Juvenile Delinquents Research Paper

When a child unfortunately gets involved in the juvenile justice system for whatever reason, we need to make sure that rehabilitation is the main focus at getting that child back on track. We need to find out the root causes for the behaviors that brought him to this point and work diligently to try and change them. Incarceration with out treatment is merely storing bodies. If you don’t treat a problem it festers and becomes an even bigger problem. Delinquency must be handled so as to avoid the adult judicial system.

Juvenile institutions and programs have changed over time. There are also juvenile programs that necessarily do not punish juvenile’s delinquents but instead help modify their behavior to avoid recidivism. Certain treatments and methods regarding how to deal with these dangerous young offenders were fixed and improved to make these institutions and programs more effective in changing the lives of these young

According to Ruddell and Thomas (2009), in 2006 it was estimated that there was 93,000 juveniles in either a detention center or juvenile correctional facility; however, the arrest rates have decreased at least by 2,000 since 1993. Many juveniles on release are reoffending quickly since most of them have been locked up throughout their developmental years and their brain did not get the right cognitive development it needed to help make the right decision. Many different states and correctional institutions have started their own different programs to help decrease recidivism rate in juveniles. Two programs that will be examined further are the Capital Offender Group that was implemented by Giddings State School in Texas, and the Juvenile Cognitive Intervention Program that was implemented by the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

The juvenile justice system is imperfect, at best, and part of this stems from the fact that juvenile justice, as a specific, discrete category of crime and punishment is still a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, the notion of childhood and adolescence as distinct phases of human development is a novel idea that did not truly emerge until the twentieth century, so it is only natural that some elements of the juvenile justice system seem to have been made up they went along. Now, however, after substantial research into juvenile delinquency, it causes, and potential solutions, a much clearer picture of the phenomenon is emerging that will allow parents, teachers, legislators, and law enforcement officials to better reduce juvenile delinquency without imposing unnecessarily harsh restrictions of juveniles. By examining the history of the juvenile justice system alongside more recent research into juvenile delinquency, it will be possible to see how the most effective treatments going forward will likely focus on reducing risk before delinquency occurs and rehabilitating juveniles already in the justice system, as opposed to more punitive measures that mark juveniles as a criminal and thus hinder them for the rest of their lives.

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

When most people think about the American criminal justice system some of the first things that come to mind is corruption of officers and courts, or jails with prisoners. One of the last things that come to mind is the juvenile justice system. Nevertheless, nothing is more important than the juvenile justice system because the juveniles within the system are the future working class and citizens of America. Therefore, it is important that they receive the necessary punishment and rehabilitation to move past mistakes they previously made. However, there are aspects that push against the goal of rehabilitation in the juvenile justice system such as the misuse or lack of money, the harshness of the punishment, and the programs within the

The Juvenile Court authorities must weigh the interests of public security with the needs of wayward youth when making determinations in regards to the most suitable program(s) and the level of circumscription necessitated. There have been thousands of juvenile programs which have been developed and undergone comprehensive recidivism analysis by outside auditors over the past thirty years. Objectives require balance in selecting correctional options that meet individual offender needs to contribute to crime reduction and prevent recidivism. Incarceration is necessary to incapacitate violent offenders; however, there are better alternatives for non-violent offenders who are not career criminals. Programs of incarceration for low offense juvenile

The need of diversion programs in juvenile correctional settings is on an increase. Two conflicting impulses dominate the desire to decrease the number of reoffending juveniles. The first is a compassionate approach that concentrates on treating the youth whereas the second approach uses punishment to protect their focus, which is community safety (Artello, Hayes, Muschert, & Spencer, 2015). It is important to note that not all individuals are impacted in the same way therefore many approaches aimed towards assisting the youth within the justice system exist. Due to the Progressive Era Reform, the state has the ability and responsibility to protect the welfare of children leading to treatment that hopefully divert them from continuously

The current juvenile justice system “has shifted away from protecting and reforming children to "protecting" society from young people prematurely deemed incapable of rehabilitation” (Aron & Hurley, 1998). Juvenile justice is a social issue that I feel strongly toward. I do not agree that sentencing adolescents to serve time in adult correctional facilities is a reasonable solution to alter behavior, especially for non-violent offenders. However, “for each of the past five years, roughly 100,000 juveniles have been held in adult jails and prisons” (Abdelkader, 2013). “The overwhelming majority of incarcerated youth are held for nonviolent offenses” (The Annie E. Casey Foundation).

The goals of juvenile corrections are too deter, rehabilitate and reintegrate, prevent, punish and reattribute, as well as isolate and control youth offenders and offenses. Each different goal comes with its own challenges. The goal of deterrence has its limits; because rules and former sanctions, as well anti-criminal modeling and reinforcement are met with young rebellious minds. Traditional counseling and diversion which are integral aspects of community corrections can sometimes be ineffective, and studies have shown that sometimes a natural self intervention can take place as the youth grows older; resulting in the youth outgrowing delinquency.

The necessity for development of a separate court system designed for punishing juvenile offenders came about with the idea that juveniles are “less culpable” than adult offenders, and therefore more adaptable to rehabilitation from their delinquent misbehavior. Building on this idea, juvenile court was established to offer intervention, rehabilitation, and protective supervision for young offenders, unlike the general idea of criminal courts aimed at punishing, incapacitating, and generating retribution. (Bishop & Frazier, 1991)

In order to deal with juvenile delinquent behavior there needs to be other alternative options available to the legal system instead of incarcerating every apprehended juvenile. One such option is the creation of juvenile boot camps. With each new initiative, like juvenile boot camps, there are certain goals that need to be achieve to determine if a specific program is successful. In this program, as well as other alternative juvenile rehabilitation programs the primary goal is to reduce recidivism. Unfortunately, studies show that juvenile boot camps have not been successful in reducing overall recidivism rate for juveniles.

Currently to deal with juvenile offenders involved in the youth crime, there are two options available. The first option that prevails to a larger extent is known to us as incarceration while the second option that is slowly gaining trends is known to us as rehabilitation programs. This paper focuses on thorough analysis of both these options and the impact that they have on the offenders as well as the society as a whole. The paper also assesses the viability of these options in order to determine which of these will prove to be more effective and beneficial.

Allowing juveniles to be convicted without a fair trial is unlawful. These children should be given a chance to represent their side of the trial when being tried for a crime. This also means allowing the children to be given the help they need to improve their life. There are reasons why many juveniles turn to crime, so instead teach the children to turn away. Juvenile delinquents should not have limited privileges or unfair trials which would include: no help at recovery, being charged as adults, and not allowing their personal background into evidence.

The article offers a compelling argument for the treatment of juvenile offenders, approaching the subject with a perspective centered in economics. Since state tax revenues are used to detain criminals, this investment can be better spent on rehabilitative treatments, as it will save the state money in the future by decreasing recidivism. Therefore, this study supports other research in echoing the potential of rehabilitative measures to aid juveniles.