Juvenile Justice System and Youth Violence Essay Example

that young people grow in or peer influence. Young people are subjected to this crime in all areas of the development and that is why they are mainly the victims.

Juvenile justice has been in the front line in controlling drug crime and that is where the two link together. The increase in the rate of drug abuse among young people also explains why victims of juvenile judicial system are young people.

Juvenile Crime That is Related to Drug Abuse

There are many juvenile crimes that are related to drug abuse and they have huge effect on young people and the other parties that are involved. To start with, drug abuse is mainly associated with theft among young people.

This is the main crime that young people engage in when they are under influence of drugs. Drug abuse is costly due to high cost of these drugs. On the other hand, many young people usually depend on their parents for providence and thus they lack money to buy these drugs and yet they are addict. The only easy and available alternative is to engage in theft cases in order to afford these drugs.

This is the main reason why stealing is the main juvenile crime that is associated with drug abuse. Juvenile violence is another crime that is highly associated with drug abuse. When a person is under the influence of drugs, the person tends to be aggressive regardless of the age. This is worse among young people since they are immature. They tend to be violent towards all people and thus they end up in juvenile prisons.

Many people who are serving different kinds of sentences in juvenile

prisons are usually victims of violence. Other juvenile crimes that are associated with drug abuse are rape and other sexual harassment behaviors though are they are not very common (Davis, 2016). There are many effects of juvenile crimes that are as a result of drug abuse among young people. One of the main effects is poor family relationship. When young people start abusing drugs, they usually set a big gap between themselves and their families as a way of hiding their behaviors.

On the other hand, they tend to be aggressive towards their families and this is in return widens the gap between these young people and their families. Finally, young people are usually rejected by their families in some cases when they engage in drug abuse and other juvenile crimes. Generally, family relationships are usually destroyed by juvenile crimes that are as a result of drug abuse. Young people or juveniles who engage in drug abuse suffer health complications in a greater way. Drug abuse has a direct effect on young people and thus there is a direct relationship between juveniles who abuse drugs and health problems. In United States, 30% of young people who are arrested due to drug abuse are usually subjected to health procedures due to health complications.

Generally, ill health is one of the major effects of drug abuse among juveniles. On the other hand, cognitive problems are also a key effect of drug abuse among juveniles. Cognitive problems are mental problems that affect normal reasoning of an individual. It is an effect that is experienced by all people since adults also suffer cognitive problems due to drug abuse. Some drugs such

as heroin, cocaine and Marijuana have a great effect on normal functioning of the mind and these are also the key drugs that are abuse by young people thus leading to cognitive problems. Generally, young people are suffering from mental problems due to drug abuse.

Education is directly related to behaviors of young people and thus any change in behavior of an individual affects the education level of an individual. The state of Ohayo has been greatly blamed of having the highest number of young people who abuse drugs in United States, the same state has experienced a decline in education levels among young people. After a critical analysis of the people involved, it was found that these changes in education levels are occurring due to drug abuse. Drug abuse as indicate above result to cognitive problems which in return affects education. Drug abuse denies young people time to concentrate on their studies thus leading to poor performance. Generally, juvenile crimes relation to drug abuse leads to poor performance among juveniles.

Juvenile Detention Facilities

The juvenile justice system has established by juvenile detention facilities in order to handle the high number of juveniles who are caught on the other side of the law. These facilities aim at separating young people from adults in order to have chance to offer care to young people different from that of adults. They also aim at protecting young people from harassment and assaults from the adults in normal prisons. Juvenile detention facilities perfectly meet the needs of juveniles. Juveniles are young people who are not yet mature who need parental care. In juveniles, this care is provided where they are handled

like young people who are under their parental care.

These people also need education and education is one of the main services that are provided in juvenile detention facilities. These people are also need recreation time and activities in order to bring a complete growth in them. Juvenile detention facilities play this role well since young people are given the chance to exploit their talents and to interact with other people who might be of help to them. Generally, juvenile detention facilities meet the need of juveniles in a perfect way. As stated earlier in the paper, juvenile detention facilities provide education and self-improvement platforms to juveniles for their overall growth. Juveniles are situated like schools where people taken to these facilities are subjected to formal education which is offered in other normal schools.

This can be proved by the final exams procedures where juveniles in these facilities are usually part of the people who sit for these exams. Juveniles are not subjected to death sentences or life imprisonment regardless of the mistake they commit. This means that juvenile detention facilities play a role of preparing juveniles for another life after prison. This is the reason why these people are subjected to formal education.

In United States annual results for different levels of examinations, there is usually two or more students from juvenile detention facilities who top the list of best performance. This shows that these facilities offer formal education to these people. On top of that, these facilities offer self-improvement services that ensure students have developed in all areas. For instance, every talent of a juvenile in this case is natured.

There are many footballers who are spotted

in these facilities and there are many musicians who also originate from these facilities.

Juvenile with Learning Difficulties

Juveniles are not only those children who mentally and physically capable but there are a group of juveniles who suffer from learning difficulties. These juveniles are treated differently mainly according to their satisfactions. The key problems that cause learning difficulties in these learning facilities are physically disabilities such as blindness and also mental problems.

These people are handled different where they are educated in the same way as those in the outside world. For instance, blind people are taught using brails as the same as those in the outside world. Their syllabus is also the same as those in the outside world. When it comes to those with mental problems, they are given special educations like technical knowledge or any other form of knowledge that might be of help to them. Comparing juveniles in the country with those of other worlds, juveniles in United States detention facilities are usually the best in the world because of how they take care of those with special needs.

Youth Offending Teams

Youth offending teams is a group of people who have come together to help young people who go against the law and those who are at the risk of engaging into criminal activities.

They work together with the juvenile justice system and they have been of great help to young people. They work in different categories depending on the situation that a young person is. The first group consists of youth offending team members who deal with juveniles who have been arrested and serving custodial sentence. In this case, they help

these juveniles change their behaviors through advice and close monitoring. They also offer a perfect link between juveniles and the outside world.

The second group consists of youth offending team members who act as advocates in courts of law on behalf of the juveniles. Many juveniles lack lawyers to stand on their behalf in their court hearing and they end up in prisons due to lack of a party that can help them to get through the court process (Empey. 2014). Youth offending teams play this role well and they have saved many young people from serving big sentences in juvenile detention facilities. However, they monitor these juveniles in order to ensure that they do not go against the law another time. Youth offending teams also help young people who are at risk of engaging into crime activities.

These are young people who leave in a society where crime rate is high, young people who leave with parents who engage in criminal activities, young people who walk with adults who are criminals, young people who leave in poverty and also young people who are being recruited in criminal world. These teams offer help to these youths through offering advice to young people, offering job opportunities to these people and also giving them financial support where necessary. Youth offending teams also help young people who are sentenced for community service. These people are usually prone to crime but youth offending teams offer follow up services where they try to subject them to reality of life. This usually helps them to come out better people. Finally, young people who are arrested are helped by youth offending teams before they

are taken to courts.

These are young people who are usually locked in prisons for small mistakes. The youth offending teams intervene where they pre with police department to set them free. Through help to young people, these young people end up changing their behaviors. Youth offending teams also work with other agencies where they partner with them for service to the youth.

For instance, they can work with some agencies in order to get job opportunities to young people. Generally, youth offending team is a key pillar to juvenile judicial system.

The Work of a Social Worker and Juvenile Justice

Social workers are a group that is also of greater help to young people who go against the law or those who are at risk of engaging in criminal activities. They help young people in different ways. For instance, for the case of young people who leave in environments that make them be at risk of engaging in crime, social workers intervene where they help these people by taking them to other environments.

Social workers also work hard in hard with juvenile justice. In this case, they help juveniles who are in juvenile detention facilities. To start with, social workers assess juvenile detention facilities in order to determine whether they meet standard that are required. The assessment is mainly based on the facilities that are provided by the detention facility.

Social workers also monitor how juveniles are treated in the juvenile detentions in order to examine whether the facilities act according to the law. They evaluate whether juveniles in the facilities are harassed, they are receiving the right medical care and other main issues such as quality of

food are examined too. Social workers are also responsible of education in detention juvenile facilities. They evaluate the quality of education offered in these facilities in order to examine whether it meets the standard of education that should offer to them. Social workers also monitor the court proceedings involve juveniles in order to determine whether right decisions are made in regard to sentences of juveniles. Generally, social workers and juvenile justice work hand in hand since social workers work as a supervisor to juvenile justice system.

Juvenile Justice System v Adult Justice System

Juvenile justice system has a great difference with that of adult justice system. Juvenile justice system deals with young people who are below the age of 18 and 21 in some areas. The system is composed of policies that procedures that guide how young people should be judged in a court of law. On the other hand, adult justice system contains rules and policies that govern how an adult should be judged in a court of law.

The difference between the two systems is on these rules and policies. For instance in juvenile judicial system, a juvenile cannot be sentenced to death or lifetime imprisonment regardless of the crime committed. On the other hand, adult justice system has a copra punishment which is death and there is also a life imprisonment. This example clearly defines the difference between the two systems.

There is a great effect of persecuting a juvenile in an adult justice system. To start with, it is against the law since the rights of a juvenile are violated in this case. If a juvenile is persecuted in an adult justice system, the

juvenile is at risk of harassment. This is because the juvenile is in the hands of people who are of different age who can be of great danger. The policies of an adult justice system are also very heavy and strict and thus cannot be carried by a juvenile.

Juvenile System of the Future

The juvenile system has been operating in a perfect way and it has assured many people that it can be a perfect collection facility for the young people. However, there are some slight changes that should be done to the system in order to make it more perfect. The main change that should be implemented is introduction of policies and rules that will ensure that only juveniles who deserve to be in those collection facilities are being subjected to them. There are many cases where many young people are suffering imprisonment and yet they are innocent.

There should be a system of lawyers who should only focus on juvenile cases in order to ensure that there is justice in this system. They should inherit the system of Britain where there are special lawyers who take care of juvenile cases by ensuring that there is justice in their judicial system. This system can be accepted by the society in a greater way since they are the ones who suffer when justice fail to prevail in these cases (Otto, 2013). Finally, there is a difference between treatment and punishment. Treatment aims at ensuring a child has regained his or her behavior through processes that do not lead to her suffering. It is a perfect way of handling juveniles since it makes them change their behaviors

on their own.

On the other hand, punishments subject a person under a painful experience in order to change behavior. It has an advantage only to juveniles or people who have failed to change through the treatment process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, juvenile justice system has been of great help in the world on the side of collecting young people. Juvenile crimes are mainly associated with drug abuse and they have adverse effect on young people. Youth offender teams have been in the front line in helping young people when it comes to juvenile crimes. Social workers role cannot be ignored since it has brought huge changes when it comes to effecting juvenile detention facilities.

References

1. Davis, S. M. (2016). Rights of juveniles: The juvenile justice system (pp. 54-59). C. Boardman Company.
2. Silberman, C. E. (2015). Criminal violence, criminal justice (p. 305). New York: Random house.
3. Empey, L. T., Stafford, M.

   C., & Hay, C. H. (2014). American delinquency: Its meaning and construction. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.

4. Otto, R.

   K., Greenstein, J., Johnson, M. K., &Friedman, R. (2013). Prevalence of mental disorders in the juvenile justice system. In Cocozza, J.(ed.), Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System.