The Relationship Between Juvenile Justice And Drug Crime

There have been many studies conducted that examine ways in which the juvenile justice system responds to female offenders. Historically juvenile female offenders have been treated under status offense jurisdiction (Zahn et al., 2010, p. 10). United States Courts would exercise the principle of “parens patriae” to place the female in detention as a form of punishment for misbehavior (Sherman, 2012, pp. 1589-1590). This principle also remains prevalent as it pertains to how the juvenile justice system currently responds to juvenile female offenders.

Over 1/3 of the 11,000 index crime arrests were juveniles under the age of 16.

Drug Courts came about as a result of a backlogged court system and a steady, rapidly increasing prison population. Drug courts are a form of diversion that helps the offender through rehabilitation and the community through an increased sense of protection, which serves the best interest of everyone. Drug Courts are community based intermediate sanctions that incorporate treatment principles into the Criminal Justice System and divert drug offenders from traditional punishments of probation and prison. The objective of drug courts programs is to treat the underlying problems of addiction among drug offenders and eliminate participants’ future drug use and crime.

Does only the juvenile drinking or drugging up suffer, or do others get involved? The answer is, not only do the users suffer, but so do their family, friends, and the community. However, due to the rise of juvenile's becoming involved in substance abuse, the juvenile justice system has resulted in an increased burden. Over the past fifteen years, the fad of drug use among kids has steadily been increasing.

Throughout this essay, I am going to be looking at the topic of youth offending. I will be looking at what factors can be used as the predictors for youth offending and in particular I will be researching into how important social and cultural factors as predictors of youth offending. In order to do this, I will be looking at different sociologists theories as far as young offending is concerned and what evidence there is to support these theories. I will then conclude by discussing whether I believe social and cultural factors are important in determining youth offending.

if you had to look at all the juvenile delinquents in our society and guess what the most common crime is what would your guess be; theft, vandalism, assault, battery, murder? These would all be good guesses but are in fact incorrect. Drum roll please, and the correct answer is substance abuse, also known as drug use. The biggest issue that our communities are facing is our juveniles using drugs and this leading into the more severe violent crimes. “In 1997, courts with juvenile jurisdiction disposed of nearly 1.8 million cases nationwide for delinquency alone representing over one million individual juveniles who came into contact with the court that year. Many of these youth have alcohol, drug, or mental health (ADM) problems” (Breda, August 14, 2004, p. 3). 1.8 million Cases of drug related cases are a clear indicator of where our juvenile’s problems begin. The biggest issue that this creates is that the alcohol and substance abuse that surrounds our youth has been proven to be a gateway into more serious crimes. “

Drug abuse is shown to be connected to all different kinds of crime in the United States, and in many circumstances, crime is inspired by drug abuse and addiction. In fact, 80% of criminal offenders abuse drugs or alcohol (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). Also, 60% of those who are arrested test positive for illicit drugs when they are arrested, and 60-80% commit another crime, typically drug-related, after leaving prison (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). And, even after these individuals put in the time in prison that would allow them to go through the uncomfortable process of detoxing, 95% of them will chose to go back to drug abuse after prison (National Association of Drug Court Professionals). Given these overwhelming statistics, it is clear that drug abuse, and repeated or continued drug abuse, are a serious problem facing the criminal justice system.

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.

In my opinion both issues are problematic for juvenile justice, however the most pressing problem for the juvenile justice system would have to be drugs rather than gangs. Although drugs and gangs are very common and available in various neighborhoods and environments, drugs cause more of a problem for juvenile justice because an individual will more than likely try a drug at a young age, before joining a gang. Drugs are also over-all no matter what city or state. Gangs are everywhere as well, however they are more prominent in large cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. Drugs are also the main contributors to delinquency or committing a crime.

“Since 1992, the high rate of illicit drug use among youth has been steadily increasing” (Juvenile Justice, 1997). This has become a trend that needs to be put to a stop. There are too many youth that are involved in criminal activity and that are labeled actual juvenile delinquents in the criminal justice system. Researchers can’t help to believe that alcohol and substance abuse has something to do with the emerging problem. “Drug and alcohol use also increases the likelihood that a youthful offender will have prolonged interaction with the juvenile justice system” (Reclaiming Futures, 2012); this is a fact. Many juveniles who participate in substance abuse usually affect their loved ones and friends.

In today’s society there is an enormous amount of research being conducted throughout the world. A great many of those studies are occurring on Universities and campuses, in this paper, analysis of one such study will be reviewed. The article is an evaluation of a Juvenile Drug Court Program in Lexington, Kentucky. The data that is coming from the Bureau of Justice suggests that juvenile courts process a higher volume of cases today than at any time in the past (Hayden, 2012) These statistics represent the trend in persistently high rates in use of illegal substances among adolescents in the United States and subsequent juvenile court involvement.

Drug courts are considered to be one of the most successful innovations to be implemented in the criminal justice system. It was first implemented during the height of the drug war hysteria and the long epidemic of the skyrocketing rates of incarceration. According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (2010), drug courts are a “specially designed court docket, whose purpose is to achieve a reduction in recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent substance abusing offenders and to increase the offender’s likelihood of successful habilitation through, continuous, and intense judicially supervised treatment, mandatory periodic drug testing, community supervision, and use of appropriate sanctions and other rehabilitation services”. Drug Courts were first launched in 1989 by the Miami-Dade County area of Florida. A local prosecutor by the name of Janet Reno and a few other criminal justice professionals grew tired of seeing the same faces and same cases reappear in court so their solution to the problem was to combine drug treatment within the court-like structure. The number of drug courts since then have proliferated to nearly 3,400 across the United States as of June 2014 (NIJ, 2015). More than half target adults and a growing number of juveniles, families, veterans, and various other case types. The innovation of drug courts alters how the court system handles and monitors drug involved cases and integrates the treatment aspect into their primary goals.

Reaffirming this argument, this paper will look at journals and reports that address juvenile drug treatment, juvenile restitution victimization, offending, and substance-abusing youth offenders (Cotter, Greenland & Karam 2015, Gray, 2015; Hogeveen, 2006; Quinn & Shera 2009; Raynor & Robinson

Drugs and alcohol have been at the forefront of abolishment since the early 1900’s. It was very hard for many people to understand why the use of these contents were so criminalized when many people engage in using it every day. (DrugAbuse, 2016) This assignment will establish the current drug problems in America, explain possible solutions to the problem, it will also explain what type of approach needs to be taken and why. It will discuss the changes in the criminal justice system from then to now, and the view of drug crime in public health policies since some 17 years ago.

When people are children they look up to their parents and other adults around them that shape their environment if they are around drugs and alcohol during their childhood they are more likely to try them as a teen or adult. Children may also be at a ‘genetic risk factor due to biological connections between the parent and child’ this can cause the child to be at more at risk to suffer from addiction or ‘to experiment with drugs because they constantly witness theses behaviors’(The Treehouse Drug And Alcohol Rehab Center). ‘People who smoke or drink are more likely to use illegal drugs’ because cigarettes are very addictive and can lead people to wanting to try other things that are stronger after they have been smoking for a long time (smith 13). Alcohol is another very addictive substance that many people pick up and try to find something stronger or try other drugs while drinking. To prevent addiction to illegal drugs never start drinking or smoking in the first place because even though it is legal it is an addiction that can escalate and spiral out of control. Teens involved in drugs often get into trouble with the law due to the drugs. ‘Corts are sending teens to treatment centers’ so they can get help with their drug addiction (smith 19). When a teen is in involved in a crime related to drugs the court will decide if they need treatment to prevent the teen from getting back on drugs and ending up in trouble with the law in the