Written by Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce, the book Enter the Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50cent is a fiction book that attempts to give an insider view on the situation of gun culture in the American society. The violent gun culture in society has become one of the biggest talking points for leaders at different levels who are either supporting or opposing it.
The book therefore explains why the gun culture has become a runaway problem by trying to link it to the popular hip-hop culture, which is believed to be a catalyst to the present-day gun violence culture in society.
Therefore, the writers of this book give the perspectives of the issue from an insider point of view and hence their choice of the title Enter the Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50cent.
With this hint in mind, the paper therefore reviews the book in details based on the link between the authors’ career and content in an attempt to unveil their sole message that the issue of associating gun shootings with hip-hop is not always true.
The Content of the Book and the Authors’ Career
Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce who are the co-authors of the book under review are accomplished journalists and owners of Pound (the hip-hop music and culture magazine). Pound is rated the top most hip-hop culture and music magazine in Canada.
Bascunan and Pearce (2007) therefore have an in-depth and authoritative opinion about the hip-hop world specifically how it operates and its relation with the gun violence culture. They therefore come out to paint an unknown picture about the hip-hop culture and its link with guns by dispelling beliefs that hip-hop escalates gun violence in society.
The authors write this book from a Canadian perspective, which has embraced hip-hop music and culture like the American society. The book is written as a defence for the hip-hop society, which has come under a lot of attack from old members of the society as well as those who do not appreciate the hip-hop culture.
Therefore, the authors are people who mix with hip-hop artistes daily thus having the experience of real situations as they happen on the ground. The writers have done the writing of this book in an honest way in that there are no denials to accusations about hip-hop culture and gun violence. They have put facts on the table for readers to judge for themselves.
Review Based on Content only
The book has been written in defence of the hip-hop culture due to the accusations pointed at it as being the cause of gun violence in society. It has based its story on facts about the gun culture by providing a history of the culture in the American society from the days of Samuel Colt who invented the colt pistol to artiste 50cent who glorified gun and violence in his music in the present society.
The history in this case provides a comparative plane to judge the facts about gun culture and gun violence. From the authors’ perspective, it has shown that the problem with guns is a historical dilemma dating back to the 19th century.
This information is compared to the history of hip-hop, which is too recent to conclude that the hip-hop culture is the cause of gun violence. The book therefore aims to exonerate hip-hop as the cause of the runaway gun madness.
Recent times have been characterised by an escalation of mass shootings in school as well as in neighbourhoods thus leading to answers for the question of why the gun culture is getting out of hand.
This situation has seen many people in society point a finger to the hip-hop culture as the cause without giving statistical figures to boost their accusations. In fact, as an industry and culture, hip-hop has embraced gun culture in a big way. Because of its visibility, it has come out as the main culprit in the eyes of society.
As Bascunan and Pearce (2007) found, researchers could not give any figures that could conclusively pin down the culture as the main problem. Hip-hop is about expression, bragging, and glorification.
One way of bragging and self-glorification is to be tough. The book strategically brings out guns as the best weapons for self-defence and elimination of perceived enemies. Just as the rest of the gangsters accomplish their missions, hip-hop has been sucked into the ideas of killing for one to be perceived as being tough thus bringing guns into hand.
The writers therefore admit that hip-hop has had its role in this problem. However, their point of departure is that hip-hop is just part of the problem and not the main cause of the problem.
The chapters in the book are short and easy to read because they have been presented in a very simple language. They give a blow-to-blow narration that captivates the reader of the book to reading it to the end. Bascunan and Pearce wrote the book on a basis of credible research that brought together data derived from different fields.
The composition of the book includes stories of hip-hop artistes as reported in the media, the history of the gun, lyrics from hip-hop songs, interviews by hip-hop artistes, and society in general (Bascunan and Pearce 2007). The writers give the story a new bend by delving into the world of guns broadly.
The book explores the manufacture and distribution of guns in society. In the end, it points out that a few who are known to governments and ones who escape without blame from society do the distribution of guns. The book therefore points to a direction where people do not look at.
There are so many guns in society so far that seem to appear from nowhere. The society is bended on blaming proliferation of guns on the hip-hop culture though it does not look further to find out the true sources of guns. The two writers have endeavoured to gather credible information on matters to do with where guns are manufactured, the reason behind the manufacture, and their distribution process.
Besides, they have also sought information on people who engage in this risky venture of gun production in an attempt to disapprove the claim that hip-hop fanatics have a connection with gun ownership and misuse.
The book paints the gun problem in society as an infectious problem that does not just affect the Canadian society but also the whole world. It goes ahead to show how guns are being used in society today by the military, police, and rebels in conflict areas as well as unlicensed criminals ruling the streets.
The authors have made it simple for readers to understand guns by defining the difference in different guns. According to Bascunan and Pearce (2007), the Canadian society lays the blame on America for the proliferation of firearms into the Canadian society besides going ahead to show how the problem is home-grown as much as it has been influenced by the American hip-hop culture.
The book names some of Canada’s own home-grown gun makers who are responsible for supplying guns to society. Though licensed gun owners acquire most guns legally, somehow, guns enter wrong hands in one way or the other.
The authors name the National Rifle Association as one group that does not live to its intentions. They describe the group as people with borderline psychotic intentions due to their ultra campaigns to legalise guns into civilian hands regardless of the misuse of guns.
Bascunan and Pearce have been very meticulous in defining most sources that inspire violence. They direct readers to video games as sources of inspiration that have created some of the worst mass shootings in society. Most video games that are on the market nowadays are based on war games involving virtual guns. A DVD or VCD player offers a variety of choices to make on the type of weapon to display.
In most cases, the weapons used on the game are actually the same make of real weapons found in the market. Therefore, regardless of age, video games tend to expose society indiscriminately to information on a variety of weapons that can be found in the market. The authors tend to point this exposure as the source of most mass shootings in schools. White students who have no links to hip-hop mostly do it.
Whereas shootings happen in neighbourhoods where they are said to be connected to hip-hop, there are more criminal elements to it than the cause being the hip-hop. The writers merge their views by providing real life stories of young men who were shot in the streets. Although the men were hip-hop artistes or fans, their murders were more to do with drugs and gang rivalry than to do with hip-hop.
The authors concede that hip-hop culture has so much embraced the gun culture and violence that it is not easy to separate the two. The difference is only to be found in findings that indicate that only few hip-hop fans worldwide are involved with gun violence.
The writers have therefore gained ground in their pursuit of exonerating hip-hop from all the blame in gun violence. This goal has been achieved by the authors’ effort to interview a whole host of stakeholders who may have a role to play in the whole issue in one way or the other.
Conclusion
Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce have come out in their best way possible to defend the industry that earns them their daily bread. They have achieved their purpose in pointing to society the direction it should look at when trying to solve the gun problem issue.
By being brutally honest and admitting that hip-hop has played its role in escalating gun violence culture, the authors have been able to capture readers’ trust through this strategy. The authors have done a comprehensive research on the gun problem around the world in a bid to present it as a universal problem that cannot be blamed on the hip-hop culture alone. Otherwise, the book is an informative piece of work.
Reference
Bascunan, R & Pearce, C 2007, Enter the Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50 Cent, Vintage Canada, Toronto.
A number of studies have been conducted to investigate the influence of violent video and computer games on children and the youth. This research paper seeks to discuss the findings of studies conducted on violent video games and how they influence youth violence and aggressiveness.
Although some of the research findings have revealed that there is negligible relationship between the two, a significant number of the studies have found a positive correlation between the playing of violent video games and negative behavior like aggression, bullying, fighting, and desensitization among the young people.
Researchers who condemn the playing of violent video games argue that children under the age of 12 are greatly influenced and the effects can be long-term. Concerning the teenagers and the older youth, negative impact especially on aggressive behavior is also reported. However, the researchers have identified some crucial limiting factors, especially on the youth.
They include; gender, age, and an individual’s level of education. These factors have been shown to play a central role when it comes to differentiating between the make-believe and real-life situation as far as violent video games are concerned. The research paper will conclude that a lot of research into violent video games and the youth need to be done in order to provide more evidence either for or against their use by the young adults.
Introduction
The need to understand the causes of violence and aggression among the youth in the United States of America has been in existence for a long period of time now.
Meaningful research into this issue started over 50 years ago with most of the researchers depicting conflicting findings. In recent times, violent video games have been on researchers’, local presses’, and politicians’ spotlight as the main causes of the reported criminal violence perpetrated by young adults (Anderson, 2005).
This was triggered by the random shootings orchestrated by two youths, Lee Malvo and John Mohammad in Washington, DC. However, despite the overwhelming outcry against the youth playing violent video games, there are a number of researchers and advocates who oppose the idea of directly linking the exposure of young adults to violent scenes and their aggressive behavior.
For them, there is no conclusive evidence to support the idea apart from the unreliable and non-standardized ways of collecting and analyzing/interpreting data used by their opponents (Ferguson, 2007).
Literature Review
This section seeks to highlight some of the research findings conducted by various researchers. It aims to draw the line between those who advocate for the scrutiny of the type of video games which the youth are allowed to play and those who see no problem at all when youth play violent video games.
According to Anderson, Donnerstein, Johnson, & Wartella (2005), most American teenagers are significantly influenced by the violent video games they play. The findings of their study strongly support the idea of the negative impact as a result of exposing young people to violent video games. Bryant and Bryant (2003), on the other hand, investigated the impact of the violent video games on teenagers (15-19 years of age). They further sought to find out if inherent personality traits do determine the degree of the influence of playing the games.
The effects of the violent scenes from the various media sources and real-life situations have also been studied by Funk, Pasold & Heidi (2004). The results of their research reveal that continued exposure of children to violent scenes from televisions and playing of violent video games do greatly affect the children through their youth and adulthood. Moreover, Jonathan (2002) in his book explores the scientific evidence of the relationship between aggression and the playing of violent video games by the youth.
The findings of his investigations into the issue reveal that there is a positive correlation between aggressiveness and exposure to violent scenes either from video games, television programs, or movies. His conclusions were similar to those found later by Woodard & Gridina (2006).
However, arguments to the contrary have been advanced by other researchers like Stupak (2004). The advocates of violent video games claim that there are little or no negative effects of playing these games especially by the youth. Instead, they cite a number of positive effects of playing violent video games. Stupak argue that the games aid in the child’s development and provide an avenue for letting out anger especially by the youth instead of acting them out in real-life situations on their colleagues.
Other positive impacts of playing video games, according to the advocates, include but not limited to; therapeutic uses, training of hand-eye coordination, and simulation techniques for the older youth.
Ferguson (2007), a renowned researcher in modern time offers a tough critique of research findings conducted by those who advocate for the abolishing of violent video games among the youth. Recent research has revealed that there has been a systematic bias in the publication of research findings into violent video games and their effects on the youth by various public media outlets (Ferguson, 2007).
While researchers have come up with varying opinions concerning the effects of violent video games on the youth, it is important to note that a lot more needs to be done if the contestations on this topic are to be minimized if not eliminated.
Anti-Violent Video Games Findings
As mentioned in the earlier parts of this paper, considerable research has been conducted to validate the idea of the negative effects of violent video games among the youth.
The findings, however, have been faced with controversy and contestation. A research conducted by Gentile and Anderson (2003) revealed that aggressive thoughts and behavior manifestations increase considerably among the youth after they are exposed to violent video games, films, music, or television.
Some psychological theories advocate the observational learning and the researchers have cited these theories in supporting their arguments. The children are believed to learn by imitating what they encounter by perception/sight. The degree of the influence is believed to depend on individual differences (Woodard & Gridina, 2006).
According to Anderson et. al., there is a positive correlation between youth violence and violent video games. They investigated American youth and their individual reaction to violent images on television, and the abstract violent scenes in video games. Most reported being disturbed by games depicting acts of terrorism and nuclear war especially by the thought of what would happen if it was to occur in real-life.
A number of them have been influenced by the violent video games and believe that it is a means of reacting to some situations in life. More than half of those investigated, according to the research findings, confessed to having ever thought of acting them out in real life. The tendency to act out what had been seen was reported mainly by the male participants. In their book, Gentile and Anderson present the findings of their study on youth and violent video games.
The participants in the study were youth pursuing their college studies. Some were made to play an extremely violent game (Wolfenstein 3D) while others played non-violent games. Those who played the violent games were more likely to display aggressive behavior to other persons compared to those who played non-violent video games. Their conclusions reveal that violent video games have significant impacts on the youth.
The research findings have been consistent across the board. This is on the various types of studies like longitudinal, experimental, and cross-sectional and also across the different visual media like video games and movies. Research findings indicate that continued exposure of adolescents to violent video games increases the likelihood that they will depict physical aggression towards their peers or other people in general (Jonathan, 2002).
Aggressive behavior has been defined by researchers in this category as any act or behavior that is willingly intended to cause or prolong harm on someone else. These may include bullying, hitting with an object, or the reluctance in aiding someone in pain or distress (Slater, Kimberly, and Anderson, 2003).
Further results from other researches demonstrate the relationship between the levels of aggression and violent video games. These studies were motivated by the prospect of the idea that inherently aggressive individuals prefer violent games rather than the violent video games causing the aggressiveness (Bryant & Bryant, 2003).
The authors, in their study, investigated the effects of playing violent video games on individuals in their late teenage. The participants in the study were aged between 15 and19 and were all freely exposed to play video games with violent scenes.
About two thirds of them were found to have increased aggression when it comes to dealing with real-life situations. Furthermore, according to the study, those with inherent aggressive trait were more influenced by the violent video games as compared to those with very low hostile tendencies. Hence, the violent video games serve to increase the aggression, especially among the youth (Bryant & Bryant, 2003).
Another crucial area of investigation identified by researchers is on the various avenues through which the youth can be exposed to violent scenes. They argue that the exposure of violent images to the youth in the course of their development may determine the extent of the effects. The exposure of children to violent scenes as they grow may end up desensitizing them significantly (Slater, et. al., 2003).
According to Funk, Pasold & Heidi (2004), there is a significant desensitization of the youth from prolonged exposure to real-life, video game, and movie violence. In their journal, they evaluate the findings of their research into the relationship between the exposure of children and teenagers to violent scenes in real-life, playing video games, and watching movies with violent contents.
The findings of the research they conducted on American children estimates that by age 18, the average American child will have been exposed to over 200,000 acts and scenes of violence on television programs alone. The researchers conclude that children who play violent video games or are exposed to images of brutal killings, rapes, and bombings will most likely be desensitized to acts of violence and may perceive them as acceptable ways of responding to daily-life stresses and frustrations (Funk et. al., 2004).
In deed, more recent researchers have focused on determining the contribution of exposure to violent media and later manifestations of aggressive behavior.
After conducting their research into the prevalence of aggressive behavior, Woodard & Gridina (2006) provided statistics and facts as far as media violence and the youth is concerned in the United States of America. They conducted a research on violence depicted in the various media like the television, movies, and video games and how they affect children’s aggressive behavior later in life.
Their findings revealed that there is a positive correlation between the children’s interaction with violent scenes from the media and their aggressiveness. Moreover, they sought to find out whether the youth involved in violent crime have any experience with violent video games. The need to investigate this area was triggered by the tragic series of school shootings witnessed in the various states of American from 1974 to 2000.
Researchers wonder what evil would convince a student to turn against his colleagues! Among other underlying reasons, it was established that about 13% of the perpetrators were addicts of violent video games, about 25% in violent movies, and another 25% in violent books (Woodard & Gridina, 2006).
Pro-Violent Video Games Findings
In spite of the overwhelming findings against the playing of violent video games by the youth, some researchers still hold that there is no sufficient evidence to validate the claims. This controversy is what has complicated research into the topic of violent media and the youth. The researchers argue that the methods used to collect, analyze, interpret, and draw conclusions are not acceptable and hence the end results are misleading (Ferguson, 2007).
As much as these researchers may not object in totality the insights that some findings provide, it is the perceived negligence of the limiting factors that throws the dream for consensus into disarray.
The advocates for violent media argue that their opponents have very shallow definitions of what aggression or violence means (Stupak, 2004). Also, the omission of other contributing factors to aggression and violence brings further contention. They claim that the opponents ignore other antisocial characteristics and blame everything on violent video games.
According to Ferguson (2007), the test conditions employed by researchers and their subsequent results are not worth being used in general in the real world. He specifically points out experimental settings which according to him are artificial and there is limited time to make meaningful observations. Hence, in Ferguson’s opinion, the findings cannot be generalized. The sample used to conduct the studies has been identified to be usually very small and thus non-representative (Stupak, 2004).
Other researchers with similar opinions have conducted their studies to validate their arguments. They claim that the effects of violent video games on the youth exist but very negligible to be taken seriously.
Teenage violent crimes have been on the decline from 1995 to 2006 in the United States of America despite the reported sharp increase in popularity of violent video games among the adolescents over the same period (Ferguson, 2007). Ferguson further asserts that violent video games help the adolescent boys relieve their natural aggression instead of acting it out on their peers which would cause physical harm.
Conclusion
From the findings of the various researches and the reactions thereof, it is evident that the entire research community investigating the effects of violent media on the youth is sharply and clearly divided. The arguments for and against the playing of violent video games have been advanced.
The temptation to conclude which side wins may not be as easy as one may think. It is therefore evident that the investigations into this topic are far from over. More reliable and valid research methods need to be designed if this topic is to be exhaustively concluded. Since psychology is a science in itself and that scientific methods must be adhered to the letter, contradictory findings are the ones that will lead to the ultimate and conclusive finding as far as the topic is concerned.
References
Anderson, C. A., Donnerstein, E., Johnson, J. D. & Wartella, E. (2005). The impact of violent video games on the youth. [Peer Reviewed Journal] Psychological Sciences in the Interest of the Public. Vol. 6 (2), 72-112.
Bryant, A. & Bryant, J. (2003). Media and the Youth: Effects of violent video games on adolescents. [Peer Reviewed Journal Article] Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. Vol. 25(3), 321-356.
Ferguson, C. J. (2007). Effects of violent video games: Evidence for literature publication bias. [Peer Reviewed Journal] National Institute of Mental Health. Vol.10 (2), 431-478.
Funk, J. B., Pasold, T. & Heidi, B. (2004). Exposure to violence in real-life, video games, internet, and movies: Is there desensitization? [Peer Reviewed Journal] Journal of Adolescence. Vol.27 (4), 3-45.
Gentile, D. A. & Anderson, C. A. (2003). Violent Video Games: The Effects on the Youth. Mc Graw Hill Plc.
Jonathan, I. F. (2002). Media violence and its influence on youth aggression: the assessment of scientific evidence. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Slater, M. D., Kimberly, H. L., & Anderson, L. L. (2003). Violent video games and aggressiveness in adolescents. [Peer Reviewed Journal] Science Journals. Vol. 31(2), 213-247. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
Woodard, E. H. & Gridina, N. M. (2006). Use of the Media in the Home 2006: The 10th annual survey of children and parents. Philadelphia, PA: The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
Over the last decade, child abuse and neglect has been on the increase. This fact comes with its challenges and right now juvenile justice system is facing challenges and some unique issues that if not well addressed would plunge this system into crisis in future. It is unfortunate that, this system has not undergone restructuring to accommodate changing trends in society.
Laws have not been reviewed to address the ever-changing societal trends in justice matters. Ignoring the facts does not change them, and whether the juvenile justice system acknowledges it or not; there are numerous challenges and unique issues facing the juvenile justice system, in the 21st century regarding the increasing numbers of child abuse and neglect.
Increasing Child Abuse and Neglect
As aforementioned, child abuse and neglect has been on the increase over the last decade. According to Nation Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (NCPCA) (2007), “Child abuse reports have maintained a steady growth for the past ten years, with the total number of reports nationwide increasing by 45% since 1997” (p. 5).
This depicts how grave the issue of child abuse and neglect is. According to National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research (2000), the year 1999 was the climax with 3,244,000 reports of child abuse and neglect reaching the Child Protective Service (CPS). Neglect is the prominent form of child maltreatment causing over 43% of child fatalities in a year. These statistics are alarming and they pose great challenge to juvenile justice system.
In 2001, the Third National Incidence Study (NIS-3) compiled results on child abuse in 25 states showing that, “62% involved neglect, 25% physical abuse, 7% sexual abuse, 3% emotional maltreatment and 4% other. For substantiated cases, 31 states gave the following breakdowns: 60% neglect, 23% physical, 9% sexual, 4% emotional maltreatment and 5% other” (Reid, 2001, p. 6).
These figures, compared to say figures of twenty years ago are very different. Most recent results are more revealing. According to Lung and Daro (2009), “information from 34 states representing 67.3% of the U.S. population under the age of 18, an estimated 1,215 child maltreatment deaths were confirmed by child protective service (CPS) agencies in 2008” (12). Interestingly, these statistics show deaths only.
Logically, not all the abused and neglected children die; therefore, the numbers of the abuse and neglect cases has to be higher than the deaths. Moreover, these statistics represent only the reported cases, meaning that the actual number of cases is higher than the documented ones. Therefore, extrapolating these statistics to cover all cases of abuse and neglect and including the unreported cases, child abuse, and neglect has up surged in the recent past. What does this mean to the juvenile justice system?
Challenges in Juvenile Justice System
The fact that more children are being abused and neglected means that more children will end up in criminal practices. According to National Child Abuse (2010), “Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime.”
This is the nightmare facing the juvenile justice system. Gelles (2006), notes that, increase in child abuse and neglect means increase in criminal practices amongst these children (38). The greatest question remains; is the juvenile justice system prepared to address the increasing number of juvenile crimes cases? As aforementioned, there are numerous challenges facing this system some of which are unique as exposited next.
To understand the challenges facing the juvenile justice system in the 21st Century, it is good to know the structures of this system. This system is not meant to handle violent crimes. Moreover, young people below the age of 16 are not supposed to be arraigned in adult courts. Now, this is the stalemate; young people are becoming violent criminals, they are not supposed to be arraigned in adults courts and on the other side, the juvenile justice system does not handle violent crimes.
This stalemate does not annul the fact that more young people are becoming violent criminals due to child neglect and abuse. This challenge is unique in its own. The fact is, the justice juvenile system is overwhelmed, and not unless laws are reviewed to accommodate these challenges, the future of this system is doomed to failure.
There are unique issues facing the system juvenile system. According to Colon Willoughby, a Wake County District Attorney, “because the system was meant for petty crimes – such as shoplifting, – it is shrouded in secrecy to protect juvenile offenders” (Lamb, 2009, p. 6). This is another unique issue.
This system requires that juvenile case files be kept private to enable these youngsters to start afresh in life as adults. Unfortunately, the trends have changed. These juveniles are no longer interested in petty crimes like shoplifting; no, they are involved in capital crimes; and what is the juvenile justice system doing about it, nothing. The future of this system is bleak; no ray of hope is coming through; not even the administration can do much because law has to be followed.
To cap the challenges facing the juvenile system, Colon Willoughby says, “I think this is a dirty little secret in our court system. We have violent juveniles out there; we are not able to deal with them, and we do not even know who they are” (Lamb, 2009, p. 6). This is true; there are many violent juvenile ‘criminals’ terrorizing innocent people out there; unfortunately, current laws seem to protect them. As aforementioned, trends have changed and contemporary society is grappling with issues that seemed alien in early 19th century.
Unfortunately, structures have not changed with changing times and just like the dinosaurs, the juvenile justice system may soon be distinct if it cannot cope with change. The greatest future challenge facing this system is that of structural organization. Willoughby posits that, “Prosecutors and judges in the adult court system have access to juveniles’ felony records, but prosecutors need a court order to review them.
Moreover, it can be time consuming pulling those files because there is centralized statewide system to manage them…it is at the discretion of the presiding judge whether to allow them in open court” (Lamb, 2009, p. 6). This statement highlights two key issues viz. organizational and structural challenges.
The fact that the discretion on whether to arraign a juvenile in open court lies in hands of the presiding judges indicates incompetence of juvenile justice system. Additionally, Willoughby poses the issue of time consumption in retrieving criminal records. These two areas pose the greatest future challenges to juvenile justice system given the upsurge in juvenile crime catalyzed by child abuse and neglect.
Conclusion
The juvenile justice system is facing numerous challenges coupled with some unique issues that seem insurmountable if drastic measures are not taken in the wake of increasing juvenile crimes emanating from up surging child abuse and neglect. Over the last ten year, child abuse and neglect has been on the rise and this translates into increase in juvenile crime. Moreover, trends in juvenile crimes are changing by the day and more juveniles are engaging in capital crimes.
Unfortunately, the structure and organization of the juvenile justice system does not offer dynamic options of dealing with these changing trends. The justice juvenile system was meant to address petty crimes, which were prevalent amongst youth in those times. Under the current law, a juvenile can only be arraigned in open court after approval by a presiding judge. However, given the increasing number of juvenile crimes, the future of this system is bleak.
Reference List
Gelles, R. (2006). Child Maltreatment and Foster Care. Gender Issues, 23(4): 36-47
Lamb, A. (2009). Juvenile Justice System Faces Challenges. WRAL, A3.
Lung, C., & Daro, D. (2009) Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 2005 Annual Fifty State Survey. National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, 6(1): 12-18.
National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research. (2000). Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities. The Results of the 1999 Annual Fifty State Survey.
National Child Abuse. (2010). Child Abuse in America. Web.
Nation Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse. (2007). 2006 Annual Fifty State Survey.
When people who have not attained the age of majority commit crimes, they have to face the criminal justice system for justice to prevail. However, their treatment is somewhat different with that of adult offenders considering the age factor and the fact that some of them may not have the mental capability to perceive the gravity of their actions.
Over the years, there has been a pressing need for justice systems in various jurisdictions to come up with various techniques of case management as a way of offering assistance to the people who have been convicted for various crimes in jails.
While people convicted of various crimes are seen as a threat to society and thus the need to seclude them, it is important to remember that there are various issues especially health matters that affect those incarcerated. It is this reason that has necessitated the need of adoption of methods to deal with some of the problems that such people face. The focus of this discussion is the case management approach that is applied in juvenile justice.
Purpose and Goal of Juvenile Justice Case Management
When juveniles are incarcerated or put behind bars for having committed crimes, this whole experience affects them mentally especially due to their tender age. The same also affects adult offenders. The purpose and goal of case management for both juveniles and adult offenders is to ensure that the experience they go through due to incarceration does not later lead to recidivism, mental disorders, or developmental problems (Robert, 2004, p. 76).
Various programs have therefore been developed by the justice systems in various jurisdictions with the help of social workers and medical practitioners which focus on the holistic aspect of an individual. Being able to take a juvenile detainee through the criminal justice system while applying these technique and ensures that they go back to the society unscathed is the challenge and thus responsibility of case management officials.
Case Management Models
There are two main models of case management. One of the models is strength based and focuses on the strengths and capabilities of a detained juvenile. This model puts much emphasis on those talents which the client has identified on his own and they are nurtured through the service and treatment plan adopted for him.
Under this model the manager in charge of implementing the treatment plan on the client is expected to have great regard for the juvenile and that such a person has an inward ability to discover on their own the capabilities and talents that they may have (Grisso, 2005, p.98).
The assertive model on the other hand is more forced on the client where services are delivered aggressively to the client. In this model, the managers in charge will have to go out of their way and seek out the clients so as to link them with offices that provide the treatment services that such a client may require.
Necessary Elements for Effective Implementation of the Practice
Traditionally, a case manager was viewed as a service broker whose main function was to search and broker for services much needed by his client. However, over time, there have been proposals to change this perception and come up with key elements that would ensure effective implementation of this practice. The include intake which involves creating a good relationship between the manager and the client and helping the client respond positively to the treatment plan.
Assessment is another key element which involves a general evaluation of how well the client is responding to the treatment plan. Classification is yet another important element which involves classifying offenders depending on the crimes committed so as to correctly establish which treatment plan best suits each juvenile offender (Ghezi & Loughran, 2005, p.76).
Referral is important and it is based on the needs of an individual client. Intervention is also crucial and involves identifying the needs of a client and matching them with the available treatment services. What then follows is monitoring to ensure that clients stick to the treatment programs for which they have been linked to.
Evaluation is also important where the manager in charge of a client carries out an assessment to establish whether the client has been receiving the treatment services and whether they have benefited from the program (Krisberg & Austin, 1993, p. 543). Advocacy involves recommendations that a manager may provide to help improve a certain treatment program.
Solutions to Potential Problems
Some of the solutions to challenges faced in implementing this practice would involve change of policies and laws which make it easy for case managers and clients to work together as well as make some mediation on behalf of the client.
Different programs developed for offenders
The various treatment programs available are developed with varying categories of offenders in mind. There are some programs that require that one client is handles by various managers. In such a case, every manager is assigned a role that is specific and different from the roles of other managers (Krisberg, 2005, p. 43).
Usually, the case managers, having carried out an assessment will determine which program best fits every individual offender. By classifying and developing the various programs, the needs of various young offenders who have mental health issues, history of abuse and drug addiction are met. Role of parents, schools and other specific service providers in cross-disciplinary treatment
It has always been a challenge for most case managers to ensure continuity of the treatment services provided to offenders (Butts & Roman, 2004, p, 56). This is because, once they have been released from custody, it is not always easy to follow up with them and ensure that they stick to the treatment plan. This is where the society at large comes in. Parents, schools and juvenile courts have been playing a contributory role in adding case managers look after these juveniles when they have been released back to the society.
Chicago Area Project, New York City’s Mobilisation For Youth and Boston’s Mid-City Project
The above named projects were all started with the aim and goals of helping rehabilitating juvenile offenders back into the society by helping them through the various treatment programs that were assigned to each. All these projects were community based in the sense that they came about as a joint venture of the community.
Success of the Projects
These projects were a success as they helped provide accommodation for juveniles released from incarceration and who are still finding it hard to fit in a society that once condemned them as criminals. Through these projects, a great number of juvenile offenders have been transformed by being encouraged to attend their treatment programs.
Conclusion
Offenders, both juvenile and adult though they may have committed crimes against crimes must be treated in a way that will help them not go back to the same crimes that they committed once they have been released back to the society and thus the need to come up with case management models.
References
Butts, J. & Roman, J. (2004). Juvenile drug courts and teen substance abuse. New York: The Urban Institute
Ghezi, S. & Loughran, E. (2005). Balancing juvenile justice. New York: Transaction Publishers
Grisso, T. (2005). Mental health screening and assessment and juvenile justice. California: Guilford Press
Krisberg, B. & Austin, J. (1993). Reinventing juvenile justice. London: Sage.
Krisberg, B. (2005). Juvenile Justice: Redeeming our Children. London: Sage
Robert, A. (2004). Juvenile justice sourcebook: past, present, and future. Michigan: Oxford University Press.
Yearly, youths are arrested allegedly accused of committing status offences such as being incorrigible, truant, running away from home or involving themselves in underage drinking or drug abuse. More worse is that many of the juveniles involve themselves in violent criminal activities such as street gang, rape, robbery burglary and theft. They end up in the court systems where they face charges of their wrong doings.
There are strong evidences showing that status offenders are at high risk of indulging into more serious criminal activities resulting into their arrest and charged in the criminal justice system. Researches also indicate that those who end up in criminal justice system face abuse and often neglected.
However, the situation in the criminal justice system is different from juvenile justice system because often correctional measures are the main goal in the juvenile justice system. Within the criminal justice jurisdiction, juveniles are considered to be minors and cannot be held responsible for some of the crimes they do commit.
Juvenile justice is primarily a matter of state and is separated from the normal criminal justice system for adults. Though many youths enter into the criminal status offence courts, a number of issues have been raised over the years. This paper will be looking into these issues beginning with the historical background, the current issues and the procedures involved in the status offence proceedings.
Historical overview
There has been a strong belief that juveniles should be treated differently than adults when convicted of an offence more so in the criminal justice system. This belief has been held over the centuries until in the nineteenth century when the distinction was made. Disagreements normally arise on the roles of juvenile courts in determining the type of punishments for the status offenders.
Those who hold the divergent view argue that the authorization of the criminal justice for such offenders is unjustified since they are not aged enough for the punishments (Elrod and Ryder, 2011). On the contrary, there are those who hold that the court system established for the purposes of enhancing juvenile discipline is warranted.
The argument is that such a system is essential in promoting security and safety within the society as well as towards the children. Despite the fact that differences exist between the juvenile and criminal court system procedures, there are established laws that ensure control over the proceedings of juvenile status offences as well as juvenile delinquents. These laws have been continuously improved over the years.
Current situation
The increase in the number of serious juvenile criminal activities and status offences made thousands of youths transferred from juvenile justice system to adult’s courts every year. Though, in some states the transfer was automatic for some offences, different laws were applied for different cases.
The variations in the applicability of these laws also existed in different states. The reassignment of the juveniles was at its peak in 1980s and 1990s. Most states distinguished juvenile crimes that were transferable and the status offences that were dealt with within the juvenile justice system. Elrod and Ryder (2011) assert that crimes such as murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery were automatically transferable in most states. These laws are still held even today.
However, juvenile conducts that was considered to constitute status offenses also varied with the states. Each state had its own methods of defining and dealing with the status offences.
The common status offences include truancy, violation of state, city or county curfew, underage consumption or in possession of alcohol, underage possession or use of tobacco and other drugs, abandoning or running away from home and un-governability or being beyond the control of the parents (Moore, 2003). These juvenile offences are dealt with within the juvenile justice system and in most cases correctional measures are taken against such offences.
Penalties for status offence
Status offenders who end up in juvenile court may receive different kinds of penalties depending on which state the offenders come from. There are common penalties that are being impost in almost every state. Some of these include burning juvenile from driving, paying restitution or fine for the offences, assigning the juvenile a caretaker apart from the parent and sending the juvenile to after school educational programs or counseling sessions (Hess, 2009).
In situations where juveniles cannot be controlled, courts may require that the juveniles be detained in locked and secure facilities. In cases where parenting is the main cause of the juvenile delinquent behavior, parents may be required to attend parenting classes or counseling sessions together with the juvenile.
The most controversial is the curfew violations. The main reason is because of the local establishment of the curfew laws, normally, within the counties or cities. Curfew laws are aimed at containing juvenile crimes and maintaining peace within the county or the city. According to Hess (2009), Curfew regulations are primarily instituted to forbid those under the age of eighteen from public places particularly during certain hours.
Dealing with curfew violations depends with the locality within which these set of laws are being imposed. McCord et al. Crowell (2001) argue that the controversy centers a round the juvenile First Amendments that give minors the freedom of speech and association. Though few curfew laws have been held unconstitutional according to the first amendment, many have remained unchallenged in the court.
In some authorities the curfew delinquents are not taken directly to the courts. In many occasions they are brought in a central place where they are picked by there parents or guardians. Often, it is within the discretion of law enforcers to pick the minors and take them home or to issue alerts.
In case there is a violation of these measures the minors may be forced to face fines or enrolled in after school programs. Sometimes the minors are forced to take compulsory community service and only extreme cases where the minors may end up in juvenile courts. Parents who knowingly allow their children to violate the curfew laws are also subjected to fines (Moore, 2003).
There is strong evidence showing that truancy is the major status offence in the juvenile system. Furthermore, truancy and future delinquency are directly correlated with majority of the minors who are involved in the truancy cases end up in future serious delinquent behaviors.
Therefore, truancy has been conceived as a serious status offence and tough measures have been put in many states to counter the offence. Truancy is a case where the minor have arbitrarily skipped school without a proper reason or without the knowledge of school administration or the parents. States and schools apply different methodologies in determining truancy in children. Most often, absenteeism for more than three days are considered as truancy.
Schools have always been put in the forefront in dealing with truancy cases and sometimes given the powers to refer cases when they deem necessary to the juvenile court. Moreover, the police are legally allowed to detain truant children who are out of the school compound. In cases where parents are found guilty of there children truancy, they are held accountable and fines are imposed on such kind of parents or at times jailed (McCord et al., 2001).
Delinquency proceedings
Variations in juvenile justice system exist among the states despite the fact that they have common features. Parents are often notified of their children delinquent behavior or of their status offences before they are taken into custody. Those minors who end up in custody are separated from adult offenders.
Most of the states require that notification of the minor arrest be given to the parents, guardians or the caretaker of the minor before the minor is taken into custody. In most cases arrested juveniles are taken to detention centers where they will be interviewed by the intake worker as they await trials. The role of the intake worker is to find the reason for the minor behavior and to determine whether the case should be dismissed, go for full trial or handle by the social worker and the family (Elrod and Ryder, 2011).
Most of the status offence cases are informally settled or are dismissed after the hearing. In some cases, the intake worker may decide that the case proceed to full trial and forwards the information to the prosecutor. In such a situation, parents and the juveniles have full rights to legal representation as well as the right to hear any pending charges (Elrod and Ryder, 2011). They also have a right to attorney whom they are assigned in case they cannot afford one.
Unlike in adult criminal cases, youthful offenders cannot be made to testify against themselves and therefore the prosecutor must prove beyond reasonable doubt that they committed the crimes. Similarly, the prosecutor must present convincing evidence and the offenders have the right to respond to the evidence.
The offenders also have the right to question the witnesses. However, juveniles cannot be exposed to jury trials and their files are sealed or kept private (Elrod and Ryder, 2011). In addition, court proceedings for the minors are held separately from the adult court rooms.
In case the minor offenders are found guilty of their acts they are not sentenced directly. Instead they face another hearing where the probation officer takes the opportunity to prepare finer details of the juvenile background.
During this stage, various tests are done such as drug tests, alcohols tests, learning disabilities as well as mental health checks. With all the detailed reports the sentencing hearing then begins. During the sentencing hearing, the judges have the obligation take into account the effects of the offender’s crime on the immediate family members (McCord et al., 2001).
Sentencing
There are many sentences open to the judges. The most commonly used are probation, fines, use of correctional facility or foster homes, community service, social skills classes and mental health programs. Many occasions, judges use a combination of these treatments. The worst sentence the judge can offer to the delinquent juvenile is confinement to the secured reform facility (Elrod and Ryder, 2011). The minor is confined in the facility for the duration of the entire sentence.
The reason being they resemble the adult prison facilities. Since the juvenile offenders are sentenced to these confinements for serious crimes, they normally remain in these facilities until the age of eighteen. However, most states recommend that juvenile courts keep control over the offenders even after eighteen years. In some states violent offenders are transferred to adult prisons especially when they are at least sixteen years of age.
Status offence should be maintained
The creation of juvenile justice framework has been applied to protect the younger people from both future and present injuries. Despite many arguments for the reformation of status offence, those who support reformation lack proper understanding of the development and decision making of the adolescent.
Right from its origins, juvenile justice system has represented many varying disciplines including the judicial, psychological, and medical disciplines in the determination of appropriate treatment for status offenders. Arguably, the ascertained evidence forms a just ground for juvenile offences. It would appear absurd to make a move that will interfere with the delivery of appropriate justice to these offences as subsequent arguments on the most common offences suggest.
Running away
Running away from parental custody exposes a child to very unpredictable environment which always works against his/her proper development (Steinhart, 1996). Most of these children have suffered constant sexual and physical abuse, alcohol and drug abuse as well as other violent family environments.
However, it is not just for them to consider running away as the only solution since they have no resources to enable them live alone. The situation is heightened by the fact that many runaways have ended up being homeless which materialize to be a big problem to them. These children are surrounded by higher risks for health and emotional problems as the situation drags them to health counteracting behaviors such as drug use and sexual activities.
Indeed, there are laws established to protect runaway children and remove them from harmful situations. For many years the enactment of National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act has resulted in many programs being developed to counteract the runaway offence before it becomes too dangerous for the child.
The programs are in place to assist the youths who might be acting against their will. More important are the rules that do not allow any child to free parental custody in an effort to protect these delicate lives. All these legal efforts have considered the welfare of the children based not only on protecting the young ones from the present harm, but even the future. There is no good evidence that abolishing the runaway offence would reduces the offences or promise a better future as the critics tend to argue.
School absenteeism
One of the best and long-term gifts the parents and the state would give to a child is proper education. Young children are not conscious about the importance of going to school and are everybody’s responsibility to see them through their schooling career. Truancy or absenteeism from school with no proper reason is an offence that a child should be punished for in order to secure his/her future. In fact long-term studies have revealed the relationship between the offence and delinquency in later years (Elrod and Ryder, 2011).
Victims also exhibit antisocial behaviors, acquire low status jobs, and their working trend is unstable. While these factors reveal the importance of completing the school life continually, there is an intrinsic call for everyone to save these children and a pity to those who present individualized reasons to abolish the offence.
Furthermore, the government has established detailed policies that prohibit the young ones from committing the crime. Most people are aware of the impacts of these laws in shaping the life of the children and thus shaping the future of the country. The regulations achieved the initial purpose that led to their establishment and saw all children out of the labor market, integrated immigrants, and afforded children protection from the dangers of the workplace and streets.
So far, the regulations have allowed children to further in education which also benefit the society when the cohort of intellectuals is added. With such achievements, it beats logic to think of abolishing an offence whose regulations enhance the welfare of the whole community.
Sexual behaviors
Young people have many places that they can get knowledge from apart from schools. And the teenage being a period of social growth, adolescents are constantly learning from life experiences as well as from their environments. Unlike the adults, these young people do not possess the necessary experience to behave on their own.
Therefore, the sexual behavior offense is contained in the legal system in order to protect the children from unintentional mistakes that can affect their future. This is an age when the important body changes take place and is a challenge to cope with the situation emotionally.
According to experts, the unstable emotions lead some teenager to come up with decisions regarding sexual behaviors (Elrod and Ryder, 2011). To their disadvantage they are emotionally not prepared to understand the full impacts that sex may pose and they automatically need help from the adults and the government to evade the consequences.
The adolescence age is also the period for moral development and the youths constantly learn the relationship with others and the family. This stage of moral development is imperative to ensure the youths maintain social order. As they approach maturity, the young people feel the bond with the society and develop a personal moral code.
While this stage is important in shaping the young people, they become more prone to other external influences. It reaches a time that the parents’ supervision cannot carry the weight of the child and status offence becomes the best control for the child from entering into sexual behaviors.
One impact of teenage sexual behavior is teenage pregnancy. Present statistics indicate that ten percent of teenage girls are pregnant, reason being their inability to make proper decisions and plan contraception adequately (Ventura andHamilton, 2011). Early pregnancy exposes the mother to health risks as their bodies are not fully developed to bear a baby to full-term.
Emotional immaturity also leads to high suicide rates for pregnant teenage mothers. Accompanying the health risk is the failure to institute a healthy social life as well as economic independence. Early pregnancy will automatically divert psychological and self-knowledge independence to the child and interpersonal relationship completely lacks in both sexes.
Similarly, there are appropriate regulations regarding the sexual behavior are developed in the best manner to protect the children from adverse effect from their immature decisions. They protect them from being violated by rapists and child molesters. These rules also give the parents and guardians a responsibility to protect their children from sexual behaviors.
There is an appropriate law that prohibits adolescents from sexual behaviors and thus protecting them from adverse effects described earlier. Although a large number of cases are about two consenting teenagers, the regulations attempt to protect them from emotional and physical trauma. Everybody acknowledges the importance of these regulations, but many miss the understanding that they only exist because of the defined status offence. Abolishing or transforming will affect these cherished regulations.
Alcohol consumption
Alcohol consumption by adolescent has raised a fierce debate in relation to status offences. The present regulations do not allow any youth to consume any kind of alcoholic beverage until the age of 21 years. There are very many reasons that the status offence and the associate regulations should be maintained. First, the skills to make decisions are not fully developed until the age of 18 years and may even extend well beyond that age.
Teenage is a period of emotional change as a result of physical, social, and emotional influences. During this time, the child encounters confusion and feelings of loneliness and may end up in a faulty decision to consume alcohol.
The period is also an important window for the surfacing of behavioral problems that persist in life. Evidence from studies suggests that youths who start to consume alcohol at an early age are likely to become users later in life (Elrod and Ryder, 2011). Thus, the law which is defined b the status offence acts to protect the children and the society from future acts of delinquency and should be maintained.
Conclusion and future directives
Status offences are justified and must not be abolished from the legal system. The juvenile justice system from its early conception has always provided for and protected the children. Status offences are just a demonstration of this responsibility to serve and protect the young people.
Despite much criticism that the system should rethink on how to handle status offences, the established regulations entail guidelines for different disciplines. With respect to the discussed reasons, it becomes clear that the status offence should be maintained in the future to help, protect, and serve the youths. With the enacted regulations and empirical evidence, our juvenile legal framework has achieved much of its aims to fairly protect the children.
References
Elrod, Preston and Ryder Scott. 2011. Juvenile Justice: A Social, Historical and Legal Perspective. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Hess, Kären M. 2009. Juvenile Justice. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
McCord, Joan, Wisdom, Spatz and Nancy Crowell. 2001. Juvenile crime, juvenile justice. Washington DC: National Academies Press.
Moore, Lawrence, V. 2003. Juvenile crime: current issues and background. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Publishers.
Steinhart, David. 1996. “Status offence”. The Juvenile Court 6 (3):86-99.
Tiffany, Rose. 2011. Juvenile Justice and the Status Offense: A Justification for the Current System. Web.
Juvenile justice is a justice system that operates under the juvenile law, which aims at trying the offenders who are mainly between 10 and 18 years (Maggio, 2010). The operation of the juvenile justice system takes into account the differences that exist between the youth and the adults in terms of accountability as well as room for rehabilitation. It operates on the basis that the youth can be successfully rehabilitated, hence improve security in the community.
Why Should the Juvenile Justice System Adopt Rehabilitation Program
Due to a number of reasons, many children and teenagers engage themselves in criminal activities that make them end up in courts. United States being one of the countries that have a high number of child/teenage crimes in the world has been engaged in major debates on how to put in place a system that will help to curb the high rate of child/teenage crime (Cole & Smith, 2009).
The juvenile justice system should focus on rehabilitating the children/ teenagers since the program operates on the basis that children/ teenagers can be successfully rehabilitated as opposed to adults and hence, improve security in the society. This rehabilitation program plays a critical role since it tries to identify why the children/ teenagers engage themselves in crimes.
Several research studies show that there are diverse reasons that make the children/adolescents to engage themselves in crimes. Some of these reasons include being in a state of poverty, being discriminated on racial grounds, and having easy access to drugs (Beyer, 2003). Moreover, there are also several theories, which attempt to find out the reasons why children/adolescents engage themselves in criminal acts. These theories include genetics, and being neglected by parents as this lowers the child’s self-esteem (Siegel & Welsh, 2008).
A combination of the above factors with other environmental factors such as television and peer pressure makes the children to engage themselves in criminal acts. Proper understanding of why the children/teenagers commit crime is paramount since it helps the juvenile justice system to know the kind of rehabilitation program that should be put in place in order to induce cognitive behavior.
Explanation of the Juvenile Justice System
Law Enforcement and the Court Process
When a youth commits a crime, the police have the responsibility of arresting him/her and taking him to juvenile court’s custody where he/she awaits his/her trial. Juvenile justice system operates in a flexible manner since it tries to attend various needs of the child offender.
In the court process, the Juvenile justice system works under a guiding principle whereby the child/adolescent undergoes through a trial that helps to determine the kind of treatment that he/she will be offered. The court follows the due process of hearing the case until the jury rules the case. The children/teenagers who are sentenced by the juvenile court are not termed as guilty but as delinquent children (Maggio, 2010)
However, the juvenile courts have the responsibility of handing over the children/teenagers to the adult court whenever the teenagers exceed the age limit of the juvenile court while serving a sentence (Cole & Smith, 2009). This also applies to cases where the rehabilitation program does not have a positive impact on the child/adolescent receiving it. The judge has the overall responsibility of determining where the youth will serve and the period of service.
Probation
The juvenile justice system has the mandate of releasing a child/adolescent offender as long as he/she has developed cognitive behavior (Siegel & Welsh, 2008). Hence, the child’s sentence does not heavily rely on timeframe but rather on development of cognitive behavior.
The development of new cognitive behavior is normally evaluated in order ascertain whether the child should to be released. This evaluation is determined by the way the program influences the child/adolescent during the rehabilitation process as well as after being released to the community. However, the child/adolescent can be re-arrested if he/she fails to demonstrate development of cognitive skills within the community.
Correction
According to a nationwide research, the juvenile courts play a very critical role in reducing future criminal activities of the drug offenders. In a comparison done between teenage drug offenders who completed the rehabilitation program offered by the juvenile court and the teenagers who never completed the program shows that the rehabilitation program has a capacity of reducing a re-arrest of the same offence by 8% to 26% (Siegel & Welsh, 2008).
This thus shows that the youth offenders who are re-arrested for committing the same offence are the youth who are transferred from the juvenile justice system to the adult prisons. The completion of the juvenile justice program is thus emphasized since transferring the offenders to adult prisons reduces the success rate of the rehabilitation.
The juvenile rehabilitation program endeavors to correct the offenders by transforming cognitively the distorted cognitive behavior of the child/adolescent involved in criminal acts. The program plays a critical role in the life of the offender after the trial period since it aims at identifying the child’s weaknesses in order to generate new alternatives, goals, and viable ideas that will help the children to solve their present as well as their future problems (Maggio, 2010).
Community Services
The juvenile justice rehabilitation program helps the community in providing education programs, which play the role of providing families with essential information on bringing up a healthy child. Some of these programs involve teaching the children on the negative side effects of being involved in gangs, drugs, harmful weapons, and sex while others aim at raising the self-esteem of the child/adolescent as well as letting them understand the self worth of other people (Beyer, 2003).
This approach helps the children/teenagers to understand the consequences of their actions and hence, makes their thinking to slant more in the positive rather than the negative side of an event.
Intervention Programs
The purpose of a juvenile court is to divert children/adolescents offenders from facing criminal justice by providing them with an opportunity for a rehabilitation program (Zimring, 2000). However, the teenage offenders have in the past been subjected to scare tactics during the 1990s as the rehabilitation program administrators thought that this would improve the children/adolescents’ attitudes.
The scare tactics strategy was implemented due to increased debates affirming that the high youth crime rate had resulted from lack of fear of being sentenced in juvenile courts, as the system was not harsh to them. This subjected the teenagers to harsh conditions in the juvenile courts. In addition to this, the transfer from the juvenile court to adult court was made easier. Although the purpose of this tactic was to reduce the crime rate among the teenagers, it however had a low success rate (Roberts, 2003).
The failures evident in the scare tactic program have facilitated the need for coming up with a viable intervention that aims at developing the child cognitive behavior.
Some of these interventions take an approach of assisting the children at their early stages of childhood development to their adolescent stage while other take an approach of providing the offenders and the neglected children with the appropriate intervention that aims at increasing their self esteem rather than subjecting them to harsh judgments. Therefore, when implemented in an effective manner, the rehabilitation program plays a critical role as it reduces the prison admissions.
Argument Opposing the View of Rehabilitation in the Juvenile Justice System
Rehabilitation program provided by the juvenile justice system faces a number of arguments, which emanate from the fact that the rehabilitation programs do not restrict crime in the society. On the other hand, others believe that the best option for reducing crime in the society is improving the lives of the teenagers through proper implementation of rehabilitation since it will serve the role of inducing therapeutic integrity that adds value not only to the lives the offenders but also to the entire society.
Roberts (2003) asserts that in reviewing the existing process of outcome evaluations of the juvenile court, there is a need of coming up with a conceptual framework that will assess the success of Juvenile court’s rehabilitation program. This would help in addressing the arguments by providing answers since it will have indicators, which show that the juvenile justice can hold rehabilitation programs in a successful manner. The three main arguments are discussed below in turn
Argument 1: Should teenage offenders be left to suffer in adult prisons or should the juvenile justice rehabilitate them in order to induce cognitive behavior?
The answer to this argument can be derived from evaluating a single juvenile court in order to assess whether the treatment modifies the character and the personality of the teenage offenders. The study should entail measurement of various kinds of successes that have been achieved by the effectiveness of the juvenile rehabilitation programs since the purpose of a juvenile court is to divert teenage offenders from facing criminal justice by providing them with an effective opportunity for treatment (Beyer, 2003).
According to Zimring (2000), a good evaluation program should strive to ensure that the juvenile court specialists have the required skills pertaining to training the offenders, which include the background area of the offenders, and assessment of the major reasons that contribute to criminal acts.
The juvenile courts have successfully achieved the knowledge about the children and teenagers by ensuring that the staff or the juvenile courts specialists are well trained and sensitive, monitored, and have adequate knowledge of delivering the program effectively as well as following the offenders after they have completed the rehabilitation program (Beyer, 2003).
Argument 2: Do juvenile justice incur larger costs than the adult courts?
Financial benefit is a critical component that should be considered while evaluating the effectiveness of the juvenile justice rehabilitation program. It would be rational if the assessor evaluates the long-term financial benefits rather than the short-term benefits of the juvenile rehabilitation program.
A careful consideration of the ongoing cost of the juvenile justice program to the participating members should be put into consideration. The evaluation should assess how the juvenile’s court resources are distributed by carefully identifying the cost savings associated with juvenile court even when findings are unavailable from the federal government (Siegel & Welsh, 2008).
The juvenile court rehabilitation program has contributed to a stunning national expansion and this proves that it is cost effective (Siegel & Welsh, 2008). This emanates from the fact that when a teenage offender get into the juvenile court he/ she experiences motivational as well as behavioral change. This facilitates reduction of crime and therefore helps to reduce the added cost of crime that affect the society.
Argument 3: Do juvenile justice assist the teenage offenders in developing new behavioral cognitive skills fully, thus preventing a re-arrest?
There are a number of issues, which should be considered when evaluating whether the juvenile courts help in assisting the teenage offenders in learning of new behavioral cognitive skills. The type of treatment methods that is employed by the juvenile courts puts much emphasis on the method that appears to develop cognitive skills to the offenders. Siegel & Welsh (2008) affirms that the appropriate method to be used for all offenders should assess the pattern of the crime, and the way the children/ adolescents influence program participation. The program thus takes into account the various stages of childhood development.
The success of juvenile rehabilitation program has been facilitated by concealing the records of crime to the public and hence; it does not limit the child/ adolescent opportunities for his/her future goals (Maggio, 2010). The development of new cognitive behavior together with unlimited opportunities in the community helps to reduce the chances of a re-arrest.
Advantages of the Rehabilitation Program in the Juvenile Justice System
Rehabilitating children in the juvenile justice system takes a considerable amount of time before they acquire cognitive therapy. The juvenile justice rehabilitation program however works to the advantage of the child offender since it facilitates cognitive behavioral development that helps the children after they leave the juvenile court.
Being termed as delinquent children is beneficial since it hides the secrets of having being sentenced by a court of law. Hence, the child offender does not experienced reduced life opportunities within the community.
Despite the fact that the juvenile justice system program is expensive, the cost of the program far outweighs the cost related to crimes committed by the youth. Thus, the juvenile program guarantees safety to the entire public on a long-term basis, hence, reducing costs related to crimes, which include costs in response to crime, costs resulting from crime, and costs in prevention of crime.
Sleepers directed by Barry Levinson is a dramatic film addressing juvenile justice system at length. It also gives insight of how New York City was in 1960s. Levinson bases Sleepers on a 1995 novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra going by the same title.
According to this film, the juvenile justice system is inconsequential in the realms of justice. Justice systems are meant to correct individuals to make them better citizens who can abide to the law, not to harden them making them hardcore criminals. However, Sleepers paint the juvenile justice system as a faulty system. This is evidenced by the bestial events that occur to Lorenzo, Thomas, Michael, and John. After these juveniles kill King Benny, they are taken to Wilkinson Home, a correctional center for reformation.
However, once these four boys check in Wilkinson Home, they meet unheard brutality in the hands of Nokes, Addison, Styler, and Ferguson, guards at this centre. They are raped, abused, and beaten, an experience that dents these juveniles’ personalities to become hardcore criminals. It is at this point, where Sleepers paints a faulty picture of the juvenile justice system. If the juvenile justice system were efficient, it would have reformed these juveniles.
According to what happens in this movie, one experience can change a child so much that he or she becomes a delinquent or an adult criminal. After Thomas and John go through the beastly treatment in the hands of Nokes and the rest, they harden to become adult criminals.
Ten years after they have been released from Wilkinson, they spot Sean Nokes taking some beer in a pub down street in Hell’s Kitchen. They confront him and tell him of what he had done to them ten years ago before shooting him six times. Nokes dies in front of everyone in the pub. Therefore, it is possible that one incidence, could change a child into an adult criminal just the way Thomas and Mike changed after the torture they went through in the hands of Nokes and his co-workers.
These juveniles lived in Hell’s Kitchen in New York. The community that these juveniles are living in is very unfounded and criminal-minded. The community is unfounded because the only person who seems concerned about these boys is Father Bobby, who makes some efforts to look after the boys. The moment Father Bobby loses touch with these boys; they join a gang in the town.
The community is also criminal-minded because the only thing that these four juveniles find to do is joining a gang. If this community were founded on morals and principles, a responsible person correct these juveniles before they join a gang. This gang was at the disposal of these boys and they would join anytime they wanted hence the community pushed these juveniles to join the gang.
The friendship of these four boys contributed largely in their behavior. Before they join the gang, Mike, John, Thomas, and Lorenzo spend a lot of time together. Consequently, they find it easy to join a gang as a group. If these boys were to join the gang individually, chances are that, they would not join it. This is because when alone, a person lacks the moral support to do something.
This resonates well with the old adage that, ‘together we stand, divided we fall.’ Therefore, friends can lead or prevent delinquent behavior. If three of these boys were not involved in delinquency, chances are that the fourth one would never become delinquent.
The film Sleepers is a masterpiece that marries juvenile justice system with subsequent adult criminals. It also sheds light on how bad company can lead to delinquency and touches on the impact of community on the lives of juveniles.
There is no use denying the fact that modern age can be characterized by the blistering development of digital technologies. This process, in its turn, results in the appearance of a great number of different means of communication. Under these conditions, it became very easy nowadays to get access to information or some data which is interesting for a person. Additionally, mass media became much more influential.
Having obtained great number of different devices that make the process of conveying information easier, different channels, or some other means of media became one of the most influential remedies in the modern world. It is possible to promote some issues with their help, and people will obviously believe the information presented.
That is why it also can be rather dangerous. Trying to be beneficial and attract people, different channels, or some other actors place some information that can promote the development of violence. Resting on these facts, it should be said that this issue is very important nowadays as young people consider mass media to be one of the main sources of information.
First of all, it should be said that such a spread of the influence of media became possible due to the development of digital technologies. In 1950 only 10% of American families had a television, while nowadays, 99% of people have it (Beresin, n.d.). That is why people, especially youth, can obtain information which can do harm to their minds and change their outlook, also adding some significant alterations to their set of values (Anderson, Berkowitz, Donnerstein, Huesmann, Johnson, Linz, Malamuth, & Wartella, 2003).
Under these conditions, nowadays, movies and television are the main issues that are considered to promote violence among youth. According to some researches, a child watches television 28 hours a week, and that is why he/she can view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18 (Beresin, n.d.).
Additionally, video games, which become more and more popular, replacing some traditional activities, also have a great influence on young people. With this in mind, it is possible to say that nowadays there is a great number of different factors which influence youth-promoting development of wrong ideas.
With this in mind, it is possible to state the fact that the level of violence among young people increases. Unfortunately, there is a great number of cases when a young person kills his/her counterparts under the influence of some ideas obtained from TV program, the Internet or videogames (Escobar-Chaves, & Anderson, 2008). Moreover, it is possible to admit the increase in the number of such cases and the number of victims (Goebel, n.d.).
Additionally, analyzing the behavior of young people, it is possible to admit the tendency for using some rough methods to solve problems. Very often, young people prefer to use force in order to assert themselves (Youth violence, 2015). The force can be used even without a clear reason, especially if a victim is weaker. That is why the number of fights and injuries increases. With this in mind, it is necessary to find some solution to the problem of violence among youth.
Taking the fact of the pernicious influence of media on youth into account, it is possible to suggest some solutions connected with the information presented by different means of media. First of all, it is possible to use V-chip technology whose main aim is to read and analyze information presented by media and block the content if it is unacceptable or can be dangerous for young people.
It will help to reduce the number of scenes of violence which a child can see and also give parents the possibility to control the content which their child watches. Additionally, clear and visible labels should be created and warn people about the violent material which is going to be presented for them to be able to make a choice whether they want to see it or not.
Nevertheless, it is also obvious that the issue of violence among young people and possible solutions to this problem should be controlled by the government. It should make the filmmakers reduce the number of violent scenes in their movies and, moreover, revise some films created for children in order to get rid of different manifestations of violence. TV shows should also be controlled as very often they include some violent scenes on purpose in order to attract the attention of youth.
With this in mind, having analyzed the main aspects of the issue of violence among youth, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. First of all, it should be said that there is no use denying the fact that the media has a great influence on people nowadays.
Obtaining a great number of different remedies that help to convey information, it promotes the development of violence, showing some scenes of films with violent content. That is why some solutions to prevent this process are needed. It is possible to use special programs or labels to warn parents and people in order to protect youth from the pernicious influence of the media.
References
Anderson, C, Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., Huesmann, R., Johnson, J., Linz, D., Malamuth, N. & Wartella, E. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological science in the public interest, 4(3), 81-110. Web.
Beresin, E. The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions. Web.
Escobar-Chaves, S. & Anderson, C. (2008). Media and Risky Behaviors. Children and electronic media, 18 (1), n. pag. Web.
Goebel, J. Media and violence study. Web.
Youth violence. (2015). World health organization. Web.