Treating Today's Juvenile Homicide Offenders

• NCJ Number: 199598
• Journal: Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2003 Pages: 5-31
• Author(s): Kathleen M. Heide; Eldra P. Solomon
• Date Published: January 2003
• Length: 27 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses the treatment of juvenile homicide offenders and presents 12 components of effective treatment strategies.

Abstract

During the mid-1980’s, the Nation experienced an increase in juvenile violent crime. As this tide of juvenile crime continued to rise over the next 10 years, the criminal justice system responded by instituting a “get tough” policy for youthful offenders. The Nation’s belief in the rehabilitation of offenders had already been dwindling since the 1970’s, so getting tough on delinquent youth seemed a practical solution. During the past several years, there have been many, well-publicized cases in which young violent offenders have been tried as adults and sentenced to long terms of incarceration in adult prisons. The authors claim that a focus back toward the treatment of youthful offenders is necessary for two main reasons. First, it has been shown through evaluation of program outcomes that some types of treatment do work. Second, many youthful offenders, though sentenced to lengthy prison terms, will eventually be out of prison and back on the streets because they start their sentences at such young ages. Currently very little rehabilitation and treatment efforts are being conducted in prisons across the country. As a result, when youthful offenders do get out prison, they may pose more of a danger to society than they did when they entered the justice system. The authors present 12 components that are critical to effective treatment strategies for juvenile violent offenders, specifically juvenile homicide offenders. They explain that their 12 components draw heavily on the work of psychologist Vicki Agee, who authored the first 11 components offered in this paper. The authors further explain that the need for differential treatment strategies is crucial because years of research has shown that all offenders are not alike. Effective treatment must be provided for juvenile violent offenders because it has been shown to work and is necessary for the protection of society. References