Juvenile Justice System Analysis

Our Juvenile Justice System is broken. We live in a society that should be concerned with the way it manages teenagers who are deviant. Today, our juveniles are viewed as individuals to be feared rather than rehabilitated. Rarely are issues with juvenile crime and punishment treated under the rehabilitative philosophical basis parens patriae, instead youths are sentenced in juvenile facilities or even adult prisons for status offenses. They are placed in a community with expert criminals, and as a result, continue the lifelong journey of crime. Redding concludes that once incarcerated in adult facilities, juveniles typically receive fewer age-appropriate rehabilitative, medical, mental health and educational services, and are at greater risk

Of those, approximately 95% are not accused of violent crimes (murder, rape or aggravated assault). Yet, these youth are often incarcerated in the juvenile justice system, causing more harm than good to the academic, social and personal growth of our youth (“4 Things to Understand about Youth, Mental Health & Juvenile Justice in the US”, 2015). Juvenile rehabilitation helps troubled and distressed teens become an asset to the community. It is a system created especially for minors who have committed crimes and display unfavorable futures. Since youths are still developing, they have the potential to change. The Forbes article (2015), 4 Things to Understand about Youth, Mental Health & Juvenile Justice in the US, shows both the nature and the nurture that results in a juvenile’s behavior, thus, showing that more nurture, or better rehabilitation practices, can help alter the demeanor of a child ( ). Research in general, on deterrence-oriented-correction programmes and assessments of the effects of prison-term length has shown that punishment has little or no effect on recidivism, and that offenders who are sent to prison had higher recidivism rates than those placed on probation (Chu & Ogloff, 2012). In contrast to correctional sanctions, rehabilitation treatment aims at motivating, guiding and supporting constructive change within offenders in whatever characteristics and circumstances that give rise to their criminal behavior or undermine their prosocial behavior (Chu & Ogloff, 2012). In order to identify the reason for a juveniles actions and begin the treatment process, the first step is the screening process. This process is necessary to identify acute problems that must be addressed immediately. While this process determines the individuals in needs of treatment, it also screens out youth who do not require costly assessment