Juvenile Offenders and Intervention Programs

Question

My topic is : about juvenile offenders and also the certain programs that can prevent or intervene in the problem I chose .

I have an outline already but please include more information about more programs for juvenile offenders and any additional information you can add. You can also add or re write any of what I wrote to make it better to fit your information as well.

Purpose: To show and explain juvenile offenders and how they should be tried in court relating to their mental status, the severity of their crime and their risk of recidivism in the future and implementing different treatment programs to help.

  1. Introduction
    1. What is considered a juvenile offender?
      1. In most countries, a juvenile offender is any person who is below eighteen years old and has been involved in crime (Mears, 2014).
      2. To be a juvenile offender the child or the young child must have been found guilty of certain antisocial behavior, vandalism, offense by the juvenile court.
  2. Body
    1. What factors decide how the juvenile gets tried
      1. Their risk in society
      2. Mental status and maturity of the offender
        1. Are they competent to even stand trial?
      3. Willingness of the offender to accept treatment
      4. The severity of the crime committed
        1. Was it done deliberately or accidental
    2. Recidivism
      1. What factors can contribute to offending and later recidivisms?
        1. Providing adequate education is key in addressing the rise in juvenile offenders (Guarino-Ghezzi, 2017).
          1. This is more important with offenders who were maybe raised in difficult environments rather than those with mental problems.
          2. Tackling depression, hyper behavior and frustration in therapy are key in addressing this predicament.
          3. Poverty
          4. Dangerous households and peer pressure
          5. Mental health is also a very important factor in determining if a juvenile will re offend or can offend from early childhood. With mental health its also more difficult to find treatment programs, since the only way to fully be treated is to have the correct medication, therapy and the will to change.
            1. According to Anoshiravani et al. (2005), 63 % of detained youth in the state of California had a primary diagnosis for mental illness as compared to 19.8 % of non-detained youth.
        2. Scholars have noted that one’s actions as a minor could be a determinant for his course of life as an adult, in which case taking corrective measures would be effective in shaping or creating better adults (Walker et al., 2018).

Transition: Looking at al the factors of juvenile offenders on how it starts and how they are tried, the most important step of all is treatment. What programs can we offer to these young kids to help them be better individuals in the future.

  1. Treatment and Conclusion
    1. Treatment for recidivism on juvenile offenders relies solely on whether they are mentality ill or competent.
      1. One of the most talked about treatments are Cognitive Behavioral therapies.
        1. With CBT, therapists examine and help with different therapeutic components: self-control, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, social skills/assertiveness, values/empathy, and relapse prevention ( Antonio et al., 2012).
          1. Cognitive- behavioral model of treatment usually involves a combined intervention that addresses the thinking, emotions and social skills of juvenile offenders. (Antonio et al., 2012).
          2. There are different treatment programs as well looking at the juvenile past and mental status and how it played a role in their offending.
            1. Risk – need – responsivity model
            2. Reasoning & Rehabilitation Program
    2. Conclusion
      1. We looked at the many factors that can contribute to juveniles offending. We looked at their past experiences, their mental status, their peers and families. We also looked at how they should be tried or could be tried and different interventions to treat the juveniles and also with treatment of recidivism. The most important thing besides having the best treatment programs is also having the will to change. The only way to prevent these kids from offending is also their want to change and get help. If that’s there, then every kind of treatment program can work for them.

Answer

Contents

Introduction. 2

Determining factors in a Juvenile Trial 2

Factors Contributing to Offending and Later Recidivism.. 2

Programs and Treatment. 3

Conclusion. 3

References. 4

Introduction

Brezina and Agnew (2015) define a juvenile offender as any person below eighteen years who is involved in a crime. A young child must be found guilty of vandalism or certain antisocial behavior by a juvenile court before being rendered a juvenile offender.

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Determining factors in a Juvenile Trial

Different factors have to be considered when a juvenile is in a trail. The most important factor is the maturity or mental stability of the alleged offender (Van Koppen, 2018). The risk that a juvenile possesses to society is as well considered. Emerson (2017) emphasizes that a juvenile court must assess the severity of the committed crime and whether it was accidental or deliberate.

Factors Contributing to Offending and Later Recidivism

Recidivism is a common phenomenon among juvenile offenders. It is therefore imperative for the government to establish sustainable measures, such as adequate education, to address the rising cases of juvenile offenders (Hepburn and Griffin, 2004). Depression, frustrations and mental problems are the leading causes of offending and recidivism (Fındık et al., 2018). Poverty, peer pressure and dangerous households are also factors that influence reoffending in juveniles. Bearing these in mind, policymakers must put in place the necessary measures and programs to handle juvenile offenders and recidivism.

Programs and Treatment

Treating juvenile offenders requires an examination of their mental health. A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most preferred treatment option in case of a mental problem (Polaschek and Skeem, 2018). In this therapy, therapists evaluate and assist with various therapeutic components like social skills, problem-solving, self-control and prevention of a relapse. Functional Family Therapy is another essential program in addressing juvenile offenders. It is an approach mainly used on adolescents at risk. It is designed to enhance family communication, support and improving parenting skills (Vignaendra et al., 2011). Prevention programs that can reduce drugs and substance abuse are as well vital in tackling the problem.

Conclusion

The study evaluated the factors contributing to juvenile offending, as well as the roles played by their families, peers, past experienced and mental status. The paper further looked at the juvenile trials in a court system, interventions and treatment of recidivism.

References

Brezina, T., & Agnew, R. (2015). Juvenile Delinquency. The Handbook of Deviance, 313.

Emerson, R. M. (2017). Judging delinquents: Context and process in juvenile court. Routledge.

Fındık, O. T. P., Arman, A. R., Altınel, N. E., Durlanık, E. G., Ozbek, H., & Semerci, B. (2018). Psychiatric evaluation of juvenile delinquents under probation in the context of recidivism.

Hepburn, J., & Griffin, M. (2004). An analysis of risk factors contributing to the recidivism of sex offenders on probation. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.

Polaschek, D. L., & Skeem, J. L. (2018). Treatment of adults and juveniles with psychopathy. Handbook of psychopathy.

Vignaendra, S., Viravong, A., Beard, G., & McGrath, A. (2011). Reducing Juvenile Reoffending by Understanding Factors Contributing to Intention to Reoffend. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 22(3), 433-455.

Van Koppen, M. V. (2018). Criminal Career Dimensions of Juvenile-and Adult-Onset Offenders. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, 4(1), 92-119.

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