Essay Sample on Youth Violence: Impact on Criminal Justice and Public Health

Introduction

Violence among children and youth is a significant issue in the criminal justice system and a public health problem globally. It is estimated that about 227 children and youth between the ages of 0 to 19 years die as a result of interpersonal violence. Besides, each death presents a lot of cases of hospitalization with injuries (WHO, 2009). This violence is fueled by poor social skills, impulsiveness, low academic achievements, truancy, as well as poverty, among many other factors that fuel the aggression. Therefore, numerous researchers have sought to investigate the problem to suggest many methods that can be used to prevent this violence. Previous researchers have suggested that life skills like advocacy and communication can aid the prevention of this violence. In this study, the aim is to investigate and discuss how different life skills such as communication, advocacy, mentorship, and problem-solving are useful in the reduction of criminal justice involvement in the transition age. Besides, the study aims to investigate the role of single parenthood and ethnicity, and their contribution to recidivism, and discuss how the training of life skills can be beneficial in crime reduction.

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Literature has suggested that social development programs are imperative in promoting the social behavior, which aims to prevent the aggression in children by fostering the social skills like anger, empathy, moral development, maintaining of healthy relationships among the young people, and peaceful means for resolution of conflict (Paulson, 2013). Additionally, social development training can form a crucial part of family-based violence prevention. As noted by Matejkowski et al. (2014), various life skills training programs such as communication, problem-solving, advocacy, as well as mentorship have an essential role among the transitional aged males and females in the reduction of their chances of getting involved in the criminal activities. In most cases, transitional males tend to have more engagement in criminal activities compared to females. This has prompted previous researchers to investigate the challenges faced by both males and females to understand the underlying issues and recommend the best approaches to manage the individuals. Therefore, a target of the transitional aged population is imperative in this study to illustrate how various life skills impact their lives for proper social development.

Ethical Issues

This study presents numerous ethical concerns, considering that it deals with juveniles and young people who are considered to be delicate in the criminal justice system. It should be noted that the underlying philosophy of the juvenile criminal system regards the belief that young offenders are developmentally different from adult criminals; thus, they should be handled differently. In most cases, it is considered that young people lack the emotional as well as the psychological abilities to fully appreciate the consequences of their actions, considering that they are developmentally immature. Therefore, the study seeks to explore a delicate but important topic, as the manner in which the young people are raised impacts significantly on the adults they will become. In many past pieces of research, it has been illustrated that many youths have adopted training programs that are offered by various social workers and institutions, aimed at fostering positive behavior. However, studies also demonstrate that many juveniles are finding themselves in jail, which necessitates various training while in jail, and when they have been released from jail. Considering that the population involved in this research entails the minors, there is a need to observe all the ethical and moral obligations of studies when dealing with vulnerable groups.

Implications of Research to Social Work, Policy, and Education

An understanding of the underlying issues regarding the involvement of young people in criminal justice is imperative in developing a proper social curriculum for young people that entails life skills and developing relevant educational and social policies that seek to promote good behavior among all stakeholders involved. The study suggests that advocacy life skills have a significant role in helping young people regarding what is expected of them as they grow, which increases their chances of success in life. One of the challenges that many young people face while growing up is the lack of proper direction that leads to involvement in criminal activities (Center, 2015). When such juveniles are arrested and jailed, their future is greatly affected.

Strengths and Limitations, and Suggestions for Future Research

Therefore, this research is imperative as it provides a lot of evidence, both qualitatively and quantitatively, using life case studies to illustrate the evidence. The pieces of the evidence supplied are backed up from statistical relationships of crucial life skills like advocacy and mentorship, and how they relate to involvement, or lack of, in the criminal activities. However, the research uses only a small case study in the United States, implying some of the potential factors may not be examined. Also, the situation in the United States may be different from other parts of the world. Future studies should make use of more extensive case studies from different geographic locations to validate the findings and recommendations.

References

Center, J. (2015). Reducing recidivism and improving other outcomes for young adults in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. Council of State Governments Justice Center. https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Transitional-Age-Brief.pdf

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Global Partnership for Youth Employment (GPYE) World Bank (IBRD); International Youth Foundation. (2014). Strengthening life skills for youth: a practical guide to quality programming. Retrieved from: https://www.s4ye.org/agi/pdf/Project_Design/Strengthening_Life_Skills_For_Youth.pdf

Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. B. (2012). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications.

Justice Policy Institute. (2016). Improving Approaches to Serving Young Adults in the Justice System. Retrieved from: http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/jpi_young_adults_final.pdf

Martin, E. (2017, March 1). Hidden Consequences: The Impact of Incarceration on Dependent Children. Retrieved from: https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/hidden-consequences-impact-incarceration-dependent-children

Matejkowski, J., Johnson, T., & Severson, M. E. (2014). Prison social work. In Encyclopedia of Social Work. Retrieved from: https://oxfordre.com/socialwork/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-1002?print=pdf

Morsy, L., & Rothstein, R. (2016, December 15). Mass incarceration and children's outcomes: Criminal justice policy is education policy. Retrieved from: https://www.epi.org/publication/mass-incarceration-and-childrens-outcomes/

O'Dwyer, L. M., & Bernauer, J. A. (2013). Quantitative Research for the Qualitative Researcher. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Paulson, P. (2013). The Role of Community-Based Programs in Reducing Recidivism in Ex-Offenders. Retrieved from: https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1249&context=msw_papers

Schiraldi, V., Western, B., & Bradner, K. (2015). New Thinking in Community Corrections - NCJRS. Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/248900.pdf

Scommegna, P. (2014, December 3). Parents' imprisonment linked to children's health, behavioral problems. Retrieved from: https://www.prb.org/incarcerated-parents-and-childrens-health/

Verma, J. P. (2013). Data analysis in management with SPSS software. New Delhi; New York: Springer.

Wilson, M. (2010). Criminal justice social work in the United States: Adapting to new challenges. Washington, DC: NASW Center for Workforce Studies. Retrieved from: https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=n8L3HaALWb8%3D&portalid=0

World Health Organization. (2009). Preventing violence by developing life skills in children and adolescents. World Health Organization. Retrieved from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/44089

Zajac, K., Sheidow, A. J., & Davis, M. (2013). Transition age youth with mental health challenges in the juvenile justice system. Washington, DC: Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health. Retrieved from: https://www.umassmed.edu/contentassets/15113f8a672840fca8b783ca95a800af/taywithmentalhealthchallengesjj.pdf

Zajac, K., Sheidow, A. J., & Davis, M. (2015). Juvenile justice, mental health, and the transition to adulthood: A review of service system involvement and unmet needs in the US. Children and Youth Services Review, 56, 139-148. DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.07.014