In-School Probation Approach in Turning the Youth Away From Crime Paper Example

Abstract

The United States has the reputation as the leading nation in matters youth incarceration, which makes any discussions concerning strategies that would reverse the trend interesting to both the public and policymakers. In relation to this idea, this research assess one of the most recommended methods of containing youth delinquency, especially during their schooling periods-in-school probation. The author seeks to establish the effectiveness of this approach in dealing with patterns of offense among the youth and the benefits that extend to their families. The research adopts the qualitative approach to studying in which one thousand juveniles who have been subjected to probation at one time in their lives are contacted in a nationwide survey. The research seeks to establish the perceived benefits of the probations to the youth through administering electronic questionnaires. The investigation concludes that though other methods of combating youth delinquency have been recommended, in-school probations have one of the most useful outcomes in crime prevention among this group of people because of the connections that it established between the youth and their communities, especially their families.

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Key Words: Youth delinquency, in-school probation, incarceration.

Introduction

Background Information

The US has the highest number of incarcerated youth population around the world. Data indicates that close to one third of the American youth have been arrested before they attained the age of twenty-three years (Jenson, Potter, & Howard, 2017). The types of crimes for which the youth have been arrested and charged with vary significantly from petty ones, including disorderly conduct to serious one, such as violent crime. Some scholars have attempted to explain the fact that the rates of youth arrests do not imply that the US has the most undisciplined juveniles the world over; rather, the policing system in the country is more vigilant compared to most other nations (McDowell & Smith, 1999). Whether this statement is true or false does not concern this paper. The research's concern is the fact that rates of youth incarceration around the country have been rising over the past few decades, as the cited study indicates. The attention of the author to the trend in youth incarceration around the US is based on the idea that policymakers should strive to have a correctional system that would address the problem. With that in mind, it should be noted that the criminal justice system has adopted several methods of correction, including imprisonment and probation.

The US appears to favor probation among all the methods used in the correctional department for offenders. Therefore, it is critical for research to establish the effectiveness of this approach to correction considering that though some people consider it appropriate (for example, Frederique, 2011), it has not helped in combating the rates of recidivism among the youth.

Gap in Research

The researcher identifies that current literature, such as (Frederique, 2011; Yeckel, 1997), explores the efficacy of the different approaches to correction adopted by the Department of Criminal Justice in dealing with crime. It is also notable that extant studies have focused on the youth, albeit because of the disproportionality that exists concerning the average rates of their incarceration compared to their counterparts in other countries. However, it may be noted that only so much has been done concerning the benefits of in-school probations-there is limited information concerning the efficacy of this approach to combating crime in relation to offenders and their families. Consequently, while the proposed research is not a pioneering work, it seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on the effectiveness of in-school probation in dealing with youth offending and improving the relationships between the offenders and their families.

The Aim of the Study

The proposed study will examine the efficacy of the in-school probation approach in improving the lives of the youth-turning them away from crime. It is necessary for researchers to establish whether the approach to corrections influences the perception of the youth concerning crime. In this case, the study will explore the factors that contribute to the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of in-school probations. Overall, the study will investigate the benefits of using in-school probation approach to the offenders and their families

The Proposed Research Questions

While conducting the study, the researcher will seek to answer the following questions:

• What is the prevalence of in-school probation as a correctional approach adopted to combat crime and rehabilitate the youth in the US?
• What is the efficiency of probation in combating youth delinquency in comparison to other approaches?
• What are the benefits of in-school probation to the offenders and their families?

Significance of the Research

Understanding the effects of the different approaches to correction on the rates of juvenile offending has a critical bearing on policy development and adoption by the relevant administration. Therefore, the findings of this project would be useful in informing the concerned parties about the efficacy of in-school probation, especially in dealing with crime while allowing the offenders to be part of the community-allowing them to continue with their education and to have familial interactions. Perhaps, the project's most significant contribution is the fact that it might add to the current wave of pressure on the Department of Criminal Justice to seek rehabilitative methods of dealing with crime as opposed to deterrence, which has resulted in the high levels of incarceration among the youth and the rest of the age groups in the US (Aizer & Doyle, 2015).

Literature Review

Probation is the most prevalent method of criminal sentencing around the US. This approach to sentencing is understood as an alternative disposition based on a court order through which adjudicated offenders are put under the care, supervision, and control of probation professionals in lieu of imprisonment as long as the affected persons (the probationers) meet specific standards of the contact (Asplin, Marsh, & Beighley, 2011). Though an old statistic, it is useful noting that the Justice Statistics reported in 1995 that just more than three million adults were placed under federal and state probation and that this number presented an approximated fifty-eight percent of all the adults who had been placed in correctional facilities around the country (Freeman, 2003; Petersilia, 1998). The Department of Justice further indicated that in the same year, the proportion of individuals under probation around the country was quite large it approximated that close to two percent of the adult population in the country was under probation on each single day (Petersilia, 1998). The most important element of this statistic is the idea that it reflects the nature of the correctional system in the country to present. Though there is no evidence available to ascertain the same figures in relation with the current correctional system, there is plenty indicating that the prevalence of probation has been rising over the years (e.g., Mendal, 2011; Jonson-Reid & Barth, 2010).

As much as the dispositional choices for youthful offenders have diversified in the recent years, the debate on the most appropriate and efficient methods of dealing with offenders from this age group is ongoing. It is notable that the country's concern on the rates of juvenile offenders has persisted from the 1970s-during this time, most of the scholars thought that the problem would never be solved-to present (Greenwood, 1996). Nevertheless, some other scholars have been optimistic about the state of juvenile offending. For instance, in his meta-analysis conducted in 1992, Mark Lipsey reported that some of the programs had significant contributions to the reduction in youth recidivism by as much as ten percent (cited in Greenwood, 1996). The most interesting fact about Lispey's study is the fact that it reported more effectiveness in community-based programs, especially those offered by private providers than when custodial approaches were employed.

Further studies suggest that privately-run community programs are the most effective in the prevention of delinquency. These programs are reported to have great deals of structure, different modes of intervention, and high duration and intensity levels (Carver County, 2018). For instance, the cited literature indicates that non-residential dawn-to-dusk programs of education that incorporate youthful offenders and their families are the best examples of this approach to dealing with crime among juveniles. It could be for this reason that activist groups around the country have been pushing the criminal justice system to adopt more of such programs to help in dealing with crime not only among the youth, but also among other age groups.

One might expect that the popularity of probation in the correctional system of the US is attributed to its effectiveness in combating crime. This statement may be partly true since several scholars associate probation with reduced prevalence of recidivism. Nevertheless, this approach to correction criticized for its depiction of a 'soft image' of crime and offending. For this reason, probation continues to attract minimal support from the public because they perceive it as blindly advocating the ideal of rehabilitation at the expense of predatory and violent criminals, uncaring for the victims of crime, and permissive about the nature of offending (Greenwood, 1996). These ideas premise the objectives of this research, which are to determine the benefits of this type of correction on juvenile offenders and their families.

Using probation as a court sentence or disposition for most of the offenders is considered a less expensive choice, especially when compared with incarcerating and using out-of-home placements for delinquent offenders. In fact, it is reported that probations cost less than $10 per day per individual compared to a least $100 incurred in choosing other methods, such as incarceration (Carver County, 2018). The same study indicates that out-of-home placements involving juveniles cost an approximated $125 to $250 each day per youth, a cost that could be higher depending on the levels of attention and care that the affected persons require. It is also imperative noting that the supervision of probation could further incorporate the utilization of cost-effective electronic technologies of testing and surveillance, including alcohol and drug screening...