NCJ Number
195803
Journal
Crime & Delinquency Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2002 Pages: 431-455
Date Published
2002
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This article examines how juvenile offenders perceive their experience within the criminal justice system and how it affects their likelihood of recidivism.
Abstract
The authors of this article have focused their inquiry on how juvenile offenders perceive the affects of their incarceration on the likelihood of future recidivism. The authors locate the relevance of this study in the fact that typically the perceptions of offenders are disregarded. The authors conducted face-to-face interviews with 144 male offenders between the ages of 17 and 20 who were incarcerated in Florida juvenile and adult correctional systems. The interviews probed the offenders’ experiences in the correctional institutions and their perceptions of the effectiveness of such incarceration. Also under consideration was the level of correctional disposition: whether the participants were sentenced to low-end or deep-end juvenile detention or sentenced to adult correctional detention. Deep-end juvenile detention centers typically house high- to medium-risk offenders for longer periods of time while low-end detention centers house low-risk offenders. Content analysis of the interviews suggested that those juveniles who experienced low-end sanctions believed that their incarceration was ineffective at changing their delinquent attitudes and behaviors. However, those juveniles who experienced deep-end sanctions reported an overall positive effect on their attitudes and behaviors. This was attributed to the fact that these deep-end facilities provided the life skill and counseling needed for the juveniles to make changes in their lives. Most influential for these juveniles were the educational and job skills provided by these deep-end detention centers. The authors received mixed results from the group of juvenile offenders who experienced adult incarceration. Many of the juveniles reported that they would remain crime-free after their release simply because their experiences in adult detention were horrifying. Thus, any positive affect on recidivism was due not to beneficial programs, as was noted in the deep-end juvenile programs, but was due instead to fear of returning to adult prison. Those who reported a negative impact due to their adult incarceration reported that the experience simply taught them more crime-related behaviors and tactics. In conclusion, the authors note that while many States push for harsher sanctions for juvenile offenders, this study indicates that juveniles are better served in deep-end juvenile detention centers where life skills programs are offered. Tables, notes, and references