Prison
Memo
Date: March 27, 2013
To: Federal Bureau of Prisons
From: Karrington C Norris
Subject: Overcrowding of Juvenile Correctional Facilities
Introduction
Within the juvenile correctional facilities community, there are public and private institutions that both experience and suffer from similar problems. The problems that face these facilities are overcrowding. Through close comparison of the major issues with juvenile correctional facilities, the institutions are revealed to be ineffective with rehabilitation and to have negative impacts on the juveniles. Thus, insight will be gained on the types of problems both kinds of institutions face and the impact incarceration has upon its juvenile occupants.
Identifying the Problem
Public correctional facilities and inmate characteristics have unique differences that are visual in America’s prisons and jails. The inmate descriptions show that there are more youth from lower socio-economic status backgrounds occupying a larger percentage of public juvenile correctional facilities than any other cohort. “Public facilities hold the majority of delinquent offenders and, thus, drive the trend for delinquency populations” (Hess, 2010). A juvenile delinquent is a person who is typically under the age of 18 and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for persons under 18 to be charged and tried as adults.
Unlike public facilities, private facilities do not hold many delinquent offenders, but rather hold the majority of youth that are considered status offenders. A status offense is defined as conduct that is unlawful only because the offender is a minor. Common status offenses include running away, skipping school, and breaking curfew, as well as governability, underage drinking, and disorderly conduct (Arthur, and Waugh 555-559).
Many publicly owned juvenile correctional facilities
Date: March 27, 2013
To: Federal Bureau of Prisons
From: Karrington C Norris
Subject: Overcrowding of Juvenile Correctional Facilities
Introduction
Within the juvenile correctional facilities community, there are public and private institutions that both experience and suffer from similar problems. The problems that face these facilities are overcrowding. Through close comparison of the major issues with juvenile correctional facilities, the institutions are revealed to be ineffective with rehabilitation and to have negative impacts on the juveniles. Thus, insight will be gained on the types of problems both kinds of institutions face and the impact incarceration has upon its juvenile occupants.
Identifying the Problem
Public correctional facilities and inmate characteristics have unique differences that are visual in America’s prisons and jails. The inmate descriptions show that there are more youth from lower socio-economic status backgrounds occupying a larger percentage of public juvenile correctional facilities than any other cohort. “Public facilities hold the majority of delinquent offenders and, thus, drive the trend for delinquency populations” (Hess, 2010). A juvenile delinquent is a person who is typically under the age of 18 and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for persons under 18 to be charged and tried as adults.
Unlike public facilities, private facilities do not hold many delinquent offenders, but rather hold the majority of youth that are considered status offenders. A status offense is defined as conduct that is unlawful only because the offender is a minor. Common status offenses include running away, skipping school, and breaking curfew, as well as governability, underage drinking, and disorderly conduct (Arthur, and Waugh 555-559).
Many publicly owned juvenile correctional facilities