The goal of juvenile detention centers should be to ensure that the individual, on release, can be a functional law-abiding citizen.
Currently 54,000 juveniles are in youth prisons. If it were one prison system, “it would be the fifth largest in the US”.
The greatest concern about juvenile detention centers is whether or not it is creating a culture of violence in which these thousands of children develop.
Much of our personal moral template is developed in our adolescent years. If an individual grows up in a culture away from home, where violence is common, that will likely become the only way they know how to live. …show more content…
Exceptional leaders have the ability to create a culture of candor. Lifting barriers, therefore creating a more transparent organization will create a safer environment for the children.
Members of these organizations should be encouraged to take complete responsibility for their job. Each member has an integral part in the rehabilitation of the criminal youth. By creating value in their jobs, a culture of accountability and responsibility will exist.
These few shifts in the organizational ethics of juvenile detention centers could create a better system for correcting criminal behaviors.
If the children develop in a safe environment where criminal behavior is discouraged, a different personal moral template could develop. One that is more ethically sound, and creates an individual that can be a functional citizen in society. There is however an alternative to the current system. Research has shown that keeping kids close to home under supervision works better at avoiding recidivism, then sending them to state institutions.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were two of the first politicians to realize how important it is to keep children close to home. In 2012, Close to Home legislation