Juvenile_Delinquency

Juvenile Delinquency CRJ 308 Currie Gauvreau October 18, 2010 What hasn’t worked' There are a couple of different tactics that were popular in the early 1990’s. The first tactic and the one that is still around today is just a scare tactic. While there are many others these are the most popular by far. What is “scared straight”' [2] This was a program that grew in popularity in the early 90’s in response to the increasing crime rates and the “get tough on crime” mentality that dominated the thinking at the time. It involved brining juvenile offenders with adult offenders. The youth would be incarcerated with the adults with supervision. Hardcore prisoners would scare the juveniles with blunt stories of prison life. Statistics show that this program had little effect on recidivism. The other tactic that was born out of the increasing crime rate in the country was that of treating juveniles as adults. People felt that since juveniles were not afraid of juvenile punishments they would keep committing crimes. If juveniles feared the punishment they would steer clear of trouble. There was no direct correlation between a harsher penalty and a decrease in recidivism. On the contrary the recidivism rate rose for juveniles that were placed in an adult system. There were some contributing factors that exacerbated this problem during this time. The first was that juvenile courts started giving increases jurisdiction to the adult criminal courts. It became easier for juveniles to be placed in the adult system. All these factors contributed to the incarceration of more and more juveniles in the adult system. [3] So what does work' There are many programs out there that have promising results. While there are many to enumerate I will focus on what these programs have in common. The foundation for any program to work is education. While this is an obvious answer the key lies in how to implement the education. Teaching parents how to raise their children has a dramatic effect on proper socializing of a child. Teaching kids about the negative effects of their actions and also of their own self worth is an important part of the prevention process. Getting kids involved in extra-curricular activities like team sports or after school programs has a long lasting effect on them. Obviously if they are on the field after school or at a game they can’t be causing trouble. Also the bonds they form with a positive peer group will help them later in life as well. Involvement with a church or local organization can give some children the proper role models they need to be successful. A huge cause of delinquency is caused by victimization of the juvenile. One way to prevent this is by finding out who the bullies are at school and provide counseling for both the bully and the victim. The best place to implement a good program is within the juvenile justice system itself. In these situations you have the juvenile’s undivided attention. Merely keeping them locked up without some kind of program in place is asking for trouble. Providing education, work training and counseling are all important aspects of a good rehabilitation program. After the juvenile completes their sentence there has to be some sort of follow up treatment. Checking up on the juveniles to make sure they adjust is crucial to preventing recidivism. Counseling both the juvenile and the family is paramount to success. Providing job placement and career counseling is very beneficial to all parties involved. While none of these solutions are a cure they are definitely a step in the right direction. [4] How about the radical approach' I personally believe that a lot of the juvenile delinquency is caused by youths that arose out of unwanted pregnancies. If we would focus more on birth control for minors and making it easily available to them we could dramatically reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. Having clinics inside grammar schools, middle schools and high schools handing out condoms and providing girls with the pill and the morning after pill would greatly reduce teen pregnancy. This is an uphill battle but I think we need to wake up and realize that kids are having sex. It is our responsibility as humans to acknowledge this fact and do more to prevent it. Education is the best weapon we have against delinquency. References: Juvenile Crime--Outlook for California Part III, LAO California October 18, 2010 http://www.lao.ca.gov/1995/050195_juv_crime/kkpart3.aspx OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/crime/qa05301.asp'qaDate=20040801. Released on August 01, 2004. Steven D. Stewart Prosecuting Attorney, Dawn R. Elston, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Clark County Prosecuting Office October 18, 2010 http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/juvenile/juvenile.htm Schiraldi, Vincent and Jason Zeidenberg. (1997) The Risks Juveniles Face When They Are Incarcerated with Adults October 18, 2010 http://www.cjcj.org/pubs/risks/risks.html