Juvenile Justice System
Since the inception of the Juvenile Justice System it has had critics those who side with its current vision of how to deal with offenders. Throughout the years the Juvenile Justice System has undergone several transformations. However, I believe the Juvenile Justice System is due for another change. Currently, the Juvenile Justice System is at a cross point; to focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation or focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Should we rehabilitate offenders or punish offenders? What is the correct answer? Personally, I believe that the Juvenile Justice System should focus primarily on the rehabilitation of offenders. In this paper we will explore why I believe this focus will benefit the Juvenile Justice System,
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Juvenile rehabilitation is an art and not a science. What works for one kid may not work for another” (PBS.org ). This statement is a rational statement that I personally believe as well. Rehabilitation is not a magic wand that will correct the behavior of any offender by simply waving it. However, I do believe that even if a juvenile goes through the court process, probation, and the corrections department, that juvenile still has a chance to succeed. There are also organizations that believe this as well. As stated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s vision they believe that all youth involved in the juvenile justice system have the opportunity to develop into healthy, productive adults (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, …show more content…
As stated in this article published on Yahoo! Voices on October 30, 2009 “Methvin (1997) confirms that failure to punish juvenile offenders meaningfully upon their first crime was a primary factor in determining whether a youth would become a habitual offender He then expands on this point, linking repeat offenders with more serious crimes, as shown in the study conducted by criminologist Wolfgang (1945, 1958) in which he compiled records of... 9,945 males born in 1945 and attending school in Philadelphia between the ages of 10 and 18... 7% were chronic offenders, with 5 or more arrests by age 18” (Yahoo! Voices ). The idea of not dealing directly with the offense and punishing the offender to deter any further criminal behavior is a good arguable point. However, we cannot stereotype all juvenile offenders based on past experienced. As I stated before I was given multiple opportunities to correct my criminal behavior. When I refer to opportunities these include punishment: incarceration. If I were treated just as another typical juvenile offender and handed the same cookie cutter punishment, my chances of successfully exiting the juvenile justice system would have been
Juvenile rehabilitation is an art and not a science. What works for one kid may not work for another” (PBS.org ). This statement is a rational statement that I personally believe as well. Rehabilitation is not a magic wand that will correct the behavior of any offender by simply waving it. However, I do believe that even if a juvenile goes through the court process, probation, and the corrections department, that juvenile still has a chance to succeed. There are also organizations that believe this as well. As stated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s vision they believe that all youth involved in the juvenile justice system have the opportunity to develop into healthy, productive adults (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, …show more content…
As stated in this article published on Yahoo! Voices on October 30, 2009 “Methvin (1997) confirms that failure to punish juvenile offenders meaningfully upon their first crime was a primary factor in determining whether a youth would become a habitual offender He then expands on this point, linking repeat offenders with more serious crimes, as shown in the study conducted by criminologist Wolfgang (1945, 1958) in which he compiled records of... 9,945 males born in 1945 and attending school in Philadelphia between the ages of 10 and 18... 7% were chronic offenders, with 5 or more arrests by age 18” (Yahoo! Voices ). The idea of not dealing directly with the offense and punishing the offender to deter any further criminal behavior is a good arguable point. However, we cannot stereotype all juvenile offenders based on past experienced. As I stated before I was given multiple opportunities to correct my criminal behavior. When I refer to opportunities these include punishment: incarceration. If I were treated just as another typical juvenile offender and handed the same cookie cutter punishment, my chances of successfully exiting the juvenile justice system would have been