Commentary: Lock up teen criminals?

[Anonymous]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/05/mit ... index.html

By Jane Velez-Mitchell
HLN

Editor's note: Jane Velez-Mitchell is host of the HLN show, "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell," a topical event-driven show with a wide range of viewpoints. Velez-Mitchell is the author of "Secrets Can Be Murder: What America's Most Sensational Crimes Tell Us About Ourselves."


Jane Velez-Mitchell says just locking up teen offenders only breeds more adult criminals.


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Ten years ago, teen Daniel Giddings shot a man during an attempted robbery and was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison.

During his time behind bars, Giddings racked up almost 30 disciplinary infractions, was kicked out of two separate facilities for bad behavior and reportedly spent hundreds of days in the hole because of his conduct.

After serving 10 years, Giddings was released last August. According to CNN affiliate WPVI, he allegedly assaulted several police officers days later. Then, in September, he allegedly killed a Philadelphia police officer before being fatally shot by another officer.

We see classic cases of repeat offenders like this all the time. A teen is thrown into the abyss of the corrections system and comes back out no better, if not worse. If we had the right intervention for troubled teens, could we reduce their chances of becoming repeat offenders?

The fact that we constantly have to ask that question tells me America needs to change the way it fights crime. As a nation, we're very good at locking criminals up, yet we still remain one of the most violent and crime-ridden societies in the developed world.

According to the International Center for Prison Studies in London, England, the United States has the world's highest incarceration rate, with one in 100 adults behind bars. In fact, the United States accounts for less than five percent of the world's population, but almost a quarter of the world's prisoners.

Considering how much time, energy and money we spend locking people up, you'd expect to see a bigger payoff. But in the United States there are about 16,000 homicides per year, or roughly six per 100,000 people, based on Department of Justice statistics. Compare that to Canada and Britain, which don't even tally 1,000 homicides per year each.

Our current system is broken because it is too focused on tossing criminals behind bars and hoping they get the message instead of rehabilitating them. I'm not saying we need to stop punishing criminals. We just need to start peppering in prevention techniques and using creative solutions to identify red flags early.

Quietly, the pendulum is swinging in that direction. Missouri's groundbreaking juvenile justice system is the vanguard. It focuses on rehabilitation, therapeutic intervention and conflict resolution rather than force and punishment. Small groups of youths stay in dorms with a couple of adult facilitators to emphasize individual treatment. According to Harvard University's Ash Institute, the youths attend daily meetings with peers, partake in educational and volunteer programs and serve as role models for each other.

This approach appears to be bearing dividends, as the Department of Justice points out over 90 percent of Missouri youths avoid further incarceration for at least three years after graduating from the program. Thanks in part to these detention alternatives, Missouri's adult prison population decreased from 2005 to 2007 after increasing each year from 1997 to 2003, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Other states are catching on to the Missouri model. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a leading supporter of alternative juvenile justice, says there are more than 100 sites using juvenile detention alternatives in 24 states and the District of Columbia. The proliferation of these alternatives may be having nationwide effects. The national juvenile arrest rate has decreased nearly 10 percent from 2000 to 2007, according to FBI arrest statistics. Obviously the Missouri model isn't the only factor at play, but imagine the impact if we could spread those programs to the other 26 states.

So how will we get the remaining "tough against crime" politicians to implement similar systems? By showing them how it will fatten up the government's coffers. The Missouri model has been shown to reduce recidivism, meaning states will have fewer repeat offenders to incarcerate. And the best way to reduce prison costs is to reduce incarceration.

I think certain aspects of the Missouri model must be expanded beyond corrections systems. After all, why should juvenile offenders be the only ones learning conflict resolution and peer counseling? We should offer similar tools -- such as group therapy -- in public high schools to help all troubled kids before a potential descent into criminality.

In these school-based programs, no topic should be off limits. Alcohol, drugs, sex, money -- whatever is bothering these children, they should have a place to share experiences, learn to cope with adversity and simply have someone willing to listen. Such a program would also enable children to discuss issues that they are unwilling or unable to share with their parents.

As a recovering alcoholic, I know how powerful and effective therapeutic programs are. They help you dissect a problem and uncover its cause. Therapy helps millions of people with a variety of issues, yet most kids aren't exposed to these incredible tools when they need it most (unless they have rich parents to pay for therapy sessions).

It is very promising to see that America is moving toward a balance of punishment and prevention, thanks to inventive ideas like the Missouri model. No matter how many prisons we build and criminals we lock up, the fact remains the best way to fight crime is to stop it at the source. And that is exactly what these creative solutions aim to do.

[Ursus]

According to Harvard University's Ash Institute, the youths attend daily meetings with peers, partake in educational and volunteer programs and serve as role models for each other.

Whoa! What a concept! Don't think anyone has tried THAT before!!  :suicide:

[Anonymous]

According to Harvard University's Ash Institute, the youths attend daily meetings with peers, partake in educational and volunteer programs and serve as role models for each other.

Whoa! What a concept! Don't think anyone has tried THAT before!!  :suicide:

Well it is a step for the criminally insane or so they say. Ursus I don't know if they have really tried this in other juvie or young adults detention centers. I maybe wrong...what is being stated here is these are young adults that have commited
serious crimes unlike Ashley and Biff who ran away and told daddy to kiss his ass so they were sent to Pathways.
They now possibly have a shot at being reincarnated, so they maybe have life worth living instead of being career criminals...This appears what Missouri is trying to do in these centers...hey wtf these kids may not have any other shot at
redemption...worth a gamble. Different horse here not your typical treatment kid...not know-a-days..... :shamrock:

[Ursus]

Sorry. I was being sarcastic.

The description may as well be — and perhaps even is — otherwise known as "positive peer culture." PPC is directly derived from a therapeutic community modality as it was first introduced to this country via the penal system.

They've been using this method on kids, in one form or another, for close to sixty years.

[Anonymous]

Got'cha,
Yes you are right,  I have before and since I have gotten here read the history of treatment models.
I am always excited to hear of the possibilities for the criminals to get treatment, you see I was one
of the lucky ones. My criminal record as a juvy was insane, pent up rage. Someone saw this and sent
me elsewhere thank god. He happened to be a substitute teacher I had in the 5th grade and saw me
next when I had graduated to 7 phase juvie isolation ward. Man helped to shift things at that moment.
Never forgot him.....I need a hug....Do bears hug or just growl.....oh yea bear hug.....
Liked your music last nite......thanks....Danny.... :shamrock:

[Ursus]

Well... I did some more research, and it seems I overstated my case; moreover, the case may not apply here! I believe I jumped to conclusions based on a strictly personal reaction to the phrase, "serve as role models for each other," a phrase I've heard before in an entirely different context. My apologies.

Here's a page with links to more information:
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001631.shtml

And here, especially, is a ~4 min. news clip which explains it much better:

NPR: Missouri Youth Prisons · Listen to this Real Player news clip that explains how Missouri's Juvenile Justice System differs from the juvenile systems in other states.

August 21, 2001 · Morning Edition
Matt Hackworth of member station KCUR has a report on the Missouri juvenile justice system -- while over 70 percent of kids housed in conventional jails nationwide end up back behind bars, in Missouri that figure is only 11 percent. State officials credit their juvenile justice system, which emphasizes counseling and rehabilitation.[/list][/list]

I think it bears stating the obvious, namely, that these kids have been convicted of actual crimes. Hence, there is something tangible to work with as to why they are in the juvenile justice system. This is very different from the Kids for Cash situation back in Pennsylvania not so long ago, with kids being sent away for trite stuff like truancy and making a website about a disliked teacher, with 90 sec. deliberations by the judge.

[RavingMad]

i think there need to be a better way to treat teenagers that do have serious behavioral issues. danny as an ex staff member at elan, where do you feel that type of program went wrong? i believe if the system gets their hands on these troubled teens it will make for a worse world in years to come.

[Ursus]

They've even developed a set of lesson plans for teachers to use for students (grades 6-12) learning about the Missouri juvenile justice system:

Civics Library Of The Missouri Bar
Juvenile Justice in Missouri[/list]

[Anonymous]

i think there need to be a better way to treat teenagers that do have serious behavioral issues. danny as an ex staff member at elan, where do you feel that type of program went wrong? i believe if the system gets their hands on these troubled teens it will make for a worse world in years to come.

RavingMad has whined about danny countless times.  I doubt he will stop anytime soon!

[blombrowski]

The thing about the Missouri model, and I haven't had the chance to study it enough to learn the in and outs about why it works other than the fact that it's non-punitive and community-based, is that as Ursus said it's that kids get into these programs after committing actual offenses.  These programs which house Missouri's worst offenders, I feel like I can safely say (based on the outcomes research) are better than both the public and private programs that exist in most parts of this country.  It should take away the rationale for programs period, except that I'm going to guess that most of the youth served by these model programs in Missouri are minorities, and god forbid should Johnny or Suzie mingle with them, when they can be served in a lily-white shitpit like CALO.

[Ursus]

...It should take away the rationale for programs period, except that I'm going to guess that most of the youth served by these model programs in Missouri are minorities, and god forbid should Johnny or Suzie mingle with them, when they can be served in a lily-white shitpit like CALO.

Yep. My guess is that another incentive for parents vulnerable to program marketing spiels is the desire to circumvent their kid getting a record, even if it is only a juvie record, and the fear that association with more hardened juvenile offenders may prove to be an introduction to a more unsavory lifestyle in the future.

[Anonymous]

Ursus thanks for your work,  great read have a new inspiration.....Danny

[Ursus]

Here are a couple of editorials from the New York Times discussing the Missouri model. The first one is from a little over two years ago:

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The New York Times · EDITORIAL
The Right Model for Juvenile Justice
Published: October 28, 2007

With the prisons filled to bursting, state governments are desperate for ways to keep more people from committing crimes and ending up behind bars. Part of the problem lies in the juvenile justice system, which is doing a frighteningly effective job of turning nonviolent childhood offenders into mature, hardened criminals. States that want to change that are increasingly looking to Missouri, which has turned its juvenile justice system into a nationally recognized model of how to deal effectively with troubled children.

The country as a whole went terribly wrong in this area during the 1990s, when high-profile crimes prompted dire predictions of teenage "superpredators" taking over the streets. The monsters never materialized. In fact, juvenile crime declined. But by the close of the decade, four-fifths of the states had made a regular practice of housing children, even those who committed nonviolent crimes, in adult jails. Studies now show that those children were considerably more likely to become serious criminals — and to commit violence — than children handled through the juvenile justice system.

But all juvenile justice systems are not created equal. Most children taken into custody are committed to large, unruly and often dangerous "kiddie prisons" that very much resemble adult prisons. The depravity and brutality that characterizes these places were underscored in Texas, where allegations of sexual abuse by workers prompted wholesale firings and a reorganization of the state's juvenile justice agency.

Missouri has abandoned mass kiddie prisons in favor of small community-based centers that stress therapy, not punishment. When possible, young people are kept near their homes so their parents can participate in rehabilitation that includes extensive family therapy. It is the first stable, caring environment many of these young people have ever known. Case managers typically handle 15 to 20 children. In other state systems, the caseloads can get much higher.

The oversight does not end with the young person's release. The case managers follow their charges closely for many months and often help with job placement, therapy referrals, school issues and drug or alcohol treatment. After completing the program, officials say, only about 10 percent of their detainees are recommitted to the system by the juvenile courts.

A law-and-order state, Missouri was working against its own nature when it embarked on this project about 25 years ago. But with favorable data piling up, and thousands of young lives saved, the state is now showing the way out of the juvenile justice crisis.


Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

[Ursus]

Here's the second one, from eleven days ago...

For related news, see also:

New York State shutting state facilities?
viewtopic.php?f=51&t=29831[/list]

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The New York Times · EDITORIAL
Juvenile Injustice
Published: January 5, 2010

Gladys Carrión, New York's reform-minded commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services, has been calling on the state to close many of its remote, prison-style juvenile facilities and shift resources and children to therapeutic programs located in their communities. Her efforts have met fierce and predictably self-interested resistance from the unions representing workers in juvenile prisons and their allies in Albany.

A recent series of damning reports have underscored the flaws in New York's juvenile justice system and the urgent need to shut down these facilities. The governor and the State Legislature need to pay attention.

A report by a task force appointed by Gov. David Paterson describes a failing system that damages young people, fails to curb recidivism and eats up millions of tax dollars. Children should be confined only when they present a clear threat to public safety. But the most recent statistics show that 53 percent of the youths admitted to New York's institutional facilities were placed there for minor nonviolent infractions.

The report also says that judges often send children to these facilities because local communities are unable to help them with mental problems or family issues. But once they are locked up, these young people rarely get the psychiatric care or special education they need because the institutions lack trained staff.

A report from the Justice Department, which has threatened to sue the state, documents the use of excessive and injury-causing force against children in juvenile facilities, often for minor offenses such as laughing too loudly or refusing to get dressed. And last week, the Legal Aid Society of New York City filed a class-action suit on behalf of youths in confinement, arguing that conditions in the system violate their constitutional rights.

Not surprisingly, these institutions do a terrible job of rehabilitation. According to a study of children released from custody between 1991 and 1995, 89 percent of the boys and 81 percent of the girls were eventually rearrested. New York's facilities are so disastrous and inhumane that state officials recently asked the courts to refrain from sending children to them, except in cases in which they presented a clear danger to the public.

Mr. Paterson's task force was rightly impressed with Missouri's juvenile justice system. It has adopted smaller regional facilities that focus on rehabilitation and house troubled youths as close to home as possible in order to involve parents and community groups in the therapeutic process. Missouri also has cut recidivisim rates by smoothing re-entry and helping young people with drug treatment, education or job placement.

New York clearly needs to follow Ms. Carrión's advice and adopt a Missouri-style system. That means the Legislature will finally have to put the needs of the state's children ahead of the politically powerful unions and upstate lawmakers who want to preserve jobs — and the disastrous status quo — at all costs.


Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company

[Pile of Dead Kids]

house troubled youths as close to home as possible in order to involve parents and community groups in the therapeutic process

Everyone on Fornits probably instinctively calls bullshit on anything with the word "therapy" in it, but generally the community-involvement bit generally prevents the sick shit from taking root and precludes additions to the Pile. And unless MO's judges came from Wilkes-Barre, these are actual juvenile criminals.