NCJ Number
152892
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 56 Issue: 7 Dated: (December 1994) Pages: 100,102-103
Date Published
1994
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article identifies goals that should be common to all juvenile justice systems if they are to be successful.
Abstract
The legal mission of all juvenile justice systems should be protection for the community and correction for the offenders. The juvenile justice system should also protect offenders from themselves as well as from their family and community, while providing correction for the community by changing conditions that cause or contribute to acting-out behavior and juvenile crime. The latter is an important preventive measure, but it is something few juvenile justice agencies undertake. By supporting youth advocacy and community development, conditions can be improved and juvenile crime reduced. To achieve this, agencies should consider using key overlapping objectives. They should divert juveniles from the system; minimize penetration into the juvenile justice system; maximize the capacity for differential care, custody, and treatment; normalize the correctional experience; maximize the involvement of volunteers and the offender as agents of change; minimize time in the correctional system; and maximize research and evaluation for feedback in organizational change.