Juvenile crime, depending on the level of seriousness, should lead to a path of rehabilitation. Lawmakers should consider alternatives of incarceration for juvenile delinquents given the age and surrounding environment of the individual. These alternatives should be based on the idea of rehabilitation so that the delinquent can successful re-integrate into society once more. This essay will demonstrate that there are harmful and diminishing effects of life after juvenile crime punishments and show the usefulness of rehabilitation.
Some may say that juvenile delinquents don’t deserve a second chance at rehabilitation because they are likely do the same crime again. However, “chronic offenders make up less than ten percent of juvenile offenders (Juvenile Crime Facts, page 155)” verifying that over ninety percent of juvenile offenders don’t commit the same crimes multiple times.
Others say that they don’t deserve a second chance because they committed the crime and knew of the possible consequences so they would have to deal with the law, whatever that may be specifically. According to Schumacher and Kurz, in order “to avoid a cycle of criminality, it is imperative to exact a swift and a sure punishment for each offense and to reduce the number and severity of problems that plague 8% youth and families (Schumacher and Kurz, page 14).”
It is just and fair to punish them for whatever crime they may have committed. However, the punishment should be just and fair and not too harsh for the young person’s age and/or actions.
Schumacher and Kurz also stated that “typically, the young first-time offender faces a neither swift nor sure punishment (Schumacher and Kurz, page 14).” Some people believe that this is justifiable. They believe that long, harsh and reforming punishments should be chosen for juvenile teenagers. Even though some may deserve it, there are others who deserve a more deserving and equitable response. The system itself is corrupt if we allow one man to doom the entirety of the other’s fates.
Due to biased portrayals from the media of young people who commit crimes, it makes it easier “to blame these adolescents or their families and contribute to laws and policies that favor harsh punishments (page 14)”, according to Shannon.
Also, one must take into consideration that every living person has made a mistake and, without knowing all of the backstory details, we cannot assume that they will commit the same crimes or presume to understand the actual intent or reason for the crime committed. Sometimes people have been raised in a disagreeable environment and have been raised to believe that a “life of crime” is the best option for them. Sometimes people need to be led down a path for a better life.
Janet Reno, United States Attorney General, stated that “We must love them enough not to give up on them but to work with them to let them know that there will be fair, firm, certain punishment when they hurt others.” There has to be a fair and just punishment for the crimes committed but there has to be something afterwards.
There should be a comprehensive initiative available for the youth to prevent violent and all crime. Incarceration is thought of to be one of the most severe sanctions that can be given out by the justice system.
Many children who are incarcerated will be back out in the streets in a few years or months and what they have learned through the juvenile system will influence their actions and responses. If they went through a rehabilitation program, it could positively influence their actions and responses to counter the negative effects of their punishment. There is no sure way that it will work but from various studies, it is clear that rehabilitation can be very successful. Rehabilitation may not make one hundred percent of youths better but it definitely won’t hurt them.
Crowded conditions, health deficiencies, education, recreation, and mental health are considered inadequate in their services for juveniles and can produce stifling effects on juveniles after their release. Kids who need a supportive intervention and inherit a higher risk of becoming a chronic offender “often receive the least attention from the criminal justice system until after they have established a record of serious repeat offending (Schumacher and Kurz. page 13)” according to Schumacher and Kurz.
The National Academies Press found that “there are treatment programs that have been found to reduce the rate of future offending, whereas some get-tough sanctions have been found to increase recidivism (National Academies Press, page 191).” Even though not every program works 100 percent of the time, programs like these help juvenile teens get their life back in the right direction.
There are approximately 60,000 teenage youths in a juvenile jail or prison right this second. By removing youths from their families and leaving them in a more vulnerable state for violent and traumatic experiences can harm their progress and development of self.
Adolescent brains also differ from adult brains. The adolescent brain is not even fully developed until the age of 25. “Scientists have identified a specific region of the brain called the amygdala that is responsible for immediate reactions including fear and aggressive behavior. This region develops early. However, the frontal cortex, the area of the brain that controls reasoning and helps us think before we act, develops later .” Adolescents behave, solve problems, and make decisions differently than adults which makes it more unfair to give them harsher and unjust punishments.
Juvenile punishments already have numerous fallacies and skepticism to reproach the current legislature concerning juvenile crime. However, in order to change the problem in an effective way, there should be changes in the system. There is evidence to show lawmakers that there are “reforms that emphasize leniency and rehabilitation [that] can be justified economically as welfare‐enhancing expenditures of public funds (Public Preferences For Rehabilitation, Para 2).”
Lawmakers are supposed to listen to their constituents’s voices, wherever the gravitational pull is strongest. If the public were to vote on whether some of their funds should accumulate towards the benefit of juvenile delinquent rehabilitation programs, then lawmakers would at least have to examine the proposals given. Sources
suggest that “the analysis indicates that the public is at least as willing to pay for rehabilitation as punishment for juvenile offenders and that [willingness to pay] for early childhood prevention is also substantial (Public Preferences For Rehabilitation)(para 1).”
The public will not be hostile towards the idea of rehabilitation towards juvenile delinquents and even if conflicts arose, there is a way to handle that, The American Way. The public should consider voting on the issue and let their voices be heard that way. And once we get to a conclusion, then we can appropriately handle this situation so that it benefits the majority of society and juvenile delinquents.
In conclusion, juvenile crime can have deteriorating effects on teens after their release. And as stated earlier, juvenile crime, depending on the level of seriousness, should lead to a path of rehabilitation. There should be programs that guide teens on a path of rehabilitation so that they may have a better future. The lawmakers around the United States of America, or even one state, should assess the issues with juvenile crime and focus on the rehabilitation of teens so that they may be able to re-integrate into society and have a better future.