...Abstract Many factors contribute to juvenile delinquency and research has recognized that there is not one single pathway to delinquency. Studies have shown that the more risk factors the juvenile faces the probability of offending increases. The major factors contributing to juvenile delinquency are individual factors, social factors, and community factors. Many people have tried to figure out and understand the factors that lead our youths to commit crimes and what can we do to prevent and rehabilitate them to keep them from committing these crimes again. Juvenile delinquency is one of the most important issues around the world today. Despite the social awareness surrounding the topic, juvenile delinquency is on the rise and needs to be addressed in order to stop our youth from becoming criminals instead of important members of society. There have been many efforts to understand and analyze the reasons that juveniles commit crimes however there is no set reason, but rather several reasons that can lead a youth to commit crimes. Recent research shows that violence among juveniles is rising rapidly and shows that more than 60% of youths will have either been a victim or will have committed a crime sometime during their youth years (Garza, 2011). Research has also stated that the crime rate among juveniles has increases rapidly since the 1980’s and in 2009 youths were responsible for more than 2 million violent crimes in the United States (Garza, 2011). At the same time...
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...Isis Lee English 101 Livingston 3/4/13 Juvenile Reentry System "I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act", Bill Gates. Recidivism is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as the tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior. It is a term that is predominantly used when referring to criminal behavior. According to a study done by the Connecticut Department of Corrections in 2012, Out of 14,398 male inmates released from prison in 2005, 79% were re-arrested. These numbers begin to describe the continuing issue that the United States faces in regards to repeat offenders. In the article "Stopping The Madness: A New Reentry System For Juvenile Corrections." Author's Scott Sells, Irene Sullivan and Donald DeVore focus on some of the reasons that contribute to youth recidivism and programs that can help minimize this issue. Without first determining the causes of the issue we can not begin to address resolutions. This article focuses on an interview as well as studies and evidence based theories tto combat this issue that we are faced with. The artilce discusses issues that contribute to failing reentry programs which ultimately result in high recidivism in young offenders. Although they provide a strong logical argument, and sufficient evidence the authors do not go into detail the effects of implementing such facilities will have...
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...Recidivism Introduction Recidivism is defined by USlegal.com is a tendency to lapse into a previous pattern of behavior, especially a pattern of criminal habits. This research it will focus on the pattern of criminal behavior/habits. The topic of recidivism will be focused on the re-arrest, reconviction, or re-incarceration of former inmates. Recidivism is recognized as a serious variable outcome in corrections and a very complicated measurement problem. Recidivism occurs because of a new conviction or a violation of post-prison supervision on probation or parole. Statistical research studies have shown that recidivism occurs normally within a three year period from a prisoners release date and his/her return to prison or jail. Juveniles have the highest recidivism rate and it has been suggested from research to be caused due lower education and alcohol and or drug use. A current trend with court systems throughout the country is to use drug and alcohol treatment programs to reduce recidivism rates of offenders who commit drug and or alcohol related crimes. Higher education is strongly emphasized as well as programs to help prisoners to deal with and cope with the issues of being released back into regular society (Infoplease.com, 2007). The questions is does this work? The realistic and proven answer is that it does for some and for others it does not. Recidivism is an important issue with those concerned with public safety and the cost effectiveness of putting convicted...
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...Do Prisons Work? Can Individuals be Reformed or Rehabilitated through Incarceration and Treatment Programs. Critically examine the Current Treatment Programs offered and Subsequent Impact on Recidivism upon Individuals being released globally and WA specifically. This study will examine the effectiveness of current prison treatment programs in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, United States of America in rehabilitating or reforming an individual and coinciding recidivism rates upon a prisoners release. Prison based treatment programs for sex offenders in Western Australia, New South Wales and New Zealand are examined and recidivism rates compared. Treatment programs for offenders with drug and alcohol issues and the various strategies within the criminal justice system such as diversion, education and drug court programs are examined and differences explained. Rehabilitation programs such as education, life skills, employment and cognitive behavioural treatment are explained and research discussed. Conclusions will be drawn outlining programs with the highest level of recidivism both in Western Australia and globally. The “nothing works” mantra (Martinson) 1974, is seen to be refuted and treatment is seen to be successful when it is matched to the criminogenic needs of the offender (MacKenzie, 2006). Future recommendations are made in regards to the need for correctional staff to assess each offender as an individual with different needs, and to therefore...
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...treatment efforts that the courts can implement into a juveniles punishment rather than to incarcerate. A few of these community-based treatments are: House arrest, residential programs, and balanced probation. House arrest is conducted through an electronic GPS monitoring system that uses an ankle bracelet to send signals directly to the police department. Individuals offered this form of punishment are forced to remain within a specified range of the receiver located at the individual's residence. When the individual moves out of range, the tracking device immediately contacts the police department displaying a violation and officers are sent to apprehend the violator. Residential programs on the other hand, consist of group homes, foster homes, boarding schools, and an apartment-type environment. Juveniles involved in these programs may be provided with counseling, educational-job training opportunities and are usually placed with other juveniles in a family structured setting guided by professional staff members. The balanced probation treatment focuses on teaching the juvenile to take responsibility for his, or her, actions through community-based corrections. Furthermore, each community-based correction is tailored specifically for the individuals needs and the type of offense committed. House arrest allows the juvenile to remain within the community, family members, and continue with any educational and employment the juvenile may be involved with at the present time. Moreover...
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...Microsoft | What Are the Options? | A Study of Recidivism among our Youth | | | December 4, 2012 | | Abstract In this paper I will be going over the study of our neighborhoods impact on criminals primarily focusing on the reentry rate. Also known as Recidivism When exploring such, there are key issues we must pay close attention to, and that’s the group that’s impacted the most- young black males. Secondly we must review the recidivism rate and how they play a role on the neighborhoods where prisoners return. Third we will determine whether race plays a role in certain areas where the recidivism rates are increasing. Lastly we will discuss several implications that could possibly reduce these rates. Introduction: A criminal career is a sequence of offenses during a period of an individual’s life. This repetitive criminal behavior is called recidivism, and indicates the proportion that becomes involved in criminal behavior, at what age criminal behaviors begins, how long the criminal career lasts and the number of offenses typically committed during the course of the career (Farrington, 1992) Also defined as an estimate of the percentage of released prisoner who commit another offense. There are three different measures of recidivism according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. These are rearrests, reconviction, and reincarceration. Rearrests is described as any arrest that was reported to state identification bureau after release from a correctional...
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...isolation, segregation and detachment of the elements of a company defining the basis of citizenship. Although individuals often returning to the community focus more on the choice of where they dwell, their long-term success in society is more likely to be dependent on the social roles they have chosen to play, to the extent that they will engage in the community and they have been prepared for this purpose during their incarceration or institutionalization. Reentry can help reduce recidivism as well as assist those who have been previously incarcerated to begin leading law abiding lives once released into society. However, overtime the importance of prisoner reentry has been drastically lowered with less emphasis on helping those to prepare for their release and with post release community integration. As a result, the shortage of reentry programs and limited responsibility of probation or parole to assist in re-entry; the rate at which people return to prison or jail is high. Keywords: reentry, recidivism, institutionalization Re-Entry and Its Effects: Institutional and Post Release Those who are incarcerated do not only serve time inside their prison cell, they also serve time once...
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...other cost saving options. It will use statistics from other states that use private prison systems, as well as federal detention facilities that are privately managed. The purpose of this analysis is to reduce spending as a whole, and to not place a financial burden on local governments. It is also important to note that prison sentences are not only a form of punishment, but also a deterrent for future criminal activity. It does not serve its purpose in its entirety when sentences are reduced due to budget inefficiencies. Findings The fiscal year, 2011-2012, has a $10,017,591,000 budget for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This budget includes all adult corrections and rehabilitation operations, juvenile operations, parole operations, inmate health care, administration, and education and vocations programs (CDCR). It remains to be a difficult comparison between private enterprise and government entities due to the difference in accounting practices. Public agencies do not always include all expenses incurred at the specific agency level, such as; accounting, data processing and legal representation, to name a few (Mackinac). There is evidence, however, that shows economic benefits towards privatization. In a 1989 study conducted by Charles H. Logan and Bill W. McGriff, a 5.4 percent reduction in operating cost were reported when a private firm took over operations at a Hamilton County, Tennessee, penal farm. In 1991, the...
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...compared to 34% for men (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2005). Approximately 4 out of 5 women in prison have minor dependent children, and the majority of them have sole custody (Belknap 2007). Relationships with their children are often strained by incarceration. The focus of the study will be on the changes women experience within the prison environment, rather than their post-release outcomes. Some of the changes that these women experience within the prison system may affect their likelihood of receiving parole and their behaviors once outside of prison. Previous Studies Most studies on education in prison have focused on its effect on the recidivism rate. In a study of educational and vocational programs in Oklahoma prisons, Brewster and Sharp (2002) looked at how participation affected survival time (recidivism). Controlling for sex, race, age and offense, they found that those...
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...What Works with Juvenile Offenders Juvenile Offenders are categorized differently than their adult counterparts for a variety of reasons. The primary reason is that as an offender who is not yet an adult, they are still considered a protected class due to their age and the concern of disrupting their rights to council and the rights of their parents to help dictate the events in their lives. Over the past few decades there have been several studies completed correlating the quantitative analysis in primary research studies with success rates of juvenile offender treatment. Because of the repeated success of certain treatments over others, these studies have lead to an agreement on what programs and intervention strategies work and which have little to no repeated success. By analyzing these treatment strategies as they have been portrayed in academic literature and through the primary research that has been completed, a summary analysis of what plans work when dealing with juvenile offenders will be devised and put forth as the best option for treatment. The first aspect to analyze when dealing with implementing a new strategy for juvenile offender reformation and treatment plans is the idea of quality of the plan versus quantity of sessions required with all individuals in correctional institutions across the United States. In the past two decades, the numbers of individuals within the correctional systems across the United States has skyrocketed. In 2004, the jump in population...
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...Causes of Recidivism Abstract In recent decades, the United States has undergone a substantial increase in prison population. Across the country, prisons are faced with the problem of severe overpopulation. Although crime rates have dramatically decreased over the years, the rates of incarceration have gone in the opposite direction and continue to increase. One of the major underlying factors for the increase lies within recidivism. Repeat offenders make up a large component of the overall prison population. The purpose of this paper is to present the causes of recidivism and the aspects of an offender’s life that tend to lead to re-incarceration. The term recidivism has been derived from the Latin word recidivus, meaning recurring, as well as the term recido, meaning to fall back. It essentially is used to describe a person who has repeated and undesirable behavior after they have already been treated or trained to stop the behavior, or have already suffered the consequences of that behavior. In the criminal justice field, the term is used to describe released inmates who are rearrested, reconvicted, or re-incarcerated. In the past thirty years, incarceration rates have tripled in the United States, and the national state and federal prison population has surpassed two million inmates (Western 3). The statistics regarding recidivism in the United States are baffling compared to the rest of the world. In fact, according...
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...Many people are focused on the overcrowding of prisons; however, the increasing rates of the mentally ill in the prison system is also a very prominent issue that contributes to a lack of resources for the convicted. According to the US Bureau of Justice, over half of all prison and jail inmates nationwide have mental health problems. Although there is an abundant amount of research on the mentally ill in prison, many people are not aware of the social implications the mentally ill face when they are released back into society. Based on research conducted in North America, there is a repeating issue of recidivism which is the fact that these individuals are more likely to return to prison. The lack of concern for the recidivism in mentally...
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...A Re-entry Programs is defined as any service or program which provides incarcerated individuals with the opportunity to reinsert themselves back into the community after serving time in jail or prison. Only inmates with a good record may obtain access to this type of service even though it is seen as a form of rehabilitation. These specialized programs provide offenders with employment, education, health and social services, including access to housing, work, health care, counseling and job training. Most successful reentry programs believe that Reentry preparation begins the first day of incarceration. The focus on release preparation intensifies about 12-18 months prior to release. A Release Preparation Program includes classes in areas such as résumé writing, how to look for a job, and job retention. (National Institute of Justice (n.d.) The prospect of having to search for meaningful work upon release from prison can be a daunting task, particularly for inmates who have been out of the labor market for a number of years When it come to the types of reentry programs that exists, there are two types of programs, a pre-release type of reentry program and a residential type of reentry program. A pre-release type of reentry program are basically mentoring programs that begins while the offender is still in prison. These programs mainly focus on skills that will allow an ex-offender to get a job, such as resume writing, coping skills, and budgeting classes. The success rates of...
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...Cultural Imperialism, p.1). Ultimately the word “education” would mean for one to be enlightened and obtain knowledge through learning. However, the kind of education received within the United States Prison Systems is actively doing the opposite. The oppressed inmate populations are ultimately being exploited for cheap labor in order to support a capitalist society that they do not benefit from. This paper will argue that the education being withheld from prison inmates is both cultural and educational imperialism. This paper will also argue that the Prison Industrial Complex is intentionally exploiting inmates to contribute to a capitalist labor market instead of receiving education they are entitled to in order to be rehabilitated, reduce recidivism, improve their lives and ultimately better benefit society. Incarceration in the United States is the main form of punishment, rehabilitation, or both as a consequence of felony and other criminal offenses. The United States is the world’s leader in incarceration with 2.2 million people currently in the nation's prisons or jails. This means a 500% increase over the past thirty years (The Sentencing Project.org). These trends have resulted in prison overcrowding, and billions of dollars being spent to house inmates, and supervise them on probation and parole after they are released, ultimately to return to prison as a repeat offender. Instead of an increased amount of funding and expansion of educational programs to keep up with the increase...
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...The False Promises of the Juvenile Justice System One of the most controversial topics in America concerns the justice system and its policies. Under this category is the juvenile justice system which deals with delinquent children and rare cases of serious juvenile offenders. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the justice system promises to make juvenile contact with the system “rare, fair, and beneficial.” It also states that its goal is to use “effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs.” The statement ends with a pledge to assist juveniles by providing the “necessary treatment and rehabilitative services.” Many people have their own sentiments regarding how the justice system...
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