Juvenile Justice Reform – why the New York City system is making headlines:
The juvenile justice system of New York has been in the news a lot lately, and not for good reasons. Disturbing allegations have been thrown around by those within and outside the government, some of the worst concerning the abuse of the youths the State system has charge of rehabilitating. Rehabilitation has always been the official goal of this government agency since its creation about 200 years ago, but those in charge seem to have lately lost sight of that goal, or perhaps have forgotten what exactly it means. The State of New York seems to have put punishment of crime ahead of treatment of the root causes of crime amongst youth, no matter how young the perpetrator, and consequently lessens the real chances of rehabilitating young people and allowing them to at some point become productive members of society.
A recent article in TIME magazine detailed some of the most abhorrent accusations, along with numerous other problems. The authors went so far as quote a professor and expert on the subject, who stated that juvenile justice facilities have become “dumping grounds for society’s ‘throwaway kids’.” You can read the article in its entirety here: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1924255,00.html.
Aside from the largely publicized abuse scandals, there are many more problems with the current system that were revealed in a recent federal report on four of New York’s juvenile justice facilities. The top concerns of officials right now are:
1. Lack of professionalism. Complaints of excessive force, withholding of basic services, and other inappropriate behavior are numerous.
2. Lack of agreement amongst pro-reform officials and advocates.
3. An inability to treat the root causes of bad behavior and crime committed by young people. Instead, the system focuses on treating the symptoms, on punishing children for bad actions while ignoring the life circumstances, physical and mental illnesses, and lack of opportunity that pushes them into crime.
“Why does this m
atter?” you might ask. “How does this topic affect me, my children, my family?” More than 1,600 youth enter the New York State system every year, according to the most recent data from the Vera Institute of Justice and the State of New York. And even if you or your child are not one of those 1,600 youth, it is still likely that you know someone from your neighborhood, your child’s school or other community institutions who has been affected by this system and its misuse of funds and power. The children stuck in this system today will be adults very soon, and it is only a matter of time before the mismanagement of their time in the system starts to affect us all as a city and as a community.
A task force, appointed by Governor David Patterson of New York, was given the overwhelming duty of analyzing the issues in the juvenile justice system, and their report was released in December of 2009. But these problems need to be taken seriously, and addressed immediately, if any real strides are going to be made toward improving the juvenile system and finding new and better ways to nurture and motivate our children and young people. For more useful information and links, see this piece published online by the Burns Institute last month: http://www.burnsinstitute.org/article.php?id=166.
