Policies and Minority Juveniles

Criminal Justice policies and practices are tightly coupled with political behavior. Politicians contribute to fear of crime and lead the public to believe that crime is a serious social problem that needs government intervention. That is where politicians implement policies that do not rehabilitate and crack down on juvenile delinquent behavior. With these policies in place they are able to demonstrate policy success without fear of losing any kind of support. “Getting tough” doesn’t help our society; it’s just a front that appeals to the mass public.

The federal government has provided millions of dollars to state and local governments to assist the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in their efforts to prevent youth delinquency. Yet the amount spent on prevention programs is sallow in comparison to what is spent on punishment and placement of juveniles in confinement. These so called “get tough” policies do not necessarily work. There is a need to identify what works in areas where these juvenile minorities reside. Programs that encompass effective early intervention with at risk children and families need to be developed. As stated in Bad Kids: Race and the Transformation of the Juvenile Court by Barry Feld, “As minorities became urban Americas and the public attributed increase in crime primarily to minority youth, crime intersected to produce more punitive juvenile justice policies.” These policies have not been targeted at helping disadvantaged minority youth. The development prevention approach that focuses on risk factors in family, school, communities and individuals needs to be implemented. Policies need to be placed more around rehab than punishment.

Juvenile delinquency legislation seems to be more political campaigns rather than dealing with the actual problems. With a cost of 267 million dollars a year towards OJJDP we cannot keep putting away juveniles without trying to rehabilitate them. If the OJJDP can properly introduce effective rehabilitation programs, the amount of juveniles and their cost might significantly drop. In order to accomplish this, the justice system must first attempt to implement more policies for better rehabilitation efforts. Otherwise we will continue to put more money into a system which seems to be growing more every year. Rehabilitation is the answer to stop the growing juvenile delinquency population and helping put money back into America.