Justice System Position Paper

Justice System Position Paper

In order for juvenile delinquents to gain knowledge and understanding on how to change their negative behavior to produce a positive behavior they must first be in an environment that encourages education. The most effective way to change the way in which juveniles behave is to provide insight into how and why they display negative behavior. Prison is too violent and hard for young juveniles. Often children are locked away with hardened adult offenders show signs that the prison environment intensifies preexisting conditions. The same children are in need of protection and care from the juvenile justice system are neglected, abused, and used by those that they entrust with the duty to protect them from harm. This paper will argue my position on why I believe the juvenile justice system should focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment for juvenile offenders. In addition to my stance affects law enforcement, court processes, probation, corrections, community services, and intervention programs.

In the United States authority has been granted in all states for juvenile offenders to be sentenced as an adult to an adult correctional facility. Decades ago, this country’s juvenile justice philosophy changed when the crime rate amongst juvenile offenders changed. In the past, judges reserved sentences to adult prisons for the hardest and most dangerous juvenile offenders. However, more punitive measures were taken when a large number of states shifted their approach toward a growing population of violent, teen offenders. Recent research and studies have identified significant consequences for sentencing juvenile offenders to adult correctional facilities. According to Carmichael, (2011), “Perhaps the most significant of these consequences is that juvenile offenders sentenced in adult courts are substantially more likely to receive prison terms rather than probation, relative to similarly offending juveniles sentenced in the...