Effects Of Juvenile Recidivism

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Are juvenile diversion programs effective toward the recidivism rate of juvenile offenders? An important part of the criminal justice system is how to solve the issue of recidivism and how to lower crime rates in the United States. A vast majority of adult offenders start out as juvenile delinquents. Finding an effective treatment program for adolescents, or juveniles are essential to solving this issue. A juvenile offender is a person below the age of eighteen who commits a crime. Juveniles are a special population and there have been issues on how to handle the rate of offenders under the legal age. According to Walker (2014), “A diversion program is a planned intervention with a treatment component and the goal of getting offenders out of …show more content…

His approach of the labeling theory included four typologies: pure deviant, secret deviant, conformist, and falsely accused. If the juvenile committed a deviant act and a label applied as deviant then they are pure deviant. If an individual committed a criminal act but a label is not applied then they are secret deviant, which is the most common typology because many juveniles commit wrongful acts but remain uncaught. The conformist types are individuals who do not commit deviant acts nor has a labeled applied. Lastly, there is the falsely accused, who do not commit unlawful acts but labeled unlawful. The theorists explanations for why juveniles receive a label, calls for a structural approach to rehabilitating juvenile offenders so that the labeling effect does not cause them to commit deviant behavior. According to NCJRS, “The President 's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice report (1967) called for the creation of youth services bureaus to develop alternative programs for juvenile offenders within local communities. The establishment of these bureaus, which quickly appeared in most communities, began a movement toward diverting youth, especially status offenders and nonserious delinquents, from the juvenile court” (ncjrs.gov).
The purpose of diversion is not to take away the discretion or power of the court but to use the power of the court to facilitate treatment (NCBI). There are several treatment services that the diversion programs provide to help juveniles such as community-based services, drug and alcohol treatment, residential treatment, and educational services. Not every offender gets the same treatment program. The factors reviewed; in order to properly place juveniles are mental and psychological health, status offenses, and low versus high risk

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