Justice System Position Paper Essay

For many years there has been so much debate on whether punishment or rehabilitation would be the main issue in the juvenile system. They have gone back and forward from punishment to rehabilitation and still to this day it is still going on in our society, in which they should be forcing on rehabilitating our young youth to better themselves because they are our future generation that is coming up, instead of punishing them in which that is not going to help them one bit, only thing that is going to do is continue more problems within our youth. People wonder to this day what method works and I believe that rehabilitation should be the main primary focus in the juvenile justice system. If they really think about it rehabilitation is a program and therapies that allow juveniles delinquent to reunite back to society as a contributing member to their community. The program has many things to offer to help a juvenile and what I mean by this is they have programs that offer behavior modi fication therapies, education, work programs, and counseling to help them correct any area that needs improvement. They also help out the parent to better their juvenile the only thing is the parent have to get involve and really want the help for their juvenile so they can overcome their issue and be reunited back to society. Juvenile justice system should focus more on rehabilitation and the reason why I say that is because it can reduce time spent being incarcerated, also address more for the needs of delinquents, what I mean by this is focusing more on rehabilitation it could allow more delinquent to become productive members in society and in courage them to change their ways of life and prove to them that everyone can change instead of people looking at them as an delinquent juvenile that stay in trouble a lot. Just think if the states think more about punishment than rehabilitation  there would be more repeated offenders, and ultimately, depriving on society and the offender, then if you think about it the offender would be punished for their action as a delinquent but not getting the op portunity to learn how to be reunited back into society as a productive member and not being able to understand there problem, which means they would never understand what tick them off and make them act out the way they do by being punish they would never no and continue to repeat their action. Rehabilitation has a lot to offer far as learning about their behavior and the impact on society, how they can change their behavior, by completing the program they know that they can be successful and find a good job and stay away from trouble due to already going through that situation and be reunited back to society. Now without the program a juvenile could go into adulthood and still continue their action and it may get worse in the future. There was a research done on juvenile justice setting around the world and Day, Howells and Rickwood have inform people that most juvenile that has encounter with criminal justice agencies has many problems and have experience high levels of need and the justice agencies does not have much aware of the circumstance that is going on with the delinquents due to worrying about punishing them instead of finding out what they can do to help them overcome their situation so they can be reunited back to society. I think that rehabilitation should be the main focus on criminal justice system, and the reason why I say this is because the understanding on rehabilitation impact due to the law enforcement, court processes, probation, corrections, community services, and intervention programs. By the successful of the program can impact area’s and who has completed the programs are less likely to repeat breaking the law enforcement. Just think of the juveniles that has completed the rehabilitation program or anyone who has completed the program are less likely to increase the caseload in courts. Then, there are those who are on probation or not, they could have their probation decreased due to upon successful completion of the program. Even with rehabilitation, it can decrease the burden on corrections system by decreasing the number of juveniles that is incarceration. Now with community service and intervention programs could experience an increase in juvenile depending on whether the juvenile comply with their rehabilitation programs and that when the parent is suppose to  get involve to make sure that they juvenile comply within the program. If people can address that some juveniles has committed an unacceptable act and putting them in a rehabilitation program instead of punishing them, which is a inappropriate behavior depending on what type of crime that they have committed and what I mean by this is, if a juvenile committed murder than they should be punish for their crime but at the same time they also should be rehabilitate to understand what they have done was wrong and admit to their action and focus on improving themselves so they can be reunited back in to society one day or prove to themselves and they community that they can be reunited within the community. Think if they just punish all juveniles for their action regardless of what type of crime that they have committed, a juvenile would be accepted to all types of behavior and they would not understand the social or mental processes that may contribute to a delinquency due to being punished and rehabilitation does address these issue and help the delinquency focus on their problems and can help improve them in so many ways but the juvenile would have to want to change for themselves not because they are required to complete the program they have to want to do this on there on and that’s when the parent get involve to courage there juvenile to change to better themselves. Rehabilitation has both advantages and disadvantages and what I mean by this is the advantages of rehabilitation focus on the needs of the offender and customize to the individual’s needs by helping them understand there issue and how they can control there issue. Also the costs are significantly less tha n incarceration and decrease the recidivism rates, just think the juvenile crime rate will decrease and it would not be overcrowded in the detention center. The disadvantages would be adequate staffing and funding due to not having enough or short supply, but all in all the advantages always outweighing the disadvantage due to reducing the numbers of juvenile offender and getting them the help they need to improve themselves so they can be reunited back to society as civilize young adults. The agreement that oppose my view is how some people feel as though punishing the delinquency would help them but in reality it is only making them worse and their behavior also. My opinion is that all delinquency that has commit some type of crime should be able to get help far as rehabilitating them instead of punishing them, just think if they punish all of the delinquency they  would have a lot of juveniles in detention centers and that would be more money spent to house them and that means more staffs being hire to work more hours than what they have to and at the same time having to worry about the different behaviors within the juveniles, at l east with the rehabilitation program they (juveniles) could be able to get the help they need and understand their action and work on their issue to the point that they can be reunited back into society and live a civilize life within their community. Another thing is the juvenile’s parent need to be involve in whatever action that is taking place within their juvenile and what I mean by this is the parent are responsible for them (juvenile) and they should make it there point that they juvenile comply with the program and also participate within the program to better their juvenile, and understand their (juvenile) problem. Parents should understand that it starts with them and if they are not trying to get involve then their juvenile would feel as though they really do not have to comply by the programs. If parents get involve and help the system out by wanting to help there juvenile to improve their issue instead of putting their juvenile problems off on others then may be the juvenile crime rate would decrease and it would not be a big issue on making sure that the juvenile’s comply with rehabilitation programs nor punishing them (juvenile). Just think if rehabilitation service was not provided to the delinquency, it would be a lot of crimes more juvenile’s committing crimes and overcrowding in the detention center, it could hurt the offenders and the community. The juvenile would feel as though that people has lost faith in them and at the same time bring their self esteem down which would convince them do go out and commit crimes due to not having anyone there in there corner, that is why people and parent’s should get involve and help out our youth and make sure that they can be reunited back to society instead of punishing them cause punishing them is not doing anything to help them one bit. Overall I think that the juvenile justice system should focus on rehabilitating our young youth to better them into going back to school and getting a diploma or GED so they can farther there education and find a decent job, instead of getting into trouble and in up in the system to be punish for their crime or repeating the same crime that they have done once before also the community needs to come to gather and help far as giving some type of positive advice to the young youth so  they can follow the right path, but most important is the p arent’s need to be involve in their youth live regardless what it is, just my opinion on the whole situation. Reference American Civil Liberties, (1996, July5). ACLU Fact sheet on The Juvenile Justice System, retrieved, May 10, 2009 www.adu.org/crimjustice/juv/10091res19960705.com A History Struggle: Punishment or Rehabilitation? Mellen G. (2008, May 20), Press- Telegram, retrieved, May 10, 2009 www.prestelegram.com/justice/ci_9327709.com Public Willing to Pay More for Rehabilitation of Juvenile Offenders; Models for Change: System Reform in Juvenile Justice, (2009). In Models for Change; System Reform in Juvenile Justice; Home, retrieved May 10, 2009 www.modelsforchange.net/newsroom/18.com Juvenile Law Focus is Rehabilitation; Children are Considered, David J. Shestokas, copyright May 18, 2009 www.peasecurity,suite101.com/article.cfm/juvenile_law_foc.com Rehabilitation and Control of Juvenile Delinquency Offender, Afolabi James Adebayo, copyright 2010 www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/2/00.02.01.x.h.com