Historical and economic reasons behind the quest to committing juveniles to detention centers
The American Civil Liberties Union (2) notes that there are more than 60,000 youngsters held up in juvenile amenities on any day. That is a statistic that is too much to ignore, given that getting into a child facility is similar to the experience in an adult prison. The in the 1950s, there was increased fascination by criminal justice planners to look or alternatives to incarceration as a result of the poor outcomes experienced when children were sent to juvenile institutions. Community based institutions are considered a great alternative to incarceration to detention centers. Economically, community based options are inexpensive and more effective in decreasing wrongdoing and reoffending. An ordinary juvenile penitentiary bed costs $241 per day whereas getting a slot in a community based program cost an average of $75 per day.
Alternatives to imprisonment program provides a variety of services and support to young offenders and their relatives because they are aimed at looking at the root cause that got the juvenile in trouble (ACLU, 2). For instance, community based programs employ principles of restorative justice such as repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. Such principles ensures that most people affected by the crime participate in the resolution. Community based programs recognize that people live together and must exist together as a community, thus there is need to forge and cultivate good relations with the victims because after the correction period, the wrongdoer and the victim will still belong to the society. Alternatives to incarceration provide children with the apparatuses they need for growing into healthy and fruitful grownups such as understanding the need for social harmony, education, emotional bond with the parents or guardians, as well as interactions with peers. Finally, juvenile offenders have an opportunity to give back to their communities.
Three alternatives to incarceration that juvenile courts currently use
Many states governments are re-evaluating and modifying their juvenile imprisonment guidelines to minimize unwarranted dependence on secure imprisonment. Incarceration has been proved to have undesirable upshots on some offenders, unnecessary for public safety, and expensive to the state governments. There are several alternatives to incarceration such as supervised release programs, local treatment programs, daytime and evening reporting centers and electronic observations (Regoli, 1).
The daytime and evening reporting center is one of the alternatives that gives the youth ample time to carry out day to day activities such as schooling or going for vocational training, and later reporting to authorities in the evening. A second alternative is the home detention program whereby the victim movement is retrained and the criminal justice authorities monitor behavior change with time. Juveniles are typically confined at their homes unless attending school, work or other agreed-upon activities. This method is considered as cost effective as it costs less that 25% compared to confinement in detention centers (Regoli, 1). Thirdly, electronic monitoring is another alternative to incarceration and can be passive or active. In Passive monitoring systems, the youth is expected to send electronic signals using a mobile phone in response to computer-activated calls. In active monitoring, the youth is expected to wear a transmitter on the neck, ankle or wrist. Electronic monitoring is used to verify that the youth is where she or she is supposed to be (Regoli, 1). In the modern era of computer and technology, electronic monitoring is proving to be a great alternative to finding the exact location the youth is, thanks to the global positioning system (GPS).
The American Civil Liberties Union (2) notes that there are more than 60,000 youngsters held up in juvenile amenities on any day. That is a statistic that is too much to ignore, given that getting into a child facility is similar to the experience in an adult prison. The in the 1950s, there was increased fascination by criminal justice planners to look or alternatives to incarceration as a result of the poor outcomes experienced when children were sent to juvenile institutions. Community based institutions are considered a great alternative to incarceration to detention centers. Economically, community based options are inexpensive and more effective in decreasing wrongdoing and reoffending. An ordinary juvenile penitentiary bed costs $241 per day whereas getting a slot in a community based program cost an average of $75 per day.
Alternatives to imprisonment program provides a variety of services and support to young offenders and their relatives because they are aimed at looking at the root cause that got the juvenile in trouble (ACLU, 2). For instance, community based programs employ principles of restorative justice such as repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior. Such principles ensures that most people affected by the crime participate in the resolution. Community based programs recognize that people live together and must exist together as a community, thus there is need to forge and cultivate good relations with the victims because after the correction period, the wrongdoer and the victim will still belong to the society. Alternatives to incarceration provide children with the apparatuses they need for growing into healthy and fruitful grownups such as understanding the need for social harmony, education, emotional bond with the parents or guardians, as well as interactions with peers. Finally, juvenile offenders have an opportunity to give back to their communities.
Three alternatives to incarceration that juvenile courts currently use
Many states governments are re-evaluating and modifying their juvenile imprisonment guidelines to minimize unwarranted dependence on secure imprisonment. Incarceration has been proved to have undesirable upshots on some offenders, unnecessary for public safety, and expensive to the state governments. There are several alternatives to incarceration such as supervised release programs, local treatment programs, daytime and evening reporting centers and electronic observations (Regoli, 1).
The daytime and evening reporting center is one of the alternatives that gives the youth ample time to carry out day to day activities such as schooling or going for vocational training, and later reporting to authorities in the evening. A second alternative is the home detention program whereby the victim movement is retrained and the criminal justice authorities monitor behavior change with time. Juveniles are typically confined at their homes unless attending school, work or other agreed-upon activities. This method is considered as cost effective as it costs less that 25% compared to confinement in detention centers (Regoli, 1). Thirdly, electronic monitoring is another alternative to incarceration and can be passive or active. In Passive monitoring systems, the youth is expected to send electronic signals using a mobile phone in response to computer-activated calls. In active monitoring, the youth is expected to wear a transmitter on the neck, ankle or wrist. Electronic monitoring is used to verify that the youth is where she or she is supposed to be (Regoli, 1). In the modern era of computer and technology, electronic monitoring is proving to be a great alternative to finding the exact location the youth is, thanks to the global positioning system (GPS).
