Nasen Washington

Professor Jennafer Vondal

CRJU 1105
21 November 2022
Juvenile Justice
The article I chose was written for a website called The Conversation. The article is
called Rethinking Youth Justice: There are Alternatives to Juvenile Detention. In the article, the
author speaks of abuse in detention facilities, and how they are more punishment to juveniles
instead of help for the future. The article suggested that locking juveniles up in prisons and
detention facilities can actually make them more likely to reoffend instead of making it likely
that they will not. As the title of the article suggests, the author believes that there are
alternatives to juvenile detention and gave a few examples of alternatives at the end.
One of the alternatives discussed was therapy. I agree that this is a good alternative,
though it may not work for all offenders. I agree with quite a few things this article had to say,
which made it a good choice for me. I agree that sometimes imprisoning or locking up a juvenile
can traumatize them, making their mental health worse than the state it was already in, and make
them more likely to reoffend once they are released. I also agree that for most cases, juveniles
should not be considered as blame worthy as adults that commit crimes. Adults brains are fully
developed, and children’s brains are not, they should not be punished as if they are equals,
especially not for minor crimes.
I wish that there was more being done about abuse in the justice system as a whole, but
especially in juvenile detention facilities. Children should not be abused in a place that is said to
want to correct them, abuse is never the answer, and exposing them to that sort of violence that
early in their lives will only negatively impact their future and the rest of their lives. I believe
that other options should be attempted before sending a minor to a prison or detention/correction
facility. Way that do not completely disrupt their lives would be much more favorable. Therapy
options could even include the parents and would help them understand what is happening, and
the part they play in their child’s life. They might even better understand how to help their
children going forwards. These opportunities are not there when the child goes to jail. Parents are
not involved much in their care any longer, and when the child is released, I do not think there’s
really much instruction on what to do from there. I think that this should change. Parents should
be allowed to be more involved in their children’s lives even while they are incarcerated, and I
think there should be some family therapy after release anyway. The children would hopefully
find it easier to get back to a normal life, and the parents would know how to help them do that.
It is difficult to think of ways that could stop abuse in juvenile detention facilities. More
security might help, but I think the best way to stop juveniles from being abused in detention
centers is to keep them out of there in the first place. Other than that, more security, as I
mentioned a moment ago, and perhaps there could be less people to a cell, that may help with
inmate-on-inmate violence. It is always harder to stop abuse happening by someone who is
supposed to be in charge and/or keeping the prisoners safe. Maybe if there are more guards on
duty at once there would be less of this violence, I think that would be my solution.
 Link to the article: https://theconversation.com/rethinking-youth-justice-there-are-
alternatives-to-juvenile-detention-63329