The number of young offenders is increasing with each passing day. It is not known whether poor parenting, lack or role models or general moral decadence is the reason behind this increased behavior. Regardless of the causes, one thing remains clear; when the law is broken, there must be consequences regardless of the offenders’ age. Sometimes young children below the adult age are found in grievous mistakes such as murders and assault. In such cases, the child or young adult needs to be corrected in a special facility since he or she has not attained the legal age required by the law to be sent to prison. This is where juvenile comes in handy (Ward & Kupchik, 2008) .
Juvenile crime is not a recent occurrence. Due to societal setup and other factors, youths have been making mistakes that warrant their arrests and sentencing. In the past, those found guilty were incarcerated together with the adults. The youths in prison however became worse and developed immoral behavior. Instead of reforming, they could get worse. Something had to be done and a closer look of the system revealed the need for a separate system for the young offenders. This was the birth of the juvenile system.
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Juvenile officers
Juvenile officers require a special kind of passion and dedication to deal with young offenders some who have no idea about the implication of their actions. A special combination of skills set is therefore very crucial if you are to qualify as a juvenile officer. It takes a special person to successfully work with youths. One wrong move could mean that the young adult is scarred for life. However, with proper handling it is possible to correct the boy or girl and direct them to be better adults.
Juvenile sentencing
Usually, juvenile courts have a variety of sentencing options for youth offenders that have been found delinquent. Once it is established that the young offender in question has violated a criminal offense then sentencing is carried out. This can happen in two ways where the delinquent is sentenced to incarceration or given a non-incarceration punishment. Probation, which is one of the non-incarceration options, forms the backbone of the juvenile system. For the incarceration option, the offender can be sentenced to house arrest, guardianship placement; probation after a short term in a juvenile detention and finally the youth offender could be sentenced to a secured juvenile facility. In all these scenarios, a juvenile officer is involved at some point. A good juvenile officer is needed to help effect the necessary changes that would transform the lives of these young individuals.
To understand the traits that a juvenile officer should have, it is important to understand the kind of work that he or she performs. The officer is responsible for counseling young offenders and guiding them to reform. He or she is also charged with the responsibility of supervising the offenders work, guarding the incarcerated youths in the detention facilities as well as working closely with the law courts, the police and the parents or guardians of the youth offenders. Other tasks include providing evidence in court as well as providing official progress reports as needed (Brennan & Khinduka, 1971) . With all these tasks, certain traits must be evident in the officers if the task is to be achieved.
Characteristics that all juvenile officers should have
Juvenile officers need to have specific traits to be able to handle youth offenders depending on the sentence that was assessed. Some traits may be unique to the sentencing but others need to be possessed by all juvenile officers. Juvenile officers are responsible for meeting with these offenders regularly especially if they have not been confined to an institution or house arrest. Usually, the academic requirement is a bachelor’s degree for all officers working in correctional treatment facilities. In addition to these, there are personal traits, which are necessary to have for successful execution of tasks. The work that the officers perform should not be underestimated since they are the people responsible for rectifying youths. They help restore trust and belief in the youths and facilitate acceptance of the youths by the society. These are some of the traits that help through this difficult process:
Communication skills
A juvenile correctional officer needs excellent skills in communication more so the listening part. The officer should be able to listen to his or her employer and the offender. This helps the officer to know how to talk to the offender and be in a position to guide them. It is the officer’s responsibility to offer information clearly, so that the offender will know what is expected. The ability to communicate also comes in handy during court sessions when the officer must advice the offender on the most appropriate recommendations to take. The officer should have the ability to clear any misunderstanding fast.
Excellent in relationships
A good officer will not use force when dealing with youth offenders unless the situation calls for it. He or she understands that the greater perception from is that he or she is hard-edged and difficult. On the contrary, a good officer proves that he or she can relate with everyone without bias. Once you can show the offenders these quality then chances are that they will listen and obey more. They will also be able to learn better from you.
Critical thinking
Every officer that intends to work with youth offenders must ensure that he or she can make sound decisions critically. This skill is important when assessing if the offender is genuine or not. If one is not careful, youthful offenders may work their way out of the situations without learning the lessons they needed to. Critical thinking is also important when working out a fair settlement with a judge on behalf of the offender (Vidal & Skeem, 2007) .
Resilience and selflessness
An officer in this line of duty knows that he or she is dealing with a criminal no matter how young they are. There is always the possibility that the offenders will get out of hand and things fail to go as planned. A little or major setback needs not be the reason for an officer in the juvenile section to quit, in fact, failure is one of the greatest lessons for an officer in this line of work. However, for such an officer to withstand the pressure that comes with this he or she has to act selflessly. At some point, officers may be required to put the needs of others before their own. A successful officer needs to recognize when duty calls in order to excel. This is where the need for the larger good supersedes the few. An officer needs to make the best call for the majority in all situations.
Open mindedness
When dealing with juvenile offenders one cannot afford to be close-minded. These offenders are mostly irrational and can react unexpectedly any time. It is important therefore to be able to adapt to changes whenever there is need. An officer may be needed to make abrupt changes on a daily basis and this should not be a problem.
It is my believe that the same traits should be present in officers dealing with adult offenders. Even though the difference may exist between the offenders in terms of age, one fact remains constant. The criminals had a reason behind taking the actions that made them end up in correctional facilities. It is important to be open-minded when dealing with adult offenders as well and always have an open ear to listen to grievances as officers. While there may be slight differences in handling the two age groups, officers need to be critical thinkers and perfect communicators in both cases. You can only serve criminals as an officer if you are willing to understand them.
It is believed that an officer that has worked with adult offenders for more than 20 years can work with juvenile offenders just as well. The skills to handle and guide these youth offenders are similar. It is possible that he or she may need to refresh his or her counseling skills in order to understand the younger offenders better, but such an officer can do a good job regardless of experience. What matters when dealing with these offenders is the ability to be understanding. This will open doors for better communication and open mindedness. Chances are that having dealt with adult offenders for so long, an officer might be able to identify a certain train and help deal with it before it gets out of hand. The twenty-year experience also equips a juvenile officer with appropriate skills of containing juvenile offenders. The adaptability of such an officer is commendable and excellent when dealing with irrational youth offenders. Chances are that the officer has all the tricks that the young offenders may try to pull.
Conclusion
Juvenile systems are useful for young offenders. Putting them together with the adults would not work. It is important to train officers that deal with youth offenders and equip them with the necessary techniques of withstanding whatever challenges come their way.
References
Brennan,K and Khinduka,L. ( 1971). Role expectations of social workers and lawyers in the juvenile court. Crime & Delinquency, 17(2) , 191-201.
Vidal, S and Skeem, P. (2007). Effect of psychopathy, abuse, and ethnicity on juvenile probation officers’ decision-making and supervision strategies. Law and human behavior , 479-498.
Ward,M and Kupchik, L. (2008). What drives juvenile probation officers? Relating organizational contexts, status characteristics, and personal convictions to treatment and punishment orientations. Crime & Delinquency .
