How many of you are criminals? I would imagine not too many of you, right? I mean, most of you probably haven't been handcuffed, or spent a night in jail, right? And you probably wouldn't want to be friends with a criminal either. They are after all, for the most part uneducated, low class, unambitious, bottom feeders that milk the social welfare system of our country for all it's worth. And mom and dad always taught you: "Tell me who you hang out with and I'll tell you what kind of person you are". According to the consensus view, crimes are behaviors that are believed to be repugnant to all elements of society and that the majority of society agrees on what behaviors should be outlawed by the criminal law.
But, what if I told you that most of you, if not all of you are criminals? No way right!!?? Well, let's take a look at what the definition of crime is:
"A violation of societal rules of behavior as interpreted and expressed by a criminal legal code created by people holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these rules are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status." (Criminology by Larry J. Siegel)
So I ask again, how many of you are criminals? How many of you have violated a law? How many of you have, for example, gone faster than the speed limit or run a red light? Those are laws right? If you broke the law, you are a criminal. But then why, when we think of criminals, do we only think of the labels I listed above? What makes you a "better" criminal than someone else? Is it the type of crime? Running the red light or speeding isn't as "violent" or dangerous as robbing from a store? But what if running that red light or speeding caused a fatal accident? If looked at from this perspective does it not disqualify the notion that the type of crime committed does not necessarily make you a worse criminal? Maybe it's the reason the crime was committed that makes the criminal worse? You were speeding because you needed to get to class on time, so that makes it alright for you to speed, because you are trying to get an education and be a productive human being of this society. And the dude that robbed the convenient store was only trying to get some money so he could feed his addiction...or maybe to feed his family. It doesn't matter what his reasons were, right? Robbing the covenient store is worse than speeding. If his reasons don't matter, why should anyone's right? It doesn't matter why you would violate a law, all that matters is that you did.
Bottom line, crime goes on everyday and everywhere. Some get caught, some don't. Either way crime affects our lives directly and indirectly whether we want it to or not, whether you know someone in jail or who has done time or not, you are affected by it because our society pays for it, financially and behaviorally. The question that has been on the table for a while now, though, is if the system we have in place in this country is really working to help curb the problem of crime or is it helping to perpetuate a neverending cycle? Some jails have incorporated different types of rehab programs recognizing that it does matter why people commit crimes and if there is an understanding of the individuals psyche then they can possibly be rehabilitated and the individual can go back into society a more productive member of it. But career criminals begin as juveniles and routinely shuffle in and out of the juvenile system until they are no longer juvies or commit a crime that could end them up in the adult system even if they are a minor.
So if we know this, and understand it logically, and the domino effect it has, wouldn't it make sense to try to do all that can possibly be done to prevent it? Or is this just another one of those cases, that if it isn't happening in front of you, then who cares? Children, unlike adults, do not have the ability to remove themselves from situations that are potentially harmful to them physically or mentally. If your mommy is an alcoholic that beats you everyday, you can't just say at 7 years of age, "I'm outta here." Or even begin to understand the psychological damage that her behaviors are having on you for the long run. Wouldn't it make sense then that the juvenile system should work harder at helping to rehabilitate juvie criminals? Well, then again that would cost us money and we don't want to spend any more money than we already have to even if it means it is going to cost us more money in the long run and possibly lives. And, I don't care what they have been through, if you really want to get out of the rut you are in (a.k.a the ghetto) you can, I mean this is America after all, the land of opportunities; everything is right at your disposal, right at your fingertips.
Well, the state of Missouri doesn't think so. They have taken on a radical approach to the juvenile system and "by taking some of the hard edges out of juvenile corrections, the state of Missouri has chalked up results that have corrections experts across the country taking notice."
Here intensive therapy is key to rehabing juveniles so that they don't end up becoming career criminals or just another statistic. Tye, a 17 yr old female covicted of several felonies, says that the Rosa Parks Center for girls is unlike other facilities by comparing the juveniles' problems to that of weeds. "Other placements want to cut off the weed," she said. "Here, you get down to the root and they try to pull them out, because you can't kill it unless everything is gone."
So how much is all of this costing us is what you want to know right? (You ask this before you ask what the results of the approach have been.) Here's an excerpt from the Primetime news piece that covered the story:
Surprisingly, all the intensive therapy of the Missouri system actually costs less than other juvenile systems. The cost per child in Missouri, $50,000 a year, is about half the national average.
Twenty-five years ago, Missouri changed the way it looked at juvenile corrections because, officials say, the familiar model -- large prisons and boot camps -- was failing.
"The conditions for young people weren't safe, [they] weren't getting any better and were going out and repeating [the same] behaviors if not worse," said Tim Decker, director of the state's Division of Youth Services (DYS).
The new program has shown success. Only 10 percent of the kids in Missouri's juvenile jails end up in adult prison within three years, according to the DYS. In other states, that number is as high as 40 percent.
Recent reports about excessive violence against juvenile inmates have renewed calls for a national overhaul of the system. Does Missouri's model have the answer to America's broken juvenile justice system? Or are they just coddling children, as some critics say?
I sign off, leaving you with the question that the piece asks and I leave you with a link to the first part (about 5 minutes) of the one hour special that was aired on September 9th (or follow the hyperlink above to read the story). From the website you can access the rest of the one hour show and I encourage you to watch it yourself.
Part 1: A New Model for Juvenile Justice
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