Juvenile delinquency prevention has become more of an issue in the past 20 to 30 years in America and nobody truly knows why. "The number of under-18s convicted or cautioned over violent offences rose from 17,590 to 24,102 - an increase of 37 percent." (Leapman, 2008) It can possibly be because parents aren't home enough, or because after school activities have become less popular than doing drugs or alcohol while getting into trouble. Through this reading you will find that there are some incredible life changing programs out today that people have put together to make America's youth group have a better and stronger future.
Many children today are on bad or rough tracks of life because they are in need of attention sometimes and it shows with the way they act. Juveniles need programs and help to contain there mind body and soul because they don't know what to do with themselves always. "The most successful programs are those that prevent youth from engaging in delinquent behaviors in the first place." (Greenwood, 2008) With looking at children and how they are, most of them need the attention from a positive influence and to be engaged in some kind of program such as Mountain Homes Youth Ranch. This is a very well designed structured program that allows juvenile delinquents to go to a 15 week program. There is a therapy session that goes along with it and it forces children to get away from society and live in the wilderness of Colorado. It has helped many children and is one of the best programs around as far as teaching kid's lessons, therapy, healing, and helping kids get on the right tracks of life.
Juvenile delinquency is growing as a huge issue across the nation and is in desperate need to be stopped. Many of the theories of how children should be dealt with are by the basic ideas of healing for their minds. A reintegration process really is a big key in getting kids back into society after a rehabilitation process of jail time. It allows juveniles to go back to their communities and learn to be around different people that aren't trouble makers and how they are good for their community by helping others. It also gets them to learn how to use the skills they have and acquire more to let them become contributors towards their community.
Continuum sanctions play a big role for children who are repeat offenders. It's for those children who didn't get it the first time around when they were lightly punished and it allows for a more difficult punishment for the crime that it fits to. It's the basic idea of probation for kids with drug offenses or those of some kind of violations that are in need of more than just parent supervision. This also allows for the law enforcement to track and start a record for those offenders because it can build up and be used against them for greater punishments if they have yet to learn their lesson.
One of the most influential resources can be probation officers and parole officers. With having a probation officer in some cases they can help with a life change however very often create a barrier between the juvenile and the system. One of the issues that juveniles come across with the probation officers are they see them as the continuing enforcers of the law and they want to defy authority. "Probation is considered a desirable alternative to institutionalization for several reasons: First, it allows offenders to retain their liberty but provides society with some protection against continued disregard for the law. Second, it promotes the rehabilitation of offenders because they can maintain normal community contacts by living at home, attending school, and participating in community activities. Third, it avoids the negative impact of institutional confinement, and furthermore, it costs less than incarceration..." (Clemans Bartollas, 2011) As was talked about before having people on probation and continuing with follow up meetings with an officer significantly improves the status of the juvenile and also allows for more opportunity to grow as an individual. Some of the juveniles do see being overlooked by a probation officer see it as they are being babied and watched over.
It has shown that sometimes in particular cases that they can have a very harsh punishment and a follow up program that is supposed to regenerate a new mindset and attitude towards society and how they are going to play their role in it for the rest of their lives. "We believe that providing negative consequences for off-limits behaviors will lead to avoidance of those behaviors, and the goal is not to exact revenge but to better enable children to function in society." (Einsadter) This theory that was done on a number of juvenile patients has shown that when the system comes after the individual in a negative more revenge like manner which would be to counter the actions they took part in can lead to failure. There has to be a really hard choice made when it comes to deciding the future of juveniles and what lies ahead of them when they have committed a crime because with choosing to harsh of a punishment can backlash on the system. When they have the choices such as needing to either put them in jail or offer a counter offer of probation time and they have a lot of other mandated things to do with it can have a negative effect. For example in the week assignment of homework we had was the choices that needed to be made for the juvenile offenders was difficult deciding what they truly needed per their situation. One of them being that a child had been racking up charges like larceny, multiple school offenses, as well as drug selling and carrying them. I had selected a treatment program with community service as well as some probation when the best answer was family therapy and time served for the charges. The child was in a broken home and has had a rough life so far growing up with minimal positive influences.
Therapy programs in today's society have become so individually sensitive for each person's and creates a great atmosphere for them to reintegrate good things in there steps to success. However many say that it's a short term behavior and that when they are living the moment that it often is the surrounding of their life but when they come back into it all they actually have a hard time coping with life at home again and making the right choices. "In two of three camps studied, graduates had a higher recidivism rate than those who did not attend the camp, with 72 percent vs. 50 percent and 39 percent vs. 36 percent recidivism rates for graduates vs. non-attendees." (Thorne, 2010) With the research provided it shows that the number of juvenile attendees almost equals out to the amount of those who commit crime or go back into getting into trouble again at a large enough level where it becomes a part of their record. The realities of it though are up to the individual and see how they react to the rehabilitation process. Many juvenile justice officials as well as parents recognize a lot of these programs such as "Boot Camp for Teens" or "Wilderness for Children" have become the focal point to punish yet rehabilitate the juvenile.
Having a personal experience with the rehabilitation process for juvenile delinquents has proven to me and many others are that it has become a successful useful tool for many. Kids that are in a rough environment or are just plain ornery can really use a program such as "Boys Ranch" in Arizona. It's a military style camp where it truly enforces authority in kids and a way of learning to harness any anger and release it through exercise. In my personal experience with the Boys Ranch I have seen three of three really close friends and family go to this program and then make something of themselves. They all were trouble makers, as well as diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and are currently not diagnosed any more ten years later. Which brings attention to the situation because how can many doctors this day really diagnose someone with a label as powerful as such and then they be wrong after taking those medications for so long. This camp is based off of exercising the ability to breathe and go to the bathroom on your own while attending and that you have no control and those people will tell you when to eat drink and so forth. It's a very strict environment that has a no tolerance policy for acting up or any misbehavior. If the juveniles do decide to misbehave they strenuously exercise and make them take the negative energy and attitudes out of them while showing them a way to get out any anger or issues they have when they do get out of the program. It also is great for your mind spirit and body to attend this program because they get them into shape as well as build their confidence up.
Juvenile justices officials often look into the background of the offending juvenile's and then decide what seems to be best for the offender. After doing so in some cases some juvenile offenders can be tried as adult and in many cases it's because a serious offense was committed. "Juvenile violent crime is on the rise; in fact, recent figures show a precipitous drop over the last five years." (Reaves, 2001) It can be possibly that because of the way some juveniles are being tried as an adult in some cases where it has been seen if they commit a murder then they will be tried as an adult from the earliest stages of 12 years of age in some states. In some cases young children make life altering mistakes and decide to jump in a car to early before they are ready and when the supervision over them is not watching and they take advantage of the situation. It can later be something that can be very harmful and take a life. In the state of Colorado if a child commits murder they will most likely be tried as an adult if they are the age of 12. In some cases it is unfair to a child because they don't realize the consequences for their actions before they do them until after the fact. It's a very sad and detrimental situation when they commit a crime however there has to be an understanding for the victim's family and what they lost.
With looking into how unfair or fair an offender is tried at is unfair due to the victims and their family because they weren't the ones who chose to commit a crime. Some cases it has shown they can be very serious and the victim's life was taken and the offender receives a lesser sentence because of age. If an offender has committed a crime they are still accountable for their actions however trying to play innocent and act like they didn't know what they were doing is ridiculous. Even at a young age of ten and twelve children know what the basic ideas of right and wrong are. When some of them try to be tried as a child for committing a crime even an adult can commit needs to be treated with as much seriousness and recognized at that level. There is a good reason for why forty five states in the United States and that is because there needs to be accountability to the actions and crimes committed no matter what the age. "In the 1980s and 1990s, legislatures in nearly every state expanded transfer laws that allowed or required the prosecution of juveniles in adult criminal courts. The impact of these historic changes is difficult to assess inasmuch as there are no national data sets that track youth who have been tried and sentenced in the criminal justice system." (Patrick Griffin, 2011) There was a young boy and girl playing in a yard and the boys was practicing wrestling moves on her and he killed her accidentally was what the jury had decided. He was tried in an adult court and it was found as a complete misfortunate situation and he was let go on some minimal sentencing however will live with that experience forever. By having a tough justice system and letting the law take its course into juvenile offenses can make a positive impact on society and change youth criminal rates. By having juveniles tried as adult doesn't always mean they are going to be prosecuted as one if it was an accident it will show in the trial and if there was an attempt from trying to evade the situation or a realization of what was right or wrong will show in a trial. All though in some cases there is no recognition of that being taken into account of for the sentencing.
All in all looking at the juvenile justice system I have seen an incredible amount of change this semester and have agreed and changed my views on proper punishments for juveniles, proper follow up programs, as well as a judicial aspect and how the law plays a key factor in the future of the offenders. I think it's very important to get young juveniles into a good treatment program because it has shown to me that they can make a real difference in their lives and how they are. It has changed my cousin and three very close friends of mine that were growing up in my life. My cousin has gone in to the Army and is successful and my friend currently works at their facility as counselors for juveniles where they were at. There have been some very strong numbers against the "Scared Straight" programs and boot camp style facilities where they have reshaped the juveniles are bad. I completely disagree because having gone through the Marines and seeing how that lifestyle can change ANYONE can really make something out of someone. I have seen it through my family and friends and I believe with having camps like that it helps to decrease young children from becoming juvenile delinquents. "Juveniles in boot camps more frequently reported positive responses to their institutional environment. Boot camp juveniles said they were better prepared for release, were given more therapeutic programming, had more structure and control, and were more active than comparison to facility youths…" (Doris Layton MacKenzie, 2001) With a survey that was taken I think that is living proof of children agreeing with the situation and that they were more prepared through rough vigorous exercise as well as boot camp mentality. I also agree with the ability for juveniles to be tried as adults because it shows that are always consequences for every action. I think that making an example of those that commit such crimes that there are ways to help prevent others from committing the same crime. I know if I had seen the consequences for someone that had made bad choices in their lives such as my cousin and friends that it kept me on track to being better for myself and not getting into trouble. I feel that the lives around me have helped shaped me into being a positive individual and a better man for my family.
