Juvenile Detention Centers: More Harm than Good

A sixteen year old male was wrongfully arrested after being accused of stealing a backpack. He was never convicted of the crime but spent nearly three years in Riker’s Island. He went through beatings, starvation, and torture while being imprisoned. After being released, the young male hung himself after suffering from depression and the thoughts of his imprisonment (Moseley par.4). Two million children are arrested every year in the United States and more children are incarcerated here than any nation by a five to one ratio (Stamm par.8) . Juvenile detention centers are ineffective because they do not offer emotional support, they do not create a strategic plan to help children when they are released, and they do not treat the children like they matter.

Juvenile detention centers do not offer emotional support. One research article states, 'The real kicker is, when we rehabilitate kids, what happens is you end up having seven out of 10 don't recidivate. In other words, they don't commit another crime, they don't create victims, they're not in front of a judge — seven out of 10. But when we just incarcerate ... seven out of 10 times you are going to have a kid who's going to be back in front of a judge and eventually back in jail'(Stamm par.11). When kids are given treatment instead of being thrown into jail, they are less likely to commit another crime than when incarcerated. This shows that children respond better when they are being talked to and supported rather than punished and locked away. Dimon says, “Solitary confinement involves isolating inmates in cells that are barely larger than a king-sized bed for 22 to 24 hours per day. It wreaks profound neurological and psychological damage, causing depression, hallucinations, panic attacks, cognitive deficits, obsessive thinking, paranoia, anxiety, and anger”. Children’s brains are still developing and solitary confinement can have a damaging impact on its growing process. This bare social and physical existence makes many young people feel doomed and abandoned, or in some cases, suicidal, and can lead to serious physical and emotional consequences (Kysel 2). Being in solitary confinement makes the youth feel hopeless and can lead to serious emotional damage. Juvenile centers would rather throw kids into solitary confinement instead of helping them get through their emotions. Suicide rates in juvenile detention facilities are more than four times higher than for adolescents overall. Suicide is even more likely for adolescents confined in isolation (Hayes 4). According to a national survey conducted in 2012, an estimated ten percent of young people in juvenile facilities reported sexual victimization by staff members or a peer. How can children better themselves and learn from their mistakes if they’re being assaulted by the people who are supposed to be helping them? The graph below shows how many juveniles are incarcerated in the U.S. for nonviolent crimes and being held in solitary confinement. This information is important because it shows how children who are not threats are being punished in ways that will do more emotional damage . This data supports that juvenile detention centers do not offer emotional support because more than half of the kids were isolated for more than twenty four hours at a time for simple crimes such as running away from home. In conclusion, this amount of emotional distress can distract children from focusing on their behavior for when they are released.

Juvenile detention centers do not create a strategic plan to help children when they are released. Sending kids to jail reduces their chances of finishing high school and increases their chances of being incarcerated as an adult. According to recent studies, “those incarcerated as a juvenile are 39 percentage points less likely to graduate from high school and are 41 percentage points more likely to have entered adult prison by age 25 compared with other public school students from the same neighborhood” (A. Aizer 3). This shows the significant negative effect juvenile detention centers have on a child’s success later in life. Sending kids to jail can affect their chances of finding a job and that will encourage them to engage in criminal activity. In this article the author states that, “The second way in which juvenile incarceration can negatively affect human capital accumulation is by interrupting high school completion and reducing years of schooling, thereby greatly reducing future labor market wages and increasing future criminal activity” (A. Aizer 4). If people aren’t able to find jobs and make money in a legal way then it’s very likely that they will become involved in illegal activities to make a living. Children who are sent to juvy are more likely to be in jail again in the future than children who are not incarcerated. Studies show that young offenders who were incarcerated were a staggering 67 percent more likely to be in jail (again) by the age of 25 than similar young offenders who didn’t go to prison (Beauchamp par. 5). Juvenile detention centers should be keeping kids out of jail and encouraging them not to reoffend, but instead, jail is doing the complete opposite. This shows that juvy is not beneficial to a child and does more harm than good. Significantly, constantly being put in the environment of criminality does not give children the confidence of knowing that they have a chance of being successful in life.

Juvenile detention centers do not treat children like they matter. Children need a structured environment where they are constantly being watched and counseled. Finkel says, “The research was clear: Putting all kids who committed a crime, even if their crime was minor and they were of little or no threat to public safety, into a locked and crowded detention center increased the likelihood that they would end up serving time, and would torpedo any chance they had for turning their lives around” ( Finkel par. 7). Children need to be placed into an environment that welcomes them and encourages them to want to do better. In another article, Conniff discusses his experience in visiting a jail. He says, “A couple of kids are lying limply on mats on the floor. One pudgy white boy is placidly brushing his teeth and staring into space. 'He's doing real well,' the guard in the control booth tells me” (Conniff 3). Kids were lying on the ground and one juvenile was acting strangely, and the guard says he’s fine. This shows that the kids are not being treated like people and are obviously not being looked after. Children who are placed in adult facilities are exposed to more dangerous risks. This article states, “following a rise in juvenile crime in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ‘get tough on crime’ policies led to an increase in the number of children being tried as adults and being committed to adult facilities. Such settings can be harmful to adolescents. Juveniles may face higher risks of rape, assault, and suicide when placed in adult prisons. Multiple studies show, however, that those who are transferred to adult facilities are more likely to reoffend” (Bilchik 2). Kids should not have to go to adult facilities. They deserve something that will better them, not to be thrown away like they don’t have a chance. Children who have never committed a violent or community threatening crime are being thrown into jail and forgotten about. For instance, Stamm says, “Too many of our children are being locked up for reasons that are better addressed by either counseling [or community involvement]' (Stamm par. 9). Kids are being locked up for reasons that can be easily addressed by a counselor or even by being placed into a safer environment. The type of neighborhood a child is born into does not define them but can have a tremendous impact on their decisions.

Juvenile detention centers do not offer substantial support to children, juvy decreases the chances of children being successful in the future, and jail does not give children hope. Children are still growing and developing each day, and the most important job as adults is to guide them through the journey so that children have a chance at being victorious.

Works Cited

1. Aizer & J. J. Doyle, 2015. 'Juvenile Incarceration, Human Capital, and Future Crime: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges,' The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol 130(2), pages 759-803
2. Beauchamp, Zack. “STUDY: Throwing Kids In Jail Makes Crime Worse, Ruins Lives.” ThinkProgress, thinkprogress.org/study-throwing-kids-in-jail-makes-crime-worse-ruins-lives-f67672a65637/.
3. Beck, A. J., Cantor, D., Hartge, J., & Smith, T. (2013). Sexual victimization in juvenile facilities reported by youth, 2012 [Electronic Version] (NCJ 241708). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
4. Bilchik, S. (1999). Juvenile justice: A century of change [Electronic Version]. 1999 National Report Series, Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Available at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/9912_2/contents.html
5. “Children in Prison.” Equal Justice Initiative, 6 Nov. 2017, eji.org/children-prison.
6. Dimon, Laura. “How Solitary Confinement Hurts the Teenage Brain.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 June 2014, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/how-solitary-confinement-hurts-the-teenage-brain/373002/.
7. Finkel, Ed. “Juvenile Detention Centers: On the Other Side Of.” ACEs Too High, 15 Apr. 2015, acestoohigh.com/2015/03/19/juvenile-detention-centers-on-the-other-side-of-lock-em-up-but-not-quite-trauma-informed/.
8. Hayes, L. M. (2000). Suicide prevention in juvenile facilities [Electronic Version]. Juvenile Justice, 7, 24-32
9. Kysel, Ian. “Growing Up Locked Down | Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United States.” Human Rights Watch, Alison Parker, 8 June 2016, www.hrw.org/report/2012/10/10/growing-locked-down/youth-solitary-confinement-jails-and-prisons-across-united.
10. Stamm, Sarah Mimms and Stephanie. “2 Million Kids Are Arrested in the U.S. Every Year. Congress Is Trying to Change That.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 2 May 2014, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/2-million-kids-are-arrested-in-the-us-every-year-congress-is-trying-to-change-that/450522/.
11. Conniff, Ruth. 'Meet the teens in lockup.' The Progressive, Feb. 1996, p. 27+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A17918835/OVIC?u=mchs11357&xid=32721ba7. Accessed 2 Nov. 2017.
12. Moseley, Mariya. “10 Things To Know About The Heartbreaking Story Of Kalief Browder.”Essence.com, www.essence.com/news/facts-about-kalief-browder-rikers-prison-documentary-JayZ.