Youth Behind Bars - Let\'s Rehabilitate Kids,

¶ … Youth Behind Bars - Let's Rehabilitate Kids, Not Punish Them" published in the San Francisco Chronicle on February 27 of this year argues in his article that the California system for dealing with juvenile delinquents is a failure but that it must be repaired instead of being dismantled. He describes terrible abuses inflicted on the youth and opportunities to rehabilitate them ignored. Adachi makes sense. Because the youth of today are tomorrow's future, we must do everything we can to help those who have started off on the wrong path to turn their lives around.

It is easy to argue that people who commit crimes should be punished, As a society we do not accept that murder, rape or theft are ever acceptable. However, most young students start out performing relatively smaller crimes. If they can change their ways while they are young, they will spend the rest of their lives as productive citizens. It is easy to look at a teenager who has stolen a car and perhaps wrecked it, or sold some drugs, as someone who has committed a serious crime. They are serious crimes. Car theft creates tremendous problems for its victims. They often don't get their car back or it comes back needing major repairs. Drug trafficking is a serious problem that contributes to crime in other ways as well. But it is also possible to make the point that a youth does not have the judgment of an adult, may tend to be more impulsive, and be a better candidate for rehabilitation. When we lock these youths up together, they have new opportunities to form or join gangs and learn how to be better criminals from each other. These events are more likely to happen if they are punished harshly for small violations of rules, not given educational opportunities, not given job training.

The great majority of youthful offenders have problems that can be solved. We know that most criminals are poorly educated. Many have social problems, substance abuse problems and/or difficulties with mental illness. While these can be difficult problems to solve, they are easier to solve in a younger person. Many young people who have not yet developed strong academic skills might be able to do so in a supportive environment, but juvenile facilities emphasize punitive reactions to breaking rules, not innovative ways to teach those who haven't learned well yet. We know that those who abuse drugs often do so because the lifestyle includes new friends who will not focus on their failures. Social skills training might help some of these youths. Drug rehabilitation programs might work well with youth who have not yet been abusing drugs or alcohol for decades. They still have time to learn ways to function better.

It seems that society should take the changes in family lifestyle that have occurred in this country when deciding how to handle youthful law-breakers. More children live in one-family homes than ever before. Their parent still has to work and hold a job and cannot always be there to supervise that child, especially as he or she grows older and will have more freedom. At the same time, youth are bombarded with violent images and movies that glorify crimes such as dealing drugs. Music videos contribute, often showing very attractive young people who seem to have an attitude of thumbing their noses at rules and regulations. They see images of easy success, from "American Idols" who shoot to stardom at an early age without doing the kind of grinding work most stars have to do on their way to fame, to basketball players who sometimes go straight out of high school to huge dollars. They get paid millions to do what they were doing on the playground two years ago for free. With such images, holding a part-time job at McDonald's or staying up late to do homework doesn't make a lot of sense.