The phenomenon of Juvenile Recidivism

Juvenile Recidivism

Juvenile recidivism is the phenomenon that this paper is interested in. The primary goal of the study is to determine how likely it is that criminals who have already been found guilty by a court of law will go on to commit more offenses. Therefore, while the study assesses the likelihood of convicted individuals being reconvicted, it also probes what might be done to the court system to guarantee that the convicted individuals’ rehabilitation is long-lasting.

Influence of Experiences and Environmental Factors

The methods used to study this phenomenon may be influenced by experiences and environmental factors. The exposure that one has and the people around the person who could have been convicted contribute to the juvenile recidivism (Beaudry-Cyr, Jennings, Zgoba, & Tewksbury, 2017). Children who commit crime at a younger age, who later rejoin communities where there are high levels of offenses, are highly susceptible to commit crimes. Additionally, the geographical location further exacerbates their influences in crime (McKinlay, James, & Grace, 2015). Such phenomenon has been documented in reputable journals that offer evidence that the convicted children released from juvenile and later exposed in the ghetto and the street lives are highly likely to engage in crime than those who continue with a rehabilitation program after serving their sentence (Denney, & Connor, 2016).

Study Settings: Criminal Justice System and Poor Neighborhoods

This topic could best be explored with the criminal justice system with a particular focus on the delinquency for the young convicts. Another setting could be the poor neighborhoods that are informally known as the ghettos. The two parameters are crucial to the study since they enable the researcher to have a refined understanding of the factors that could lead to reconviction of the children and the necessitating factors for the children to engage in crime (Walker & Bishop, 2016). Additionally, the two settings could enable the researcher to formulate the long-term strategies and goals that could be put in place to eliminate exposure of children to various forms of crime.

Personal Connection to the Topic

The particular connection that I have to this topic regards the increased instances in the crimes that are being witnessed in the neighborhoods involving children. Additionally, the research that establishes that children are highly susceptible to engaging in criminal activities is an additional source of connection with the research topic (Aalsma, White, Lau, Perkins, Monahan & Grisso, 2015; Calleja, 2015; Williams & Smalls, 2015). Therefore, there is need to explore the study topic through a qualitative study by finding out the perspectives that different stakeholders could have on the issue of juvenile recidivism. The qualitative study enables one to gather a wealth of information regarding a topic that is under investigation (Zeola, Guina, & Nahhas, 2017).

Potential for Social Change

The results of the survey could be beneficial to social change. By finding out the issues that lead to the increase in juvenile recidivism, one can propose recommendations to the criminal justice system such as reducing the influence that gangs have on children and revising the rehabilitation programs for children. In the case where lack of access to education becomes a cause for juvenile recidivism, the government could establish programs such as free and quality education for all the children to act as an incentive for the children to be in school (Put, Asscher, Stams, & Moonen, 2014; Walker & Bishop, 2016). Social change is often realized when the issues that are facing society are exterminated through policy (van der Put & de Ruiter, 2016; Kalist, Lee & Spurr, 2015).

References

Aalsma, M. C., White, L. M., Lau, K. L., Perkins, A., Monahan, P., & Grisso, T. (2015). Behavioral health care needs, detention-based care, and criminal recidivism at community reentry from juvenile detention: A multisite survival curve analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 105(7), 1372-1378. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302529

Beaudry-Cyr, M., Jennings, W. G., Zgoba, K. M., & Tewksbury, R. (2017). Examining the continuity of juvenile sex offending into adulthood and subsequent patterns of sex and general recidivism. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 61(3), 251-268. doi:10.1177/0306624X15594442

Calleja, N. G. (2015). Juvenile sex and non-sex offenders: A comparison of recidivism and risk. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 36(1), 2-12.

Denney, A. S., & Connor, D. P. (2016). Serious juvenile offenders who have experienced emerging adulthood: Substance use and recidivism. Children & Youth Services Review, 6711-19. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.05.014

Kalist, D. E., Lee, D. Y., & Spurr, S. J. (2015). Predicting recidivism of juvenile offenders. B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 15(1), 329-351. doi:10.1515/bejeap-2013-0188

McKinlay, A., James, V. L., & Grace, R. C. (2015). Development of an actuarial static risk model suitable for automatic scoring for predicting juvenile recidivism. Legal & Criminological Psychology, 20(2), 288-305. doi:10.1111/lcrp.12024

Put, C. E., Asscher, J. J., Stams, G. M., & Moonen, X. H. (2014). Differences between juvenile offenders with and without intellectual disabilities in the importance of static and dynamic risk factors for recidivism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 58(11), 992-1003. doi:10.1111/jir.12078

van der Put, C. E., & de Ruiter, C. (2016). Child maltreatment victimization by type in relation to criminal recidivism in juvenile offenders. BMC Psychiatry, 161-9. doi:10.1186/s12888-016-0731-y

Walker, S. C., & Bishop, A. S. (2016). Length of stay, therapeutic change, and recidivism for incarcerated juvenile offenders. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 55(6), 355-376. doi:10.1080/10509674.2016.1194946

Williams, R. G., & Smalls, E. W. (2015). Exploring a relationship between parental supervision and recidivism among juvenile offenders at a juvenile detention facility. International Social Science Review, 90(2), 1-22.

Zeola, M., Guina, J., & Nahhas, R. (2017). Mental health referrals reduce recidivism in first-time juvenile offenders, but how do we determine who is referred? Psychiatric Quarterly, 88(1), 167-183. doi:10.1007/s11126-016-9445-z