The Juvenile justice system is a system for underage offenders. The aim of the juvenile systems is usually to rehabilitate, rather than punish as in the system for older offenders. The juvenile system was developed in the United States to help deal with the individual needs of child offenders by trying to understand them and hence rehabilitate them. Suitable programs were created to help address their needs while in the correctional facilities. Unless it is a serious offence in which a minor will be tried as an adult, most juveniles are prosecuted for felonious acts.
Leadership
It is not enough to just have juvenile jails in place. For the juvenile justice programs to achieve the desired outcomes, there must be proper implementation of rehabilitation policies. Law enforcers must come up with workable policies and practices that will ensure the success of the correctional facilities for juveniles. There are resources available online for the juvenile managers and practitioners that assist them in implementation of reform policies. Some juvenile systems are already taking advantage of such resources and the outcomes are pleasing. Some are still reluctant and this can be seen in the kind of rehabilitation the children go through (Seigle, 2015).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Government leaders like mayors are encouraged to use the online resources available on juvenile rehabilitation in their efforts to improve the juvenile justice systems in their regions. They are also advised to use these resources to ensure best outcome of the rehabilitation programs. These resources are usually from research as well as tried and tested methods for juvenile reforms. The resources offer specific information to the type of reform needed, as such they are need-specific, making them very effective (Seigle, 2015).
As part of ensuring proper rehabilitation and reforms of convicted youth, the families also get engaged. The practitioners often visit the families of the youth in the juvenile systems. They try to engage as well as empower these families. They are trained on how to handle the children in the justice systems. They try to be involved in all the steps of the rehabilitation program and learn to be accommodative of these children once they are released back home. As part of their duties, the practitioners track and keep record of how the family members perform in terms of their participation in rehabilitating the youth. The family members are encouraged to freely mingle with their rehabilitated counterparts to help them fit faster into the society after release (Siegle, 2015).
Sometimes these programs do not achieve the desired results. It is safe to say that not every resource available online can work for a particular justice system. It is, therefore, upon the practitioners and local leaders to sit down and identify resources that work best for them. The aim is to properly rehabilitate these youth, so the more effective the resource, the better. Let them sit down and develop policies that are friendly and result-oriented. This can be done by modifying already available resources or creating new content, whichever works for the system.
Ethics
Whereas the juvenile justice system was set up to help rehabilitate young offenders, it had more flaws than merits. For example, in the adult justice system, there was a proper hearing procedure and not everyone was jailed. In the juvenile justice system, most children were detained without trial. And if they were tried, they were denied access to a lawyer or witness, hence no fair trial accorded to them. All that was needed was a word from the police or adults like parents. This resulted in jailing those who committed crimes as well as those who did not. This was unfair to children who may have been accused falsely. Some were even held in police custody for longer hours without trial (MacCord, Widom, & Crowell, 2001).
Another flaw of the juvenile justice system was lack of protection and proper care for the children. This was because of the mixing of offenders and non-offenders. Most of the time it was assumed the children are minors and may not harm each other, hence there was no separation based on potential danger to themselves. As such, most children suffered from bullying and other forms of torture within the juvenile system. Others, due to lack of proper care, became sickly. It is safe to say that the conditions in the juvenile jails were not so friendly (MacCord, Widom, & Crowell, 2001).
The court system often handed harsher punishments and punishment periods compared to the crime. A simple case that may have earned an adult a simple fine of some few dollars or a month in jail saw younger offenders jailed for years with an aim of rehabilitating them. The thought that any child who committed any form of crime deserved to be rehabilitated saw many children suffer long jail terms. The state wanted to produce responsible citizens out of them, so they thought the harsher the punishment, the more responsible they became. This was quite an unfair treatment for the juveniles (MacCord, Widom, & Crowell, 2001).
Whereas some punishments seemed too harsh for the young offenders, sometimes the juvenile justice system proved to be too lenient with young offenders. There are children who were sent to juvenile jails for offences like murder or attempted murder. Such cases should not be taken lightly as they were because a child who attempts to murder may eventually murder. Rehabilitation alone may not be enough in such cases. These are children with criminal minds and may need to be treated as criminals and jailed. This way they get a punishment that matches the crime (MacCord, Widom, & Crowell, 2001).
Juvenile courts do not have juries. For this reason, all cases are listened to and decided upon by judges. It is possible that the outcome of a case may be different if it involves a judge only without jury. Judges are known to often sentence, unlike juries who sometimes give a not guilty verdict and ask for release. This means that there is no fairness in a juvenile court as the young offenders are most likely to get sentenced being that they only have a judge and no jury present (MacCord, Widom, & Crowell, 2001).
Research
Research on juvenile justice system is an ongoing process. There can never be enough information pertaining to implementation of juvenile rehabilitation. As such, there is always research into ways of improving the existent justice system to make it better. There has also been a gap in the access to research information that is necessary in the improvement of the juvenile justice system. It is either the personnel involved are not aware of the research information or the information is unavailable to them (Love & Harvell, 2016).
There is an effort by various offices in charge of juvenile correction systems to bridge the gap of accessing research information. This is done by translating available research into viable policies and practices that will lead to successful juvenile systems. The available research is converted into strategies that the practitioners are familiar with and are easy to implement. This also ensures that previous research on juvenile justice systems is not in vain. It also encourages future research.
Some practitioners are aware of the availability of research information that can be used in the implementation of research-informed practices for better results in the juvenile justice systems. They, however, lack resources that enable them access such information. These officers of the juvenile systems may have an interest in converting available research work into potentially useful material for their use, but they lack the capability. This makes it harder to make use of available research information which may even be rendered useless eventually.
In order to expand and fortify research-informed practice, there are several gaps that ought to be addressed. Examples include engaging youth and families, implementing sustainable reentry practices, and implementing risks/needs assessments (Love & Harvell, 2016). Youth and family engagement is an area that still needs lots of research. Most practitioners still do not see the importance of caregivers in the juvenile justice system. Instead, they are shut out and if at all involved then their participation is minimal.
Some of the barriers that practitioners face in their quest for research information on juvenile justice systems include capacity limitations and information presentation (Love & Harvell, 2016). More often than not, practitioners find available research information broad and overwhelming. They prefer simple, easily accessible information. Also, the information sometimes is not in an easily understandable language and may lose meaning in translation. Practitioners ask for simplified research items with a friendly language for easy interpretation and implementation.
Technology
Teens in detention within the juvenile systems have certain limitations especially with regard to technology. Some systems, however, try as much as possible to have these teens get access to technology under supervision. For example, the Department of Youth services in Boston has a partnership with the Boston Public Library where the library sends over two librarians monthly to the facility to provide library services (Snow, 2018). This helps keep the teens informed and at par with any helpful knowledge they need. They sometimes have requests for specific books they need which are availed to them. It is therefore not a surprise that when these teens are released out into the community they are knowledgeable.
There have, however, been complaints that some juvenile justice systems do not meet educational requirements. As with any other systems, kids who get into the juvenile correctional systems are diverse with different needs. There is a need for specialized care and educational needs. It has been noted with concern that most of the juvenile justice systems do not address kids with challenges and special needs. They are often ignored and left to fight for themselves like the other normal kids. This means that when they leave the juvenile jails, they are not at per with their peers education wise (Morones, 2014).
The juvenile justice system has not been able to achieve much in terms of educating the child offenders. This is due to some challenges like few teachers and few resources. Some systems also just concentrate on punishment instead of educating and empowering the children. As such, they end up producing reformed children but who lack skills to help them maneuver once released, and they may relapse into a life of crime. The system considers them more of criminals than children who messed and should be corrected as they continue to learn. With this mentality, the juveniles may have little to no access to education.
Many juvenile justice systems are now encouraged to make education a priority. Most of these kids when they come back from jail do not wish to continue with their education in the normal school systems. This means that if they do not receive much in terms of education while in detention, then they become hopeless when released. The government is helping improve juvenile education by providing funds to the systems as well as teachers. They also try to ensure the type of education received in the juvenile systems is similar to the one in the normal schools.
Recommendations for Changes
The juvenile justice system was a great idea to help separate child offenders from adults. This was to enable them be rehabilitated and released back to the society. Most of these systems have been successful. A few challenges noted would be corrected to ensure a perfect system. Government should fund research projects. Information from these research projects is useful in creating systems that help improve the justice system for juveniles. These research information should also be made readily available to practitioners and caretakers. This makes it easier to run the systems basing them on previous research and tried methods.
The government should invest more in juvenile education. Instead of treating these kids as criminals, the government should consider them as children who still need education to have a better future. This way, they receive education like their peers and can make great career choices once released. There should be more teachers as well as proper curriculums to ensure they receive the level of education desired. Also, there should be specialized care for kids with special needs to ensure they also receive a proper education like the rest. Kids like slow learners should be considered and given special treatment even as they are rehabilitated.
The juvenile justice system should be improved right from the time a crime is committed. The kids should not be detained for long without being tried. There should be a jury in place to listen to the proceedings in order to accord them fair trial. This way, the judge is not left to preside over everything on his own. The kids should also be allowed access to a lawyer, and those who cannot afford should be assigned one by the state. Lighter offences should not receive heavy penalties like jail terms. Instead they should be released with light punishments like community service.
Conclusion
The juvenile justice system has been in place for a long time. It has been successful as it has seen the rehabilitation of many kids as well as a reduction in the number of child offenders. There are a few shortcomings of the system that if looked into, then the juvenile justice system will achieve higher success rates. The decision to separate child offenders from adults has helped protect children from dangers of being jailed with adults. With continuous research and implementation of the information from the research, there will be better systems in place.
References
Love, H., & Harvell, S. (2016, December). Understanding Research and Practice Gaps in Juvenile Justice: Early Insights from the Bridge Project. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250489.pdf
MacCord, J., Widom, C.C., & Crowell, N.A. (2001). Juvenile crime, juvenile justice: Panel on juvenile crime: Prevention, treatment, and control . Washington: National Academy Press.
Morones, A. (2019, February 21). Juvenile-Justice System Not Meeting Educational Needs, Report Says. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/17/29justice.h33.html
Seigle, E. (2015, June 15). Improving Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from https://www.nlc.org/article/improving-outcomes-for-youth-in-the-juvenile-justice-system
Snow, J. (2018, March 6). Technology on the Inside: Inside the Juvenile Justice System. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2018/03/06/technology-on-the-inside-inside-the-juvenile-justice-system/
