Victim Advocate Research

Incidents like abuse from family members, bullying, neglect, and sexual abuse are the most common. Repeated abuse can lead to psychological damage and emotional scarring. Not only are traumatic psychological experiences causing these juveniles to commit violent crimes. Situations, where children have poor education, a household without discipline, peer pressure, inadequate role models, low income, and substance abuse coupled with the wrong environment, can lead to a life of crime. These negative influences guide these juveniles on the wrong path towards crime. However, it does not mean these juveniles cannot succeed; it is however up to the juvenile to make the correct choices in their

Attentively, I watched a television from a large wooden table, crammed into a small interview room. As the young child on the screen painfully disclosed years of horrific abuse and neglect to a forensic interviewer, I observed in silence. Surrounded by a multi-disciplinary team of police officers, Department of Child Services case managers, advocates and prosecutors, I knew my purpose. I wanted to be a voice for those who were unable to speak and advocate for themselves. My internship with the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, Special Victims and Family Violence Unit, allowed me the opportunity to explore my interest in the legal system and helped kindle my passion for child welfare.

Many juveniles who entered the juvenile justice system are victims themselves of parental mistreatment such as neglect, physical, and emotional abuse. Once children into the juvenile system and is labeled a juvenile similar to adults being labeled a felon. These young offenders are stigmatized as criminal with little distinction between adults and juvenile offenders entering the prison system for the first time. Bernstein (2014) paints a vivid picture of how incarcerated juveniles expose to a new set of challenges such as posttraumatic stress syndrome, curtailed education, gang affiliation, and a gladiator mentality. These challenges that can develop in juvenile facility has

A common assumption amongst those in the field of criminal justice is that most adult criminals were victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or neglect in their childhood. A study by Steele in 1975 found that, of 200 detained juvenile offenders, between 72% and 84% had backgrounds of child abuse (Weeks & Widom, 1998). A 1979 study by Lewis, Schanok, Pincus, and Glaser found that of a sample of male juvenile offenders, 75% had experienced childhood physical abuse. In follow-up interviews with the same subjects previously surveyed, 80% reported childhood physical abuse (Weeks & Widom, 1998). A study done by the Department of Correctional Services Research and Reporting Unit in 1983 had inmates answer a questionnaire; 25.2% of the inmates who answered the questionnaire reported childhood victimization (1998).

Youth who come to the attention of the juvenile justice system are often a challenging and underserved population. While not all youth who experience trauma engage in delinquent activity, and vise versa, studies have shown that youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system have found to have higher rates of traumatic experiences. The National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ) reported that 2% of all children are victims of maltreatment, 13% are victims of neglect, and 11% are victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse (Ford et al., 2007). NCMHJJ also reports that over 90% of youth involved with the juvenile justice system report having experienced at least one traumatic incident (Ford et al., 2007). In addition,

From small states to national legislation, the concept of victims’ rights has become a growing concern. The organization VALOR (Victim Assistance Legal Organization) was hard at work for 16 years before gaining national recognition. In 1995, The United States Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime awarded VALOR a grant to create the National Victim Assistance Academy. This academy would train individuals to deal with the emotional and legal needs of victims (VALOR, 2005). Programs such as those in Summit County, was the base for the legislation changes brought on in the 1980s. From that development, the county has evolved to teaching law makers, officers and representatives how to deal with victims rights. Considering in 1970 victims’ rights were nonexistent, the last three decades have been very impressive.

The need to protect children and youth; to treat them separately and differently from adults in the criminal justice system; to provide rehabilitation, not repression and deterrence, when offering judicial intervention with young people; and to consider the best interest of the child to be a guiding principle (p34)

For Fresno State we recently obtained a victim advocate. Her name is Lisa Kisch and she also went to Fresno State. Her role as an advocate is to help the students who became victims. She independent meaning she does not have to report to the school, like professors have to. When they suspect or are told about a crime like sexual assault. It is up to the victim if they want to seek help. She provides support, resources and referrals. For victims on campus, they can go to her, but they are other places where the victim can go. She said the victims that she sees the most are those who were at parties. Then they do not remember what happened that particular night, but they know something is wrong. As if they have been violated sexually. She doesn’t

People feel that the American justice system constructs upon holding perpetrators accountable for their actions. Most states in America believe by setting harsh sentences that this will act as a deterrent to other juveniles who are considering committing crimes. There may be some veracity to trying juveniles as adults. The juvenile arrest rate reported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shows that, “The juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate increased in the mid-2000s, and then declined through 2012 to its lowest level since at least 1980. The rate in 2012 was 38% below its 1980 level and 63% below the peak year of 1994. In 2012, there were 182 arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses for every 100,000 youth between 10 and 17 years of age. If each of these arrests involved a different juvenile, which is unlikely, then no more than 1 in every 544 person’s ages 10-17 was arrested for a Violent Crime Index offense in 2012, or less than one-fifth of 1% of all juveniles ages 10 to 17 living in the states.” This rating shows that by trying juveniles as adults has coincided considerably with the lowering rate of juvenile

The statistical evidence of young female juveniles describes by journalist Linda Lowen. Lowen says young girls who were subjected to many different mental health issues and some form of abuse have often led to delinquent conduct. Abuse, such as, physical, mental, sexual, and emotional abuse is the most commonplace behind a juvenile’s girl’s negative behavior. In the United States, seventy-three percent of young girls have been abused. Just over forty percent of young girls have been victims of sexual assault or rape. Girls who have been abused or neglected are twice as likely to be arrested as other girls (Lowen, 2014).

The subject of victimization and childhood trauma and neglect, especially sexual victimization is in desperate need of additional awareness despite the increase in the research literature over the past three decades. Youth who experience any form of victimization, whether it be sexual, emotional, and/or physical throughout their childhood are known to have difficulties in their childhood and adolescent development (McCuish, Cale & Corrado, 2015). The abuse they experience can be from their caregivers, sexual victimization by acquaintances and strangers, assaults by peers and can be exposed to violence in their neighborhoods (Finkelhor, Ormrod, Turner and Holt, 2009).

Within this paper the writer will be discuss the public policy on Juvenile Justice Reform. Within the paper the writer will describe the issue, tell if the policy a regulatory or legislative-initiated policy, and who initiated the issue or policy. Also the writer will discuss is there a constitutional issue, and how will the issue or policy affect the community, the accused, and the victims and a conclusion at the end of the paper.

Juvenile offending is a concern in society today. Juveniles account for approximately 19% of the population but are responsible for 29% of criminal arrests (Cottle, Lee, & Heilbrun, 2001). Crime overall has been found to be decreasing throughout the last two decades. The issue is that the rate in which adult crime is decreasing is significantly greater than the rate in which juvenile crime is decreasing. Since the rate of juvenile crime is so high, juvenile delinquents are seen as predators and many believe they lack morals. The way in which media of today’s society constructs juvenile delinquency impacts the views of a community towards their youth and youth offenders. Media presents an inaccurate image of youth offenders as violent predators (Rhineberger-Dunn, 2013). This inaccurate image significantly promotes the myths that juvenile crime is rising, juveniles commit crimes that are primarily violent, and that juveniles are highly effected by recidivism and continue committing crimes into adulthood (Bohm, & Walker, 2013). It has already been stated though that crime rates have been decreasing over the last two decades so the first myth is refuted. The myth that juveniles primarily commit violent crimes is also very off. In most cases, juveniles are involved in property crimes and although there are some violent crime cases, they are very rare. When these rare violent crimes do occur, youth can be tried in adult court. The

On the other hand, the advocates of the juvenile system believe that because children are not fully mentally or physically developed, they are not therefore accountable for their actions in the same way as adults (Ainsworth, 1995, p.932-933). Juvenile criminality for them is “youthful illness” brought about by external forces like environment or impoverished living conditions. Donna Bishop, an advocate of the juvenile justice system, encourages states to give these juveniles “room to reform.” She believes that a policy that is designed to discard youth in the middle of the transition to adulthood is uncharacteristic of a fair government (Bishop, 2000, p. 159). Supporters of this kind of reform program for juveniles are not amenable to the transfer to adult court

Many children become familiar with the Juvenile Justice System without knowledge of why they continue to commit crimes. Many of them suffered years of being abuses, which caused socialization changes that pushed them to withdraw or act out. This research is important because it shows the long terms effects child abuse has on children that become juvenile delinquents. Statistics show increasing numbers of children who are the victims of child abuse and neglect, although they decrease in delinquency may reflect a greater nation focus on the issue and the use of more effective programs to attack the problem. This research is important to me because the Criminal Justice System doesn’t address the causes of deviant behavior in juvenile delinquents to its full potential. They rather just focus on policing and tough sanctions. Hopefully with this paper and many others child abuse can be prevented along with the long-term effects of child abuse and better programs can be invented to treat child abuse victims. The Office of Justice Programs came up with a “Safe Kids Safe Streets” Program, which acknowledge the correlation between child abuse and juvenile delinquency and is aimed at breaking the cycle of early childhood victimization and later delinquency (Safe