Juvenile Detention the United States

Juvenile Detention

The United States of America acknowledges a distinct difference in the criminal activity of juveniles in relation to adults. Because the American legal systems recognizes that juveniles are different from adults, there has been created a separate system of justice designed for dealing with juvenile criminal activity. Juveniles are considered developmentally different from adults and the behavior of juveniles is thought to be able to be shaped and guided. Therefore, rehabilitation and education are believed to be just as important as the protection of society. Because it is a fundamental belief that juvenile offenders can be successfully reformed, the public's ability to access the records of juvenile court proceedings are in most cases restricted. Juveniles receive a "hearing" instead of a "trial," and to avoid the stigmatization associated with being found guilty of a crime, in the juvenile court system, "a juvenile offender is judged 'delinquent' rather than 'guilty'." ("Juvenile Justice")

A major distinction between the regular criminal court system and the juvenile system is that the sentences juveniles receive are based upon a psychological approach which takes into account the personal cases of each juvenile. The outcome of cases are determined by taking into account the offender's history of criminal activity and the seriousness of the offense. Rehabilitation is a major element, and "the court can send a youth to a certain facility or program until it is determined he is rehabilitated." ("Juvenile Justice") And both the offender and sometimes the offender's parents or guardians can be held responsible for financial restitution.

When a juvenile is arrested for a crime, it must first be determined whether or not the offender should be held in custody or allowed to be released pending trial. This is the first evaluation the individual will have to go through in the course of the juvenile court system. First of all, the type and number of charges being faced by the offender must be taken into account. Also, the offending juvenile's record must be evaluated to determine if the individual is a repeat offender, or simply made an individual mistake. If the offender has been in trouble in the past, then the past success or failure of the individual in court ordered programs must be taken into account. As well as those criteria, the "stability" factors such as "age, school attendance, education level, drug/alcohol use, family structure" must also be considered. (Austin, 2005)

If, in the course of a hearing a juvenile offender has been determined to be "delinquent," then there are a number of actions that can be taken by the system. The "disposition" of the offender's case could end in probation, day/evening reporting, residential placement, or even secure confinement. Probation could involve some sort of home monitoring which restricts the offender's movements, or could be as simple as attending some sort of community-based program. Day and evening reporting involves the offender actually reporting to a center each day for monitoring. Residential placement in known more commonly as being assigned to a group house, where the offender lives during their probation period and usually receives counseling, education, training, psychological and social aid in a semi-secure environment. Secure confinement is the last disposition that the system wants to impose and involves confining the offender in a secure, "prison-like" environment. While juvenile detention centers are not as bad a regular prisons, they do perform many of the same functions and have many of the same anti-social effects. (Austin, 2005)

In an effort to deal with the problem of juvenile delinquency, in the late 1990's, a number of alternative programs were instituted; one of these was the Juvenile Drug Court Program. Initiated in 1998, this program created a separate court system designed to be "intensive treatment programs established within and supervised by juvenile courts to provide specialized services for eligible drug-involve youth and their families." (Cooper, 2001) Not only was this program designed to provide immediate treatment, but also to address the problems which led to the drug abuse, provide juveniles with the opportunity to lead productive lives, and strengthen the family involvement for the youth.

In the dozen or so years since the juvenile drug court program was initiated there has been sufficient time to examine its effectiveness. When it was first established, the juvenile drug court program did not demonstrate any greater effectiveness than that of ordinary juvenile court probation. However, as the system developed, and a more effective way was designed to study its effectiveness, participants in the Juvenile Drug Courts have "had significantly lower rearrest rates than the comparison juvenile offenders." (Leukefeld, 2011, p. 137) One way of dealing with the problem of drug-related juvenile delinquency has been to operate Juvenile Drug Court Programs, and in the first decade of the 21st century, while they may not have been any more effective than the traditional system, their effectiveness has improved significantly.

Community-based programs have also become a way for society to deal with its juvenile delinquency problem. One such program is operated by the San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile Criminal Justice. Called the Detention Diversion Advocacy Program (DDAP), it provides intensive case management and a number of community services to help juvenile offenders become productive members of society. If a juvenile offender is approved to enter the program, the DDAP helps the offender design an individual "plan" for their particular case. The "plan" must take an aggressive, but positive and supportive case management approach to aid the offender in dealing with their problems and help ensure that they will not become a repeat offender.

DDAP employs a "hands-on" style, conducting face-to-face visits with offenders as many as three times per day. "Staff act as role models and mentors, providing stable and encouraging support structures for their clients…" ("DDAP") This method has also proven itself to be an effective means of dealing with the problem of juvenile delinquency. Studies have demonstrated that when compared to youths who remain in the juvenile court system, DDAP referrals have a recidivism rate of only 34% in comparison to a 60% rate for the others. When it came to the rate for serious recidivism, 24% of DDAP participants committed major felonies while more than 45% of juvenile court participants did so. ("DDAP")

If a juvenile offender is placed in an institution, there are a number of institutional programs that the system can employ. It is important to remember that of all the juveniles who enter the juvenile court system, less that 10% are placed away from their homes, and these were the ones that are in need of extensive treatment for their delinquency problems. (Wilson, 2011, p. 122) It is also important to mention that there are a number of structured and secured settings other than correctional institutions, including group homes and "boot camps." Institutional programs that focus on changeable factors and support mental health issues tend to be the most successful, as well as those programs that are tailored to the individual needs and specifications of the offender. (Wilson, 2011, p. 123) Examples of successful programs are Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Aggression Replacement Training, and Family Integrated Transition.

However, there are many who question the overall effectiveness of detention for juveniles. Studies conducted in the early 2000's have indicated that juveniles who were in detention had a much greater rate of recidivism than those who were not. Researchers have also found that congregating offenders increases the chance that they will become re-offenders. (Holman, 2006, p. 5) Critics of detention claim that many young people who engage in delinquent behavior have a natural tendency to "age out of delinquency," and detention can slow, or even permanently interrupt this process. The environment generated by detention, overcrowded, violent, chaotic, can exacerbate any mental health issues that the offenders may be suffering from. And therefore, instead of receiving proper and effective treatment for mental health issues involving juvenile delinquency, many detained offenders with mental health problems get worse.

Studies of the detention of juvenile delinquents have discovered that detention not only has a significant effect on recidivism and mental health problems, it also affects a juvenile's ability to return to school and receive a proper education. In one study researchers found that four years after a group of 9th graders were held in detention, less than 15% had completed high school. And because detention often disrupts, and even ends the juvenile's education, the formerly detained have a more difficult time receiving employment. (Holman, 2006, p. 9) Studies have also concluded that African-American juveniles often receive detention at a higher rate than other races. For instance, in 2003, "minority youth represented 61% of all youth detained…." (Holman, 2006, p. 12) The net effect of this is that African-American juveniles who are detained by the juvenile court system at a higher rate than other races, then go on to have more problems getting jobs and earning a living, thus being forced back into recidivism.

Because of the problems caused by detention, in the first decade of the 21st century many alternative programs have been introduced to avoid being forced to send juvenile delinquents to detention centers. And since those who are forced into detention are disproportionately African-American, the problems caused by the detention of juveniles is particularly acute in the African-American community. The effects of detention have been researched and discovered to be detrimental to the safety and mental health of the juvenile, as well as increase the chance of recidivism. Therefore, any solution to the problem of juvenile detention will be proportionately beneficial to the African-American community.