The Juvenile Justice Policy - Research Paper Example

The Juvenile Justice Policy The Juvenile Justice Policy One of the major concerns of the society has been the developmentof the youthful generation as they have so often been referred to as the leaders of tomorrow. This being the case it is essential that their future is safe to the best of the ability of those who are in charge of their care (Bartol & Bartol, 2009). This is related to various factors such as their education, their domestic situation and a number of other aspects that are related to ensuring that they are kept on a path that will lead to their success in the future. With this in mind, the government setup the juvenile system that is concerned with young individuals who have been derailed from the desired path aforementioned (Woolard & Scott, 2009). The juvenile system deals with youth who have broken the law and are at risk of turning into a problematic issue for the justice system in the future. Unlike the established judicial system that has been designed to punish and rehabilitate wrongdoers within the society, the juvenile system mainly focuses on the aspect of rehabilitation rather than punishment for the mistakes of those who have been committed to the system (Barbaree & Marshall, 2008). The idea behind this is that those who are still in the youthful stages of their lives have a higher chance of correcting their ways and becoming assets to their communities, and this is what the system has been made to help them achieve. The juvenile system aims at trying to redirect young delinquents back to the right path before it is too late. There are several policies that have been setup as a result with a view to achieving this aim and one of these was focused on the Native American population and their education. This policy focused on finding Native American youth who were not receiving the required level of care and attention with regard to issues such as the development of their education and stepping into the parental roles to provide these needs (Woolard & Scott, 2009). At one time, the policy functioned by identifying these youthful individuals and removing them from their homes when deemed necessary and placing them in residential schools. This policy emerged after it was discovered that many Native Americans did hold much weight in the western education system and thus did not insist on their children acquiring this education from the school systems that were at their disposal (Bartol & Bartol, 2009). As a result, a large number of these youth resorted to juvenile crimes that got them in trouble with law enforcement and set precedence for them in terms of their future. It was figured that if this was to continue, many of these youth delinquents would grow up to be serious criminals unless something was to be done about the situation. The system worked with the collaboration of the members of society who would report instances where they felt that their neighbors were neglecting their children and thus intervention was needed. The government would then send an official to investigate the claims, and if the accusations were found to be justified the minor was removed from the home and taken to foster care where they would be enrolled into a residential school that was near the vicinity (Siegel& Welsh, 2011). The children would also be identified according to files that were developed on those who had been found culpable of a number of crimes and thus had a record with the juvenile system. If an individual was a repeat offender then concern would be raised within the department, and an official would be sent to the individual’s home to determine whether their domestic environment was a reason behind their delinquent behavior (Barbaree & Marshall, 2008). These methods of identification seemed to be successful at the beginning, but as time wore on there were a number of issues that were found with such arrangements. Some of the disadvantages or flaws that were identified within the system included issues such as greed whereby foster parents would attempt to get as many children from the government as possible due to the financial gains that were received as a result of providing a home for them (Kirk & Sampson, 2012). The parents were paid on a basis of the number of children that were under their care thus in some cases they would not really be concerned about the children placed under their care, and thus the children were subjected to worse conditions than those that they faced in their own homes as a result (Barbaree & Marshall, 2008). This would result in a large number of these children running away at a tender age and return to the lifestyle that they were leading before (Woolard & Scott, 2009). The removal from their homes and their parents also led to a large number of children as well as the Native American community in general despising the government for taking their children from them. This led to difficulties in terms of acceptance which in turn led to resistance from the Native American community. Despite the flaws that have been mentioned above, the juvenile justice policy also held a number of advantages in its wake as well. Some of these accomplishments included the education of the Native American youth in cases where individuals were able to comfortably assimilate into the foster homes they were placed in (DeLisi, 2005). This led to a higher number of success stories for those who finally took their education seriously as a result. A number of those who were removed from their homes were able to realize the error of their ways and strive to change in a bid to improve their lives (Bartol & Bartol, 2009). The North American community also began to take western education seriously and began voluntarily taking their children to these schools as a result. This was because the parents would rather enroll their children into these schools rather than lose them altogether. These parents also began being concerned in the lives of their children ensuring that they did not get into any major trouble with the law for fear that they may attract the juvenile officials to their homes as a result. The juvenile system is now dealing with other issues that may need the implementation of similar policies in a bid to control them. One of the issues that they are dealing with is the emergence of serious, violent juveniles (SVJs) within the society as a result. These are youth individuals guilty of committing serious crimes and pose a danger to the society (Cauffman, 2008). These serious crimes include situations such as armed robbery, battery and assault and other violent related offenses. This generation can be said to have emerged as a result of the development of society over the years whereby the economic balance and financial stability of many homes have reduced and as a result youth have resulted to violent crimes to put food on the table (Woolard& Scott, 2009). The existences of gangs in the neighborhood have also increased, and it seems as if the youth are joining them at a younger age each year (Bartol & Bartol, 2009). This has raised the question of what the juvenile system needs to do in order to get control of the scenario before it is too late. The juvenile justice policy that was implemented in Native American homes has been one of the suggestions that have been put on the table whereby such delinquents are detached from their homes and taken to foster care in an attempt to get them proper education and turn their lives around. This can be a serious consideration as most of the individuals placed in this category come from unstable homes where they may not be exposed to proper parenting and as a result can be said to be technically “raised by the streets”. The removal of these delinquents from such unstable environments may help to change their ways as a result. Removal from their homes and placing them in a more positive environment may also likely improve their chances of attaining a good education (DeLisi, 2005). This may also serve as an incentive for parents to take a closer look at their children and handle their parental responsibilities more seriously knowing they stand the risk of losing their children if it is determined that they are not effectively carrying out the duties and responsibilities as parents (Aaron &Dallaire, 2010). However it should be noted that such a move to reinstate this policy will be met with much more resistance than previously as individuals are more aware of their rights and people are more open to challenging the courts via the judicial system than was previously the case. There are a number of other proposals that are being made in the stead of the emergence of these juvenile types that once examined the first option of home removal seems to be a preferable option (DeLisi, 2005). These are proposals such as for these offenders to be treated as adults and tried in that manner. This would mean that these juveniles would qualify for extreme judgments such as life and death sentences and also stand a chance of being placed in adult prisons (Barbaree & Marshall, 2008). This issue is still under debate, but there are a few instances where the prosecution has won the argument for juveniles to be tried as adults due to the gravity of their crimes, but it has not yet been established in all the states. References Aaron, L. & Dallaire, D.H. (2010). Parental Incarceration and Multiple Risk Experiences: Effect on Family Dynamics and Childrens Delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(12). Barbaree, H. E. & Marshall, W. L. (2008). An introduction to the juvenile sex offender: Terms, concepts, and definitions (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press. Bartol, C. &Bartol, A. (2009). Juvenile Delinquency and Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental Perspective, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Cauffman, (2008). Bad boys or poor parents: Relations to female juvenile delinquency. Journal on research on adolescence, 18. DeLisi, M. (2005). Career Criminals in Society. London: Sage Publications. Kirk, D. S. & Sampson, R. J. (2012). Juvenile Arrest and Collateral Educational Damage in the Transition to Adulthood. Sociology of Education. Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. (2011).Juvenile Delinquency: The Core. 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage. Woolard& Scott, (2009).The legal regulation of adolescence. In R. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of Adolescent psychology 3rd ed., (2). New York: Wiley. Read More