Critical Analysis of The Effectiveness of The Juvenile Justice System

Self-restraint in the society is paramount among its members. Mistakes committed by members of the society are punishable as either criminal activities or some are taken as light mistakes. When a member of the society commits a criminal activity he or she is subjected to court procedures. The court will determine whether he or she guilty or innocent. Unlike in the traditional society where offenders were treated equally in regard to their criminal activity, in juvenile justice system the juveniles and adults are treated differently. Crime and delinquency are at times in a peak of prevalence and acquired frequency during the juvenile period. The juveniles who are offenders aged 18 years and below face the juvenile system which towards the late days of the nineteenth century when the system was introduced, the juveniles became a subject to the juvenile system while the adults are directed to the criminal justice system. In the early ages courts were used to try children as young as seven years. This was until early 19th century the juvenile system was formed. The juvenile justice system is used to control and reduce crimes committed by adolescents and teenagers in the adult days. This paper discusses the how effective is the juvenile system of justice.

Adults are remarkably mature agents to make their own consequential independent decisions and are subject to consequences of their own actions while juveniles are considered forces of nature who still lack the ability to make their own decisions but use their family members and older friends as their decision maker this makes them presumed to be under control restrained. The juvenile system of justice is an issue to debate in many nations since there is no proven time or passage rite that determines when a juvenile can make his or her own decision. Normally crime is noticeable in youths during their adolescent stages. The unique state of adolescent brings tension to the juvenile justice as children cannot face court orders due to criminal offences. This lack of a definite time that a juvenile is considered adult the Juvenile justice system is faced with problems on how to punish the juvenile. Should the juvenile be given moral guidance or punishment as an adult who should face consequences of his or her own action?

Interpretations which try to interpret the effectiveness of the juvenile system are not all considered because some interpretations explain how the juvenile system is effective by in responding to offences caused by youths through satisfying itself. The United States juvenile system of justice is affected by key issues that affect its functionality. One, the juvenile is effective by providing an acceptable morally and legally response to criminal activities by teenagers. These offences are subjected to punishment which is also the same as in the adult system. However, this sanctions are less harshly and of very different quality unlike adult punishments. Two, acceptable symbolic gestures should be adopted by the juvenile system as a means of communicating to the public as stated by morris, while there was a notable decrease in the murder and sexual assault cases between 1975 and 2005,the number of male teenagers in the correctional facilities doubled for the period between 1990 and 2005. Morris depicts that in spite the juvenile justice system being effective in reducing criminal activities it failed in preventing teenagers from engaging in criminal activities such as abuse of substance, self-esteem improvement. The juvenile system is subject to gender bias in that the male are treated as adults who should face the court while teenagers from the female gender are considered children’s who should be protected from sexual assault cases. A fair juvenile court should consider all genders equal before the law. According to Leve, Chamberlain, and Kim reports female teenagers are involving in vital delinquency has increase in number in the past years. Effective measures should be instituted to make ensure the favored gender is also aware of the consequences of engaging in criminal activities.

In addition to the gender biasness in the juvenile system of justice, education in rehabilitation facilities is not the same as education offered in public schools. Leone and Wruble, depicts that the type of learning in rehabilitation centers is different from the federal standards stated under Individuals with Education disabilities Act for persons undergoing rehabilitation services. The divergence in education quality has enabled parents and guardians to demand for the right education to their children under the right conditions as the rest of the world. Only a few offenders in the juvenile system enjoy at least six hours a day in school. The wasted time can be used to better an offender for an improved life. Correctional facilities should provide advanced education than the public schools to make sure that afflicted person after rehabilitation is fit to engage with the community free from criminal activities. This disparity of the juvenile justice system to provide equal education shows that the system has a lot to do to be effective.

Detention practices and racial discrimination has also been a major inefficiency in the juvenile justice system. The system could be considered effective if it would manage to prevent most youths from involving in activities that are considered criminal. Youths detention rates are naturally higher for minority groups compared to the white majority. This is a clear implication of the system to be marred with definite groups who are detained from justice through arbitration. This has made the juvenile justice system a dumping site for juvenile issues having been contributed by detention and incarceration. Teenagers also overcrowd detention centers hence increasing exponentially as a result of increased violent ways to solve disputes among themselves. One of the things that contribute the juvenile system of justice to be ineffective in preventing teenagers is lack of imposing corrective measures leading teenagers to abrasive, criminal, and externalizing behaviors. Generally, a transformative effect is expected from the juvenile system on the offenders. Underwood, and Lamis argue that mental condition and risk of committing suicide is diagnosed by over 70% of those within the system indicating that the juvenile system provides a harmful life to the offenders in the correctional services. This implies that offenders are subjected to the negativity with much emphasis on their magnitude. This negativity leads them to a contemplate suicide as a route to escape from the society because they feel they are not fit to engage to the society again. This is a major factor that lowers the juvenile efficiency.

Due to increased inefficiencies, the United states government and the administrations of states have emerged with ways to improve the system in order to provide positive transformation of the young generations.According to Seigle, the juvenile system jails experienced by the end of 2011 had reduced through alternatives detentions. Judges and justice administrator’s collaboration and commitment have contributed to the achievement of resolving the juvenile system. Seigel postulates that raising youth’s outcomes within the system can be ventured through asses to the needs and risks of the teenagers. Moreover, research drives the decision made through justice and resource allocation. According to Seigel the best way to reduce criminalist is by using the youth to determine solutions. This can be done through improvement of the outcomes of the spheres of the youths.

In order to raise the standards of the juvenile system of justice and the make it more effective the following ways should be used: One, the first time offenders and minor offenders should be offered immediate intervention. Instead of using conventional detention, diversion and probation would be used at the correctional centers. Two: Offenders who commit serious criminal activity for the first time should be intensively propagated and supervised in order to control the change of their behaviors. Third, community confinement is important especially during offenders repeat property through implementation of residential or non-residential programs in the society. States should collaborate with significant stakeholders in the implementation of this strategies. Authorities should also have adequate training in order to sustain efforts required to sustain the system. An effective juvenile system should provide a morally appropriate approach and legal response to criminal behavior. Measures such as electronic tagging should be imposed to keep troublesome young men out of crimes this can be achieved by closely supervising them and direct control.

There are other strategies that can be used to streamline the juvenile justice such as avoiding unnecessary detentions, reducing re arresting rates, addressing racial disparities, and proper use of public finances in order to improve juvenile conditions. In addition it would be more advantageous when the exposed group is involved in understanding behavior change. The system should assist those leaving correctional services in getting back to the community by providing support, this will promote an advantageous perception of the juvenile justice system. The system can also reduce interventions between the community and the offenders this is due to the difference between the offenders in the institution and those in the community. According to Mears, Pickett, and Mancini research group of college learners were interviewed about their notion on the juvenile system and the treatment of the criminals. The results from the interview indicated that there was a failure of the juvenile system to deal with the criminals in an appropriate manner, hence making the system ineffective. Statistics showed that 67% of the interviewers seek the system to balance between the rehabilitation and punishment of the offenders. The public also gave their approach indicating that the approach was not strong. Leve, Chamberlain, and Kim (253) also gave their views that the authorities ought to consider the efficiency of the system, various family, individual and other hindering factors.

Today we have policies and programs that recognize behavioral issues within the juvenile system regarding youth offenders and target strategies. Family factors such as maltreatment during childhood leading to violent development ought to be considered and parental criminal history established. Children acquire a false belief that crime is a good way of life when parents frequently engage in criminal activities. Juveniles behaviors in school, neighborhoods, and peer relationship should be considered as they highly contribute to the behavior change of a teenager in his/her adult years. Delinquency effect and adolescent timing should be examined to make sure proper interventions are imposed to prevent the youth from engaging in the juvenile justice system in the early ages.

The juvenile system of justice should consider some of the following factors for it to be considered effective: One, the system should bring along legal and psychological response to the criminal. Punishment provided to the teenager should be severe when compared to adult punishments. Second, the system should be transparent to the public when communicating demonstrations actions that fair both on punishment and rehabilitation. Third, Criminal youths should be satisfied with the actions taken against their crimes. The juvenile system should use appropriate of resolving disputes to achieve this. The system should also prove to prevent youths from crime. The juvenile justice ought to achieve a transformative effect on the majority youths who have not gone through correctional facilities rather than the minority crime makers. The juvenile system should be experienced in such a way that the culprit comes out of the system with full understanding of consequences of criminal doings and having the scope to live a compelled life.

The juvenile system of justice undergoes struggles in order to provide an effective service. This is well seen through gender discrimination, where females are favored in place of the males, unnecessary detentions which are used to prevent teenagers from involving in criminal activities. However, the juvenile justice system has achieved to reduce some of the crimes for example murder. Additionally, most youths in the system are filled with suicide thoughts indicating that rehabilitation process may be difficult to effect. In order for the juvenile system to create confidence to the public and other offenders; the government has undertaken alternative detentions such as probation and supervision have been used. Correctional centers have been funded and trained personnel used to handle juveniles. Research has also been used by the government to induce the teenagers with decision making through use of clear programs.

References

1. Leone, Peter E., and Pamela Cichon Wruble. 'Education services in juvenile corrections: 40 years of litigation and reform.' Education and treatment of children 38.4 (2015): 587-604.
2. Mears, Daniel P., Justin T. Pickett, and Christina Mancini. 'Support for balanced juvenile justice: Assessing views about youth, rehabilitation, and punishment.' Journal of quantitative criminology 31.3 (2015): 459-479.
3. Scott, Michelle, Maureen Underwood, and Dorian A. Lamis. 'Suicide and related-behavior among youth involved in the juvenile justice system.' Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 32.6 (2015): 517-527.
4. Smith, David J. 'The effectiveness of the juvenile justice system.' Criminal justice 5.2 (2005): 181-195.
5. Leve, Leslie D., Patricia Chamberlain, and Hyoun K. Kim. 'Risks, outcomes, and evidence-based interventions for girls in the US juvenile justice system.' Clinical child and family psychology review 18.3 (2015): 252-279.
6. Scott, Michelle, Maureen Underwood, and Dorian A. Lamis. 'Suicide and related-behavior among youth involved in the juvenile justice system.' Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 32.6 (2015): 517-527.