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Adolescent Incarceration: Where do we go from here?

The United States faces the grave issue of incarcerating its black youth at incredibly high rates in comparison to other countries. The juvenile justice system in the United States is a somewhat recent development, so the long-term effects of adolescent incarceration are discussed minimally. Black youth are more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts due to social injustices within the juvenile justice system (Prison Kids: Juvenile Justice in America 2015). The system creates an apparent disparity between black and white adolescents. Such disparities harm the future of black youth and affect their ability to overcome obstacles thrown their way. The policies and priorities of these systems need to be altered so black youth arent disproportionately abused by them. This paper will examine why black youth are more likely to be incarcerated by discussing the history of the juvenile justice system and will continue by addressing the effects of adolescent incarceration on adulthood. It will also suggest future efforts that could act to counter the downfalls within the juvenile justice system.

Criminal courts and criminal justice systems have been around for a long time, but the juvenile justice system in America has only developed over the past hundred and twenty-five years. In Cook County, Illinois, the first juvenile court emerged in 1899 which eventually led to the unification of the juvenile justice system (Champion 2001). It wasnt until the 1960s that the juvenile courts were formalized by the Supreme Court. This led to the introduction of the right to due process and the right to counsel for adolescents (Champion 2001). Unfortunately, the tough-on-crime trend of the 1990s led to disturbing consequences for youth that were in trouble with the law. Ultimately, it became easier for youth offenders to be transferred to adult courts. Facilities also became overcrowded, and the living conditions grew to be disgusting (Champion 2001). The evolution of the juvenile justice system helps explain the current disparities between black and white adolescent incarceration statistics. During the war on drugs of the 1990s, black men were arrested at a disproportionally higher rate than their white counterparts. Similarly, it is more likely for black youth to be arrested and charged than it is for white youth to reach the same consequences (Prison Kids: Juvenile Justice in America 2015). This disparity needs to be acknowledged and addressed before progress is made.

It is vital to understand the current injustice that is taking place in the juvenile justice system, but it is also important to understand the effects of adolescent incarceration on adulthood. Adolescent incarceration ultimately creates more problems within people rather than preventing further issues it originally hoped to alleviate. A study published in 2017 by Elizabeth Barnert, Rebecca Dudovitz, Bergen B. Nelson, Tumaini R. Coker, Christopher Biely, Ning Li, and Paul J. Chung demonstrates that mental health issues increase with the number of years spent incarcerated as an adolescent. Those who spent time in juvenile rehabilitation centers have increased depression and suicidal thoughts in adulthood. These negative effects go beyond mental health. General health also decreases with years spent in adolescent incarceration as many of incarcerated adolescents encounter varied functional limitations during adulthood. Decreased mental and general health due to years spent in adolescent incarceration is a problem that needs to be addressed but is frequently overlooked.

Further, the study exhibited that years spent in adolescent rehabilitation centers foster an environment where there is an increasing disconnect from family and friends. When released from these facilities, the risk of being reincarcerated as an adult is very high and part of that is due to the disconnect between loved ones. Since it is more likely for black youth to be arrested, there are more black adults facing the negative effects of the juvenile justice system than white adults. Overall, it is clear that increased adolescent incarceration creates more problems than it seeks to prevent. These negative effects need to be taken into consideration when seeking to better the juvenile justice system. Reforms must be made to the juvenile justice system to better serve the children that it is seeking to help.

To minimize social injustice within the juvenile justice system, which would also reduce the negative effects associated with adolescent incarceration on adulthood, legal reforms must be enacted, but there also needs to be more social awareness around the issue. To increase education and social awareness of the injustices taking place in the juvenile justice system, community advocacy must be utilized to alleviate some of the inequalities present in the current system. Beyond community education, it is vital to work with children with behavioral issues in an appropriate manner. Simply resorting to pressing charges on the problem children only creates more issues in the long run (Prison Kids: Juvenile Justice in America 2015). Instead, programs in schools, and outside of schools, that emphasize appropriate behavior when dealing with conflicting emotions and confrontation between peers should be readily available. The current trend toward placing police officers in schools should also be reversed. Police officers in schools do not decrease the number of crimes committed in schools (Megan French-Marcelin 2017). These local societal changes can help deter some negative outcomes of the juvenile justice system.

However, social awareness will not solve all of the problems facing the juvenile justice system. There also needs to be significant reforms made to juvenile justice facilities. A focus on rehabilitation should be enforced, and there should be less emphasis on incarceration as a consequence. Instead, efforts should be put toward acclimatizing arrested adolescents to function successfully in society. This would help to reduce the high risk of being reincarcerated as an adult. Living conditions also need to be improved in these facilities. Adolescents should be given privileges for their civility to incentivize good behavior, rather than enforcing extreme punishments because of their poor actions. So, solitary confinement and similar practices should be prohibited. Harsh punishments often dont result in changed behavior and repeat offenses are bound to occur. On the other hand, positive reinforcement is a good way to persuade people to change their behavior (John W. Maag 2001). Reforms focused on juvenile rehabilitation and positive reinforcement could have a positive impact on the way the juvenile justice system operates long-term. These reforms would also help to reduce the negative effects that incarcerated adolescents face during adulthood.

Overall, the disparities in juvenile arrests between black youth and white youth can be briefly illustrated by looking at the history of the juvenile justice system. Similarly, the tough-on-crime trend of the 1990s helps to explain the increase in incarcerated adolescents which led to overcrowded facilities and disturbing conditions. Since the formalization of the juvenile justice system in the United States is fairly recent, there is little discussion available regarding the negative effects of adolescent incarceration on adulthood. Nonetheless, there are studies that show adults that were incarcerated as youth are more likely to have decreased mental and general health. They are also likely to be reincarcerated as adults. Since black youth are disproportionately represented in juvenile justice facilities, it is more probable that black adults will reap the negative effects of the juvenile justice system than white adults. To combat the current injustices, communities need to be educated about the ineffectiveness of the juvenile justice system. Further, reforms need to be put into action so facilities put more emphasis on rehabilitating incarcerated adolescents.

Acknowledging the current failures of the system in place is the first step. However, if communities arent educated on the injustices taking place, then no reforms will occur. If no reforms take place, then the disparities will continue between black and white incarcerated adolescents, and these individuals will continue to reap the negative effects of a broken system during adulthood.

Works Cited

Barnert, Elizabeth S et al. How Does Incarcerating Young People Affect Their Adult Health Outcomes?. Pediatrics vol. 139,2 (2017)
Champion, Dean J. Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing, and the Law, Third Edition. 3rd edition. 2001
French-Marceline, Megan. Bullies in Blue. American Civil Liberties Union. April 2017
Maag, John W. Rewarded by Punishment: Reflections on the Disuse of Positive Reinforcement in Schools. Exceptional Children, vol. 67, no. 2, Jan. 2001, pp. 173186
Prison Kids: Juvenile Justice in America. Oct. 2015 (Documentary)

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