Design of a model juvenile detention facility for Ventura County

¶ … new juvenile detention center, if given unlimited financial resources. It first examines the main purpose, and location of the facility, and then turns to how the facility would deal with resident problems with socialization, education, and correctional components. Finally, budgeting and staff elements are examined, with a need to create measures for evaluation to later test facility efficiency.

Unfortunately, juvenile crime is becoming more and more of an issue here in the United States. As rates of juvenile crime continue to go up, the ability to house and rehabilitate these young offenders is becoming harder and harder. Current resources are strained and overpopulated, leading to the need for more facilities that are more efficient. Thus, this is an examination of the creation of a brand new facility using the research as a catalyst for construction.

Main Purpose

The main purpose oft his document is to provide a glimpse into the contemporary research in order to generate a potentially viable model for application in the real world. Unfortunately, too many juvenile facilities were built without proper attention to detail and research, leading to ineffective facilities that cost money and do not result in the best rates of correction with many juveniles returning to a life of crime upon release (Native American and Alaskan Technical Assistance Project 2001). In order to combat this trend, it is necessary for future facilities to be designed with great care and to meet the very specific and unique needs of the juvenile population in order to succeed.

Problems with Socialization

The number one strategy to combat problems within the facilities would be the presence of highly structured daily activities. Educational and recreational activities will be planned out for each day and for each resident, providing a strong routine that makes it harder for individuals to act out (Native American and Alaskan Technical Assistance Project 2001). However, there will still be issues of problems with socialization within the facility. To best deal with such issues,

Education

Education programs are key measures to the later success of individual juveniles within any correctional facility. The help inspire individuals and provide them with crucial tools that will help them succeed in life without turning to crime. As such, it is crucial for facilities to offer appropriate educational programs that can meet the needs of a culturally diverse population, as well as the specific demands of individual age groups (U.S. Department of Justice 1998). Such programs should include traditional education courses, with credits that can transfer over to schools and facilities on the outside. High school general education courses, as well as state standard courses for younger students must be free and easily accessible.

In addition to traditional education, the juvenile justice facility would also need to have a Law Related Education Program. According to the research, this type of program aims to "provide instruction to students to build a conceptual and practical understanding of law, enforcement, and judicial processes, leading to improved citizenship skills, a desire to work within the legal system to settle grievances and deal with criminal problems, an understanding of the basis for rules and favorable attitudes towards enforcement and justice" (Coldren, Bynum, & Thome 1991). Such elements will help generate juveniles who have a greater trust and respect for the legal system and the law enforcement agencies that govern over it. Such programs have shown to implant practical knowledge that can help keep kids out of trouble later on their lives, essentially reducing recidivism both within juvenile and adult contexts. A proper implementation of this program would require at least 30-40 hours of semester time for children in junior high to high school.

Correctional Components

The most important element here is the security of the individuals and the staff within the facility. As such, a strong and successful security system must be in place to monitor the juvenile residents and alert the necessary staff when a situation arises before it gets out of hand. As such, direct supervision of residents by staff is crucial, and must be augmented with a state of the art security system with movable cameras that are placed in appropriate locations throughout the facility. This set up would be in a design with several 48 bed units, which help maximize space, but also make it easier to handle situations as they occur (Native American and Alaskan Technical Assistance Project 2001). Each unit of 48 residents will be broken down into rooms with 8 beds, and will include two other rooms with much less beds for individuals that have been known to cause trouble with their cellmates.

Hiring and Training

Staffing ratios must meet the individual codes of the location. For the state