The Juvenile Justice System: Rehabilitation Vs. Punishment

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The Juvenile Justice System Rehabilitation vs. Punishment Rehabilitation vs. Punishment The dilemma of what to do with juvenile offenders has plagued America since the inception of the modern criminal justice system. The two options criminal justice officials and law makers must decide between is to rehabilitate the juvenile offender or to punish them. Both options have their own benefits and risks, but rehabilitation is the only choice that we can make as a civilized nation to cope with this problem. Juvenile Offenders The criminal justice system as a whole should focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment in virtually every juvenile case. There are no set guidelines to determine the age in which an offender is considered…show more content…
Most community service programs for juveniles actually focus on punishment instead of rehabilitation. Even though they are projected a community service projects, most are simply work gangs used to punish the juvenile for the act that has been committed. Though most law enforcement and juvenile justice agencies portray these programs as rehabilitative measures, they are actually very similar to the adult programs that are used for punishment. Two such programs are the Boulder County, Colorado’s D.A. Diversion Community Service Program and the Marion County, Florida’s W.I.L.A. Program. Both are listed as community service programs, but actually appear to be punitive programs with the only benefit being that they keep the juvenile offender out of the court system. The Colorado program is administrated through the District Attorney’s Office and the juvenile offenders are put to work cleaning vacant lots, picking up garbage, and cleaning graffiti while being supervised by officers (Juvenile Services Programs, 2009). The other program is by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Florida and is more like a prison work gang than an alternative service program. First time juvenile offenders are offered to work at the agency’s inmate farm in lieu of being charged with the crime, therefore the name W.I.L.A or Work In Lieu of Arrest. On Saturdays, the juvenile offenders are put on the same jail buses that usually transport adult prisoners during the week and driven to the agency’s work farm where they are required to tend to livestock and work in fields the same as adult prisoners do during the week. This is done while being supervised by an armed officer and the only thing that is missing is the prison-striped uniforms the adults usually wear (Youth and Community Services, 2009). Restorative community services are ones that allow the offender to perform a community service while they

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