In Chapter 1 the story setting is LA County Court, Juvenile Division. Beckstrand is talking to the author and tell him that the first thing to learn about the system in Inglewood is that nothing works. A case is beginning and the study showing that juvenile detention doesn't work is in question. In many cases it is one really doesn't who wins, or if anyone get will. This part of LA is a poverty based environment community that's really sees the wealthy. The city is divided by race and and economic status.
Fear and confusion plays a huge part in the criminal justice system because of the huge number of cases and facilities unable to handle them. The building is condemned and they have new judge had begun his position as the new supervising judge. His name is Roosevelt Dorn. Beckstrand is excited to be working on Duncan's. His case is a well known infamous one and Beckstrand almost hated the kid. Offenders in this case are used to a substantial number of setbacks in the system and and finding her main witness is becoming trouble for Beckstrand. Ronald, along with the other young delinquents, doesn't seem to care about anything.
Chapter 2 opens up with a delinquent by the name of Carla James, a smart young girl who gets good grades, and volunteers her time at school. Lately, however, she had been staying up late at night and her grades were slipping. In fact, she had a gun and another life and engaged in a drive-by shooting, shocking her family and her counselor. Carla's Parole Officer, Sharon Stegall, notes that more and more cases like Carla's are coming up, young girls from good families who have no excuse for lives of crime. Carla didn't hit anyone, though, so she may have another chance.
Carla lost her dad when she nine ...
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...system and in the court. I think that instead of reforming the delinquents they are failing them because they tend to be think that they are being lenient. In actuality they are not teaching the juveniles the difference from right and wrong, but Moreno locking them up and "teaching a lesson." Finally in chapter 18 merely focuses on the stress and amount of pressure Dorn deals with as a judge. The system also attempt to change to put limit on certain things in the system dealing with juveniles. Some of the impact the system has on these kids are negative which causes an increase in crimes. Beckstrand is relocated to start dealing with cases in adult court. Some of the people in this book are still putting up a fight with trying to win their case. There is also other people that are still trying to make the juvenile justice system as a whole a better place, like Dorn.
Thus, the shifting perceptions of the justice system has transformed what it means to be a child and an adult due to their pervasive, and punitive approaches to crime and delinquency. Although adolescents today enjoy many new freedoms and greater time to experiment, those that don’t conform to “normative behaviors” and engage in socially constructed definitions of delinquency, often end up under the firm hands of the juvenile justice system. Despite the creation of this phase in an adolescent’s life, the injustices within the adult justice system have breached into the juvenile system, thus, blurring the lines of what it means to be an adolescent in modern times. Thereby, the adolescent stage is constantly being manipulated to conform and match the social construction of crime and delinquency, and the rise in the practice of trying juveniles as adults within the court system and mandating life sentences is evidence of this
This an extremely well written and powerful book written by Edward Humes. Humes shared his thoughts, observations, and criticisms about the juvenile justice system after a “riveting ride” through the Los Angeles Juvenile Court within his book, “No Matter How Loud I Shout.” The manner in which the book is written makes it fairly easy to read, demanding your attention while allowing for a simple follow along. I feel as if the book has given me much more insight and broader knowledge of the juvenile justice system, particularly the juvenile court system of Los Angeles.
...(2004). Applying the principles of effective intervention to juvenile correctional programs. Corrections Today, 66(7), 26-29. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4bd9d7f2-8ac5-42c6-a100-a2443eda9cbf@sessionmgr4002&vid=1&hid=4213
Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth, by John Hubner, follows Hubner as he observes the “worst of the worst” juvenile offenders at Giddings State School. This treatment program is truly a “last chance” for may of the adolescents there – their last chance to change the direction of their lives before ending up in jail. Hubner takes the reader through a gripping and emotional journey as the teenagers go through the Capitol Offenders group and delve into their past hurts, childhood years, and reasons that contributed to their involvement in crime. Each member of the group must tell their life story and crime story and relive them by observing both in a drama, as well as participating in their crime drama as the victim. Once they have experienced this, they attempt to identify what caused their behavior, change it, and learn how to prevent future crimes.
A child will not change their behavior if their parent does not show disapproval and does something about their behavior we they act out. With both of these combine, it made Wes’s opportunities starting from a young age, very slim of being successful. Growing up, Wes Moore had his mom and family around him to support him and when things got bad, his mom sent him to military school as a disciplinary action. This saved Wes from further becoming a bad kid because there, he learned discipline and respect. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore was off selling drugs and doing other bad things while his only influence was his brother. The other Wes Moore was so involved in his profits from selling drugs that he even sold to a cop even though he knew that he was undercover (Moore 112). Wes took this chance because he was so desperate for the twenty dollars he was going to receive, he didn 't care what the consequences were. I believe that if the author Wes Moore never went to military school, that he would have turned out just like the other Wes Moore. Weich from Lincoln County Jail stated that when investigating the jail, inmate were forced to garden as their “hardwork” this was supposed to change them. The inmates just had to be on good behavior and they were then able to garden while in jail (Weich). The point of going to jail is to be disciplined and learn and grow as a
The book, No Matter How Loud I Shout, takes an in-depth look at the juvenile court system in the state of California in the 1990s. Through a colorful narrative story the author, Edward Humes, paints of vivid picture of the how dysfunctional the system truly was. The main focus is on the various ways the system has failed many of the juveniles that it is intended to help. Peggy Beckstrand, the Deputy District Attorney, says it best “The first thing you learn about this place, is that nothing works.” (No Matter How Loud I Shout, 1996, p.31)
During one of our class sessions we discussed the different areas within the criminal justice system. The topic of courts and sentencing specifically of juveniles was mentioned. As we get to know the inside students we learn some of their backstory of how they ended up at Joseph Harp Correctional Facility, many of them had their first contact with the criminal justice system as a juvenile. Several of the inside students expressed animosity toward the courts when it came to sentencing of juveniles. They thought that some of the ways juveniles are sentenced is too harsh.
Parents should be more involved with their children’s lives, and try to discipline and set rules at an early age. It is better for a juvenile to be confined rather than him/her influencing average teenagers to follow in his footsteps. It is a sad day when a teenager has to spend his/her days in a juvenile facility rather than outside enjoying his freedom and childhood. Children, who attend these programs and cannot cope with the challenges, can be easily abused. The risk in enrolling these teenagers into such disciplinary programs may either break them or make them improve their behaviors and quality of life. Teenagers who come out of these camps are stronger, disciplined, educated and even become role models to other teens can someday help other delinquents. In order to change someone’s life, one must first change his/her actions and
middle of paper ... ..., poorly operated, and in the end fails to properly attain its goals due to an overload of cases. There is a continuation of failures for the juveniles by the system, like George, who has needed proper help, since being a ward of the state since age five. The book showed me a definite need for the juvenile system that I did not know existed. Hopefully the system will be further improved and children can be helped out a lot earlier in their lives. Although there are many cases of how bad the system is, some of the juveniles got their lives together, such as Carla.
The legal system is a procedure for interpreting and enforcing the law. It is a set of laws that all communities in civilisation must obey. The penal system is a method where people are punished for violating the legal system. The book "Raw" is about a young sixteen-year-old born trouble maker, Brett Anthony Dalton. He is a recidivist and has no respect for the community and the law. An example of this, is said by the Magistrate, "Make no mistake, Brett,' she warned before the cops dragged him out back into a holding cell, ‘this is your last chance. If you end up in another court ---- it's jail." (Page 4). Consequently, Brett's punishment was a 3-month sentence at a low detention security centre called "The Farm", which was owned and ran by Sam and Mary Fraser. "Like every juvenile detention centre, it aimed to turn troublemakers like himself into model citizens. Brett snorted. As if." (Page 3). Throughout this essay, I will discuss the points regarding Brett Dalton's positive transformation whilst at "The Farm". Therefore, the penal and legal systems have given Brett the opportunity to change his life.
After getting to know the lives and minds of some of the boys in jail, I truly believe that the prison system is the worst way to go on the journey to healing these kids. It may be most physically safe, but it will also produce a society that has not changed before and after going through the system. One of the most astounding discoveries I made, however, was realizing how rarely I thought about incarcerated youth, simply because it never seemed to crop up in my life.Never thought the system would be so tough on them and unforgiving as they were in the book. I believe that the best way to change the system and prevent youth from being tried as adults is to do exactly what Mark has done, provide an insight into the true soul and nature of youth, regardless if incarcerated or not, and fully understand their ability and
The goals of juvenile corrections are too deter, rehabilitate and reintegrate, prevent, punish and reattribute, as well as isolate and control youth offenders and offenses. Each different goal comes with its own challenges. The goal of deterrence has its limits; because rules and former sanctions, as well anti-criminal modeling and reinforcement are met with young rebellious minds. Traditional counseling and diversion which are integral aspects of community corrections can sometimes be ineffective, and studies have shown that sometimes a natural self intervention can take place as the youth grows older; resulting in the youth outgrowing delinquency.
George’s journey in the criminal justice system began when officers arrested her at her house in the presence of her children, which occurred rather in a calm manner, considering the nature of her charges. The detectives arrived at her house with a social worker to secure her children, and they refrained from making a brutal arrest scene by not
... believed in the innocence of the young man and convinced the others to view the evidence and examine the true events that occurred. He struggled with the other jurors because he became the deviant one in the group, not willing to follow along with the rest. His reasoning and his need to examine things prevailed because one by one, the jurors started to see his perspective and they voted not guilty. Some jurors were not convinced, no matter how much evidence was there, especially Juror #3. His issues with his son affected his decision-making but in the end, he only examined the evidence and concluded that the young man was not guilty.
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.