Crisis in American Juvenile Justice System
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The American juvenile justice system is considered a system in crisis. It is not only overloaded by increased delinquency, but it is also a system seen as ineffective at the best of times. 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. Community based corrections programs are seen as a viable alternative to "detention centers" in the eyes of the justice system and other professionals who work with young offenders, but the creation of such programs must also protect the public from juvenile crime and will certainly come under increased criticism for any failure to do so. Supervision is promoted as a viable alternative to detention, but the issue is raised whether supervision is effective or whether lack of supervision produces less desirable results. Analysts note that there have been significant changes in the juvenile justice system in the last several decades, with a
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sample of felony offenders sentenced to DYS during the same period as the ISU cases and who met the same initial-screening eligibility criteria. A second comparison group was used to provide an additional perspective, and this group consisted of a 20 percent sample of felony offenders who were placed on traditional Court probation supervision during the same period. Results showed that intensive supervision is an effective alternative to incarceration, though the results did not show that it was a solution to the underlying problem of juvenile crime. Also noted was the fact that ISP was difficult to achieve in a cost- effective way without large-scale diversion (Wiebush, 1993, 68 86).
Barton and Butts (1990) also consider the value of intensive supervision programs for juvenile delinquents by examining offenders at the Wayne County Juvenile Court in Detroit, Michigan, which recently developed and evaluated three in-home, intensive supervision programs as alternatives to commitment for adjudicated delinquents. More than 500 young offenders were randomly assigned either to intensive supervision or to a control group committed to the state for placement. Implementation of the in-home programs included an evaluation to determin
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Some common words found in the essay are:
, Barton Butts, ISP ISP, Unit ISU, Wayne County, Services DYS, Detroit Michigan, Crime Delinquency, Juvenile Court, intensive supervision, Third Wiebush, intensive supervision programs, supervision programs, felony offenders, wiebush 1993, in-home programs, justice system, crime delinquency, juvenile intensive, hardyman 1990, byrne 1990, juvenile intensive supervision, juvenile crime increased, supervision programs juvenile, viable alternative detention,
Approximate Word count = 1545
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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