The book I chose to read and analyze is Burning Down The House by Neil Bernstein. This book is about the Juvenile Justice system and the flaws that come with it. Instead of rehabilitating young kids to get their lives back on track, these detentions are taking life, liberty and resources and making their problems they came there with worse. The criminal justice system is always working to figure out why people commit crimes and how they are lead to a life of crime. Many times people within the criminal justice attempt to use predictors of adult incarceration like gang affiliation or poverty to explain why kids grow up and become criminals, but in fact the greatest predictor is if they were incarcerated in a juvenile facility. The damages this
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Juvenile facilities are prison for youths; these institutions were poorly funded, managed and very violent. With no rehabilitation opportunity these youths were isolated and the only contact they had with other humans were with the prison staff and it was generally hostile and very minimal. The system had a very vicious cycle set up where the same thing would always occur. Youths would enter the facility, already vulnerable, needy and impulse prone. They would not adapt well to being isolated from their family, friends and general human connection, therefore causing problems inside of the facility like fighting with one another, breaking a rule, causing problems with the staff or just breaking down emotionally. When this occurs the staff would isolate them even more and set up an environment that is cruel and denies any chance of succeeding. Bernstein makes it clear throughout the book that there is often no type of reform that can we can do to fix such a flawed and broken system, but rather it is necessary to acknowledge we failed and try something new. As Bernstein describes in the book, “The challenge is not simply to build a better mousetrap, but to reexamine every aspect of how we address delinquency, from taking on the racial, educational, social, and economic …show more content…
Over the years, there have been some major mistakes about how to handle juveniles who committed a crime. Isolating them and neglecting their emotions, interactions and relationships is doing nothing but hurting them for when they get out. The numbers and research show letting these children out of youth prisons has no affect on the safety of society. Troubled youths need rehabilitation and program that are tailored to their needs to get them on the right path. The incarceration rate of youths across the country is in the decline but there is still a lot of work to be done. Thousands of juveniles still remain locked behind bars and many of those pose no threat to society. “Nearly 42 percent of confined youths are still locked up for offenses that pose no threat to public safety: breaking school rules, running away from home, and missing a parole hearing.” (Bernstein, 308). In no way shape or form is it beneficial for children to be taken away from their families, friends, and communities and be put into a situation of oppression. The best method to cracking the case of how to develop a better system of punishment for kids who commit crimes is to talk to the kids who were juvenile criminals. By asking them what methods could have been effective for them to become a productive member of society it could give us the last piece to finally burning down the house for
Juvenile facilities are prison for youths; these institutions were poorly funded, managed and very violent. With no rehabilitation opportunity these youths were isolated and the only contact they had with other humans were with the prison staff and it was generally hostile and very minimal. The system had a very vicious cycle set up where the same thing would always occur. Youths would enter the facility, already vulnerable, needy and impulse prone. They would not adapt well to being isolated from their family, friends and general human connection, therefore causing problems inside of the facility like fighting with one another, breaking a rule, causing problems with the staff or just breaking down emotionally. When this occurs the staff would isolate them even more and set up an environment that is cruel and denies any chance of succeeding. Bernstein makes it clear throughout the book that there is often no type of reform that can we can do to fix such a flawed and broken system, but rather it is necessary to acknowledge we failed and try something new. As Bernstein describes in the book, “The challenge is not simply to build a better mousetrap, but to reexamine every aspect of how we address delinquency, from taking on the racial, educational, social, and economic …show more content…
Over the years, there have been some major mistakes about how to handle juveniles who committed a crime. Isolating them and neglecting their emotions, interactions and relationships is doing nothing but hurting them for when they get out. The numbers and research show letting these children out of youth prisons has no affect on the safety of society. Troubled youths need rehabilitation and program that are tailored to their needs to get them on the right path. The incarceration rate of youths across the country is in the decline but there is still a lot of work to be done. Thousands of juveniles still remain locked behind bars and many of those pose no threat to society. “Nearly 42 percent of confined youths are still locked up for offenses that pose no threat to public safety: breaking school rules, running away from home, and missing a parole hearing.” (Bernstein, 308). In no way shape or form is it beneficial for children to be taken away from their families, friends, and communities and be put into a situation of oppression. The best method to cracking the case of how to develop a better system of punishment for kids who commit crimes is to talk to the kids who were juvenile criminals. By asking them what methods could have been effective for them to become a productive member of society it could give us the last piece to finally burning down the house for