Where We'll Begin

 

The phrase, “It’s not the end goal that counts; it’s the journey” is a common one. Many people focus on the way to get to a certain goal, with the ultimate goal being the icing on the cake. While this is a good tactic to have in some cases, when it comes to juvenile delinquency and recidivism, it is not. The end goal of recidivism prevention is very important, but what’s just as important is that the journey to that goal makes for successful and long-standing prevention of juvenile crime and recidivism. Many programs that attempt to achieve no re-offenses by juveniles often fail, and those that do succeed do not do so for very long.

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Recidivism can be explained simply as the reentry into the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is the overarching term to describe the process through which criminals go before they enter the prison system, with the prison system being the most common form of punishment for offenders. There is a different type of justice system for juveniles, simply called the juvenile justice system. Its processes mirror those of the adult justice system; however, the punishments and means to handle juvenile offenders differ in various ways. The sources gathered work together to comprehensively explain the ways in which the juvenile justice system prevents recidivism with programs established specifically for that purpose.

 

Many have learned that there are many types of programs that address the reduction of recidivism in juvenile offenders, and they all have one ultimate goal: recidivism prevention. However, that is not the case for many of those programs; many factors like mental illness, fatherly involvement and criminality history, as well as community involvement play large roles in the prediction of recidivism in juveniles. One of the most used programs to deter juveniles from committing crimes is the “Scared Straight” program. The research shows that many programs do not reach the desired goal of preventing juveniles from reoffending. While many people and juvenile detention areas have the ultimate goal of preventing juvenile recidivism, all too often programs do not achieve that goal. Although juvenile delinquency is a problem in the United States and throughout the globe, the many programs that strive to reduce it fall short of that goal. While many programs and experts claim that juvenile recidivism is being reduced, the reality is that is it not.