Youth Crime and Punishment - Essay Example

Research Proposal – Youth Crime and Punishment Aims and Objectives Since few decades, a rapidaugmentation is observed in the rate of youth incarceration in the United Kingdom that has affected hundreds of families connected with these youth offenders. Although it is essential to handle lawbreakers in a disciplinary manner, studies have indicated that child imprisonment has not been very momentous in achieving its aims of reducing the rate of youth crime. On contrary, crime rate has been amplified with increment in the number of youth offenders confronting remand, custody, or detention. (Muncie, 2004, pp. 29-31) In specific, the proposed dissertation will discuss different aspects of youth incarceration, especially in the context of Youth Justice System of the United Kingdom, and will endeavor to analyze available options of tackling youth offenders. It is a fact that every government has been giving noteworthy importance to youth crime, in order to get rid of anti-social agents from the society from its roots; however, none has been able to achieve such objective due to a number of factors, such as unemployment, poverty, etc. (Delanty & Strydom, 2003, pp. 39-42). On contrary, youth prison population has increased noticeably that has resulted in extreme criticism, as effects of youth imprisonment do not affect young offenders only, but families and communities as well. (Omaji, 2003, pp. 40-41) In this regard, it has now become very significant and important to carry out comprehensive research, in order to acquire factual realities that will help the system in dealing with these young lawbreakers effectively. Literature Review According to the UK government, (Home Office, 2008) hard-hitting penalties for young offenders cannot be avoided, as it is essential for a safe and healthy society; however, studies have observed that these tough and punitive penalties and custodies have resulted in opposing results, rather than allowing offenders to recuperate and break their offending cycle. Although steps are being taken to prevent young individuals from falling into this black hole; however, youth imprisonment presently seems to be the only option that is taken as effective, regardless its adversities. (HM Government, 2008, pp. 58-61) Policymakers believe that guiltless public stays protected by custody and imprisonment sentences to young offenders; however, it is a satisfying fact that punishment confronted by young offenders in prisons results in segregation from society that is adverse for children according to a number of child psychologists. (Delanty & Strydom, 2003, pp. 55-59) Studies (Muncie, 2004, pp. 63-68) have noted that children are unable to acquire proper guidance in custody and remand and end up with getting opinions from wrong people, such as serious criminals and offenders, which seems to be quite true with the fact that a majority of youth offenders are convicted after two years of going from the police custody. In the past, local services used to harmonize with magistrates, and after confirming presence of specific youth offender as inappropriate in community, that particular individual was given a custody or remand sentence. In this respect, community services used to tackle young offenders by indulging them in community services that is an effectual means of punishing youth offenders. (HM Government, 2008, pp. 59-72) However, such practice has become very rare due to lack of resources and support of community services, which has resulted in majority of young offenders getting custody or remand sentences, and thus, has increased the youth crime rate in the United Kingdom. (Home Office, 2008) According to Criminal Justice System of the United Kingdom, protection of all members of its society is one of the most significant responsibilities of its controlled and fair system. (Muncie, 2004, pp. 30-33) However, it seems like the justice system has failed in fulfilling the mentioned social responsibility. In England and Wales alone, more than fifty thousand young individuals are sent in policy custody or prisons every year. (Home Office, 2008) According to statistics for the year 2006, more than 5,500 young offenders were given non-custodial sentences. In the United Kingdom, more than fifteen percent of custody population is made up by young offenders below 21 years of age. (Home Office, 2008) Experts have noted that such population of youth in remand or custody has resulted in increment of homelessness, redundancy, lack of education, and a number of similar confrontations in the United Kingdom, and thus, government and policymakers should come up with an effective solution rather than incarcerating youth. (Ireland, 2005, pp. 69-77) ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ is the respected standard practiced in a number of criminal justice systems around the globe. However, such practice seems to have vanished in the United Kingdom Criminal Justice System, especially when it comes to tackling youth offenders. (Muncie, 2004, pp. 39-42) Ineffectiveness of youth incarceration has been a widespread actuality, which can be understood by studying different real-life examples. As earlier mentioned, majority of young offenders discharged from custody, remand, or offender institutes have been back again within two years. In other words, youth incarceration does not seem to be working at all. However, instead of planning any other effective option, new prison places are being announced by Home Office in the United Kingdom, as last year, announcement of more than 7000 prison places was published by Office of the Home Secretary, in order to deal with over-population of youth offenders. (Home Office, 2008) Moreover, new strategies have been introduced by the UK government to deal with youth offenders by introduction of unsympathetic and longer sentences. Experts have noted that if growth of youth offenders continues usually, these new prisons will not be enough to handle offenders that are being built at a cost of £0.1 million. (Home Office, 2008) On the other hand, construction of community centers would have cost half the mentioned expenses that have played an effective and constructive role in rehabilitating lives of youth offenders according to a number of studies. In the year 2005, (Ireland, 2005, pp. 114, 2005) a study was carried out to assess the usefulness of youth imprisonment in the United Kingdom, and few young offenders were interviewed. In specific, offenders from Feltham Young Offender Institute were selected for the study. It was identified during the study that few participants had not even committed the crime, but were sent to custody for months. A mainstream of individuals were involved in cases of physical attack and mugging, and most of them did it due to racism in their neighborhood. It was indicated by the participants that months of even years passed in custody or prison affected their lives adversely, rather than improving them. Moreover, it was found by researchers that family, friends, and people in neighborhood were no longer supportive and cooperative with these offenders, even if some of them were find not guilty in their cases. In the result, a majority of these young individuals end up with wrong people that brought them back in custody or remand. (Ireland, 2005, pp. 114, 2005) Child psychologists have found out that child imprisonment results in stigmatization and when nobody comes to help, they are not able to trust anyone around them, and prefer isolating them from innocent public of the society. (Delanty & Strydom, 2003, pp. 33-36) In this regard, youth incarceration in the United Kingdom has now become a cause of production of real criminals for the society, which is often not accepted by the policymakers that are quite aggressive in terms of tackling young offenders through their incarceration. In the year 2004, a study was carried out to evaluate the treatment in youth prisons and young offending institutes in the United Kingdom, and it was indicated by results that some institutes were even planning to build emergency care rooms due to cruel and violent handling and treatment of young offenders in these institutes. (Ireland, 2005, pp. 49-58) Moreover, some young offenders complained of being threatened by other young criminals, as well as, staff of the prisoners, which is a sign of ineffectiveness of youth incarceration. (Omaji, 2003, pp. 60-62) Thus, it is very essential to plan an effective means of tackling youth offenders. In this respect, the Youth Justice Board has been held responsible for such ineffectiveness of youth justice system, as it is the responsibility of Youth Justice Board to prevent any re-offending of young individuals, as well as, assuring their safe and secure custody and incarceration. (HM Government, 2005, pp. 59-64) Some of the experts have observed that the Youth Justice Board is endeavoring to eliminate or reduce the causes of youth crime by announcing new juvenile offending institutes and tough punitive sentences, which has not prevented, but promoted young offenders to become professional criminals. (Omaji, 2003, pp. 62-65) Remands and custodies are playing a worsening role to damage the society, rather than protecting it from crimes. One of the significant reasons of such ineffectiveness of youth incarceration is that it impedes the learning process provided by means of education, available in community-based centers. Moreover, family is the major factor that prevents individuals from offending again. Unfortunately, incarceration eradicates any chances of family contact, which results in isolation and causes re-offending. In other words, young offenders confront stigmatization and become aliens, which can be prevented by giving them community-based punishments, rather than incarcerating them. In another study, (Ireland, 2005, pp. 67-69) it was admitted by one of the governors of youth prison in London that young offenders are mostly sent to custody or on remand, in order to protect innocent public in the society and to keep the balance sociologically, rather than with the motive of punishing offenders to improve their lives. In this regard, it is very inappropriate to incarcerate young offenders for the fulfillment of sociological requirements, as prisons should be built for the fulfillment of criminological needs of the system. For instance, creation of new roads does not result in the reduction of cars; however, it allows new users to bring their cars out on the roads easily, which reduces difficulties of traffic controllers. Similarly, youth incarceration has not been effective in reducing the number of young lawbreakers; however, it has resulted in production of real criminals by providing youth a platform of interaction with other offenders. In the year 2003, a constitutional assumption was implemented by the Criminal Justice Act that introduced a snowball effect by promising more harsh sentences on successive appearances in courts by young offenders. (HM Government, 2005, pp. 69-73) Some of the offenders that confronted harsh sentences from this Act complained that it does not help them in anyway, even when they were determined to break their offending cycle. In other words, prison is not a place for rehabilitation, especially for young individuals. (Muncie, 2004, pp. 20-22) Moreover, experts have noted that young offenders often confront wrong decisions in their court appearances, and their successive appearance results in crueler sentences of incarceration. In this regard, this Act has confronted a number of criticisms from legal professionals due to its inappropriate assumption that ignores evidence required for proving someone guilty. Methodology It is very imperative for a researcher to consider previously carried out researches, as well as, carry out primary researches, in order to identify and evaluate possible gaps and findings related to the topic. In this regard, concise surveys will be an important part of the methodology, as it will authenticate the validity of results, as well as, will be specific according to the abovementioned selected research topic. In brief, questionnaires and interviews are some important components of primary research method, which involves generation of different questionnaires and interviews from selected participants according to the selected topic. Unlike secondary research method, information is gathered hand-to-hand and directly by the researcher. (Trochim, 2001, pp. 23-29) In other words, my dissertation will acquire groundwork from results of questionnaires and interviews of some of young ex-prisoners, if possible or their friends or relatives in a brief manner while carrying out secondary research comprehensively. At the same time, secondary research involving archival and desk research of journals and books, which will play a vital role in the formulation of required materials for primary research during the dissertation. Moreover, secondary research will allow the researcher to take a stand while carrying out primary research. Some of the questions will be based on topics, such as relationship of prisoners and prison management and justice system, relationship of parents and young prisoners, etc. Ultimately, dissertation will endeavor to identify and capture changes in processes related to youth incarceration and factors relation to this practice, specifically in the United Kingdom. A case study will also be a part of the methodology, which will allow better and detailed understanding of available literature and acquired results from primary research by considering consequences and appearances of processes on ground reality in one of the prisons or department of Youth Justice System. Different employees of the case study will be surveyed through questionnaires that will be carried out in a particular portion of the population, and various variables, such as, gender, location, department, age, etc of the department and victims will be gathered by the researcher. Every research method has its advantages, as well as, drawbacks. In terms of advantages, data can be easily collected in secondary research, which does not require intense efforts like primary research, as information has just to be gathered, rather than produced or generation. In this regard, time is one of the most important factors that incline researchers to select secondary research method. It is the case with this dissertation, as it will save time, money, and lot of efforts during the research. (Bernard, 2005, pp. 54-61) In other words, time is saved that is required for performing a number of surveys and interviews from various people. Secondly, secondary research method is considered as one of the cheapest methods that can be carried out by researcher. Primary research method requires work force as discussed earlier in the proposal. Therefore, finance is another issue that becomes a major problem during the primary research. On the other hand, anybody or everybody can access available data from different sources during secondary research method. (Trochim, 2001, pp. 30-36) Thus, this is another reason that researcher will focus more on methodological processes of secondary research. Data Collection Besides methodology, it is very imperative that compelling and justifiable sources should be selected during the research, as it is likely that assortment of invalid sources may result in ineffective research regardless of effectual methodological approaches. In this regard, a number of printed sources are available for almost every department of Youth Justice System to gather required and previously collected data from them, which will facilitate research in acquiring information and data for understanding the youth crime and punishment in the United Kingdom. (King & Wincup, 2000, pp. 112-120) Newspapers are considered crucial source in crime related researches, and thus, they will play a momentous role in this dissertation. Besides newspapers, a number of academic journals are available in libraries, which will provide a wide range of issues related to the youth crime and punishment. Besides these sources, books will be used to hold up the former sources, as they are considered the most valid source in academic research, and therefore, will be a encouraging pillar for the dissertation. Additionally, today’s market consists of many electronic resources that will be available to gather information on the selected topic. For example, electronic academic journals and encyclopedias have now become an authentic platform for research and education on the internet. (Bernard, 2005, pp. 73-74) A number of online services are now offering and providing articles and studies on the selected topic, which will ease the process of research during the dissertation. These services are not free; however, these charges will be much less, if they are compared with expected expenses of primary research methodology. Evaluation is another imperative notion that should not be ignored in any type of research approach. In this regard, the research will endeavor to validate all the sources used in the paper, as it will be beneficial for researcher, as well as, future studies that will be carried out based on this dissertation. (Trochim, 2001, pp. 55-60) Once again, books will support and advocate the process of evaluation and validation during the research. Moreover, researcher will try its best to acquire information and resources from recent books, as advancement of information technology has resulted in disposition of a number of theories and concepts related to business, sociology, science, etc. Data Analysis When information and its relations are investigated systematically and scientifically, it is known as Quantitative Research. In addition, development and utilization of statistical models, theories, and suppositions is one of the major objectives of quantitative research aimed for effective analyses of acquired data. (Trochim, 2001, pp. 20) Measurement is one of the most significant components of quantitative research, and thus, it will help research in deciding evaluating effects of youth incarceration on the society by creating statistical models, graphs, etc. In the result, mathematical and statistical expression of acquired information will present the outcomes in a more systematic and organized manner. Management sciences, social sciences, and natural sciences are widely being benefited from quantitative research in contrast to qualitative research, which will be a part of this dissertation as well for expressing observations theoretically. (Bernard, 2005, pp. 42-44) In other words, explanation of statistical models will be done by applying qualitative methods that will enhance the understanding of dissertation. In this regard, combination of both methodologies of data analysis will result in precise and effective presentation of the selected topic. In brief, quantitative research methodology will be used during the dissertation for data analysis, as it will allow researcher to acquire concrete results and justifications. Research previously carried out on the selected subject will be overviewed by researcher and necessary points will be taken., as the summarization of previously-done research will be necessary, in order to acquire the quantitative data. By this, possible gaps in the previous work will be identified during the research process, and logical extensions will be evaluated possibly by questioning and discussing during the primary research method. In addition, accessible work will be analyzed and finalized after the collection of data through different sources of secondary research mentioned earlier in methodology. The abovementioned process of identification of convincing and necessary information from the previously done primary research is considered as one of the most important and difficult segments of the quantitative research. (Trochim, 2001, pp. 81-85) It is observed that research becomes easy and effective, if researchers are able to complete this process of quantitative research successfully. Conclusion Youth Crime and Punishment is one of the most significant issues that require urgent attention and research for effective handling of such a sensitive issue. This dissertation will carry out abovementioned and discussed methodologies and strategies to acquire factual and logical results, which will be beneficial for students, teachers, and professionals in better understanding of the topic. Works Cited Bernard, Harvey Russell. Research Methods in Anthropology. Rowman Altamira, 2005. Delanty, G. & Strydom, P. Philosophies of Social Science. Maidenhead: Routledge, 2003. HM Government. Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Development. London: Ministry of Justice Press, 2005. HM Government. Youth Crime Action Plan 2008. London: Ministry of Justice Press, 2008. Home Office. Youth Crime. Retrieved on April 26, 2009; http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/youth-crime, 2008. Ireland, Jane L. Bullying Among Prisoners. UK: Willan Publishing, 2005. King, R. & Wincup, E. Doing Research on Crime and Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Muncie, John. Youth and Crime, Second Edition. London: Sage, 2004. Omaji, Paul. Responding to Youth Crime. London: Hawkins Press, 2003. Trochim, William M. K. Research Methods Knowledge Base. Atomic Dog Publications, 2001. Word Count: 3095 Words. Read More