Juvenile Justice
- Introduction
The crimes that are being committed by juvenile have been increasing in America, which is leading to more juvenile crimes happening in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Due to that, this brings in concern the ineffectiveness of the juvenile justice system.
- The juvenile system should rehabilitate young criminals.
The juvenile system makes the young criminals hardy and rebellious instead of rehabilitating them into the responsible system (Farrell, 2018).
The conditions in the juvenile services prepare the young criminals for a cruel world outside that should be faced with harshness and where politeness does not hold a place.
The children who are released from juvenile prisons become daring adults who can do serious crimes under the belief that they are bold enough for the task.
III. Poor conditions in the juvenile cells
Most cells were young children are overcrowded, and the children are only exposed to an environment of violence and chaos (Meservey & Skowyra, 2015).
The treatment given to young individuals is harsh, and the criminal grows with a revengeful mentality and waits for a chance for freedom to fight back.
The mental development of the children under confinement is disturbed, and society faces the risk of being a home for mentally unstable individuals when releases are done.
The conditions turn the young criminals against the adult world instead of being a rehabilitation center.
- Poor management
The strategies used by the juvenile systems do not reflect the primary goal of the juvenile system (Robertson, 2018).
Juvenile courts and prisons have become centers of government spending, and the government has been wasting vast amounts of funds in taking care of a failing institution.
The cost of maintaining the young juveniles in the cells is high.
The failure of achieving the primary goal can be viewed as a source of loss, and the government should divert the funds to more sensible programs.
- Poor community involvement
The neighborhoods have played a major role in exposing children to crime and should be considered when policies are made (Mallett, 2018).
The community should be involved in coming up with the rules governing juvenile system administration.
The youth have been branded insignificant in coming up with policies governing their stay in the neighborhoods.
The juvenile system has failed in building trust among the parents who allow their children to be subjected to juvenile legal action instead of protecting them.
The lack of community engagement has led to a poor transition system where children who have been released have not been helped to get back into the community smoothly.
- Injustices in the juvenile systems
Most children involved in crimes tend to be from poor backgrounds and do not access the services of professional lawyers (Brown, 2018).
Where the government avails the lawyers, assurance is not given that the lawyers have the desire to help the young criminals or to be paid by the government.
Also, the courts have assumed that all the children presented before the courts are guilty and should be punished.
Most of the individuals in juvenile prisons have been falsely accused but are unable to argue their cases out.
VII. Conclusion
Concerns have been raised concerning the effectiveness of the juvenile systems due to the increased crime rates among young individuals. The juvenile systems have failed in their mandate to help in lowering the crime rates.
References
Brown, K. (2018). Reshaping a Fractured System: Arlen Specter’s Footprint on the Criminal Justice System in the US.
Farrell, H. (2018). Rehabilitation in Washington’s Juvenile Justice System: How Longer Sentences may be Well-Intentioned yet Ineffective.
Mallett, C. A. (2018). Disproportionate minority contact in juvenile justice: Today’s, and yesterdays, problems. Criminal Justice Studies, 31(3), 230-248.
Meservey, F., & Skowyra, K. R. (2015). Caring for youth with mental health needs in the juvenile justice system: Improving knowledge and skills. Research and Program Brief, 2(2), 1-8.
Robertson, P. (2018). Ashley Nellis: A Return to Justice: Rethinking Our Approach to Juveniles in the System.