The American system of juvenile corrections has numerous failures and few successes, and it is a system in crisis as the inner cities produce more and more street gangs, violence, and troubled youth. There are many reasons for the increase in these problems, and the programs developed to cope with them have not kept pace with the rate of change and have not served well to control juveniles or to address their problems. Yet, new programs are suggested all the time, showing that there is a realization of the need and an attempt to come to terms with it.
There has long been a tension in the system between the twin missions of punishment and rehabilitation, just as there is in the adult criminal justice system. With juveniles, however, there is the added belief that the offenders are less responsible for their actions than are adults, that the system has a role as substitute parent, and that alternatives to incarceration are particularly valuable to meld these missions. However, as juvenile crime has increased in incidence and severity, the public has become less patient and has demanded punishment over rehabilitation, seeing this as a way to protect itself against the depredations of young offenders. More and more courts are moving juvenile cases into adult court, and this is a response to the perception that the juvenile justice system has failed and that youthful offenses are becoming more egregious.
Bennett notes that one of the consequences of increasing teenage crime and drug use has been a new intolerance expressed in the juvenile justice system through programs emphasizing punishment. Rehabilitation had been a strong objective in juvenile justice even after it had become discredited for adult offenders, with the idea being that rehabilitation should be possible for young offenders before they become too hardened. Much of this intention has withered away to be replaced more and more by mandated prison sentences and a...