by youth. Property crime, drug offences, violent crime, common assault, mischief, break and enter, sexual assault, robbery all are included in crimes that youth mostly do. Mostly youth commit crime by involving more than one person. In this paper, I will discuss different type of crime that youth do, how Parental status effect youth to commit a crime, how government and police handle the situation when youth commits the crime and how Good education can help to prevent a youth for committing the crimes. Youth had a double crime rate than older adults aged 25 and over.

Children have been described as our future, our greatest resource, and our hope for a better tomorrow. For many Americans, though, children invoke fear. They represent violence, a segment of society lacking in self-control and devoid of ethics and morals, and the failure of the family to instill traditional values, top among them being the value of human life and respect for others.

Juvenile delinquents are defined as being minors between the ages of 10 and 18. To be considered an delinquent the minor has committed some act that violates the law. These acts aren’t called crimes as they would be for adults. Rather than being called crimes, when committed by minors these acts are called delinquent acts. Delinquent acts generally fall into two categories. The first type of delinquent act is one that would be considered a crime had an adult committed it. The second type of delinquent act is one that wouldn’t normally be a crime had an adult performed it. These are typically known as age-related or status crimes. The most common example of age-related crimes are staying out past curfew.