Why is this important?
The purpose of a separate justice system is to focus on rehabilitating the youth instead of retributive and punitive justice which is seen in the adult system. Early juvenile courts were originally characterized by a focus on rehabilitation, procedural informality, an individualized approach to cases, and the separation of juveniles from adult offenders. More recently, the juvenile justice system has been quite successful in controlling problem youth, which was one of the things that progressive reformers set out to do in the late 1800's with the creation of juvenile courts.
The decrease in youth that are being incarcerated can be due to the new programs that are being implemented in detention facilities (Elrod & Ryder, 2011). The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) began demonstration programs in 31 states that target juveniles returning back to their communities after being incarcerated in secure facilities
(Young, 2004). There is an estimate that youth account for about one third of the population of people that return back to prison. Although the rate for youth offending is dropping, there still needs to be a focus on keeping the youth that leave the institutions from coming back.
(Young, 2004). There is an estimate that youth account for about one third of the population of people that return back to prison. Although the rate for youth offending is dropping, there still needs to be a focus on keeping the youth that leave the institutions from coming back.
Information retrieved from:
Elrod, P., Ryder, S.R. (2011). Juvenile Justice: A social, historical, and legal perspective. Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Young, P. (2004). First count to ten: Innovation and implementation in juvenile reintegrating programs.Federal Probation, 68(2), 70-77.
Elrod, P., Ryder, S.R. (2011). Juvenile Justice: A social, historical, and legal perspective. Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Young, P. (2004). First count to ten: Innovation and implementation in juvenile reintegrating programs.Federal Probation, 68(2), 70-77.