"Our criminal justice system’s treatment of those who have committed
violent acts needs to change, said panelists Thursday at a presentation
of two new papers by the Square One Project and the Emerging Adult
Justice Learning Community.
The papers “Reconsidering the Violent Offender,” by the Square One
Project and “Thinking About Emerging Adults and Violent Crime,” by the
Emerging Adult Justice Learning Community provide research and
recommendations about combatting violence and treating those with
violent charges.
“The number one factor propping these systems up now is how we detain
and sentence people we call violent offenders,” said Jim Austin, one of
the authors of the Square One Project’s Paper. “We have to do something
about the way we do this if we want to have any hope of lowering mass
incarceration.”
Many individuals are labeled as violent offenders who are not
actually violent, such as Sandra Bland, who was charged for with assault
for kicking an officer, Austin pointed out.
“Once you get that label applied to you, there are severe
consequences,” Austin said, noting that these individuals are less
likely to be released pretrial, have longer sentences, less
opportunities to appeal to a parole board, and higher supervision upon
release.
Read on...
Link to Full Text:
Square One Project: Reconsidering the "Violent Offender"
Thinking About Emerging Adults and Violent Crime
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Showing posts with label young adult offenders in the criminal justice system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label young adult offenders in the criminal justice system. Show all posts
How Far Should "Raise-the-Age" Reforms Go?
"While the US imposes an age of majority on youthful offenders at the age of 18, many other nations rely on higher ages such as 20 or 21 to demarcate the separation of juvenile offenders and juvenile correctional systems from their adult counterparts.
In recent years, many have argued that the US should move to a higher age of majority, such as 21. Such changes, generally known as 'raise-the-age' reforms, are currently under consideration by several state legislatures, such as Connecticut and Illinois. Moreover, many states have already passed legislation raising the age of majority from 16 or 17, to the age of 18.
Advocates for these changes argue that corrections systems need to account for the lack of emotional, psychological, and intellectual maturity in youthful offenders. In particular, they argue that youthful offenders may not be mature enough to properly understand the costs of the harsher punishments that characterize adult correctional systems, and therefore to understand the consequences of their criminal acts....
A recent research paper ....finds that this narrative of costless improvement is very likely incorrect. We find that youth are in fact deterred by the harsher punishments imposed at the age of majority."
View the Full-Text Article
"While the US imposes an age of majority on youthful offenders at the age of 18, many other nations rely on higher ages such as 20 or 21 to demarcate the separation of juvenile offenders and juvenile correctional systems from their adult counterparts.
In recent years, many have argued that the US should move to a higher age of majority, such as 21. Such changes, generally known as 'raise-the-age' reforms, are currently under consideration by several state legislatures, such as Connecticut and Illinois. Moreover, many states have already passed legislation raising the age of majority from 16 or 17, to the age of 18.
Advocates for these changes argue that corrections systems need to account for the lack of emotional, psychological, and intellectual maturity in youthful offenders. In particular, they argue that youthful offenders may not be mature enough to properly understand the costs of the harsher punishments that characterize adult correctional systems, and therefore to understand the consequences of their criminal acts....
A recent research paper ....finds that this narrative of costless improvement is very likely incorrect. We find that youth are in fact deterred by the harsher punishments imposed at the age of majority."
View the Full-Text Article
Young Adult Offenders Inquiry
"Research from a range of disciplines strongly supports the view that young adults are a distinct group with needs that are different both from children under 18 and adults older than 25, underpinned by the developmental maturation process that takes place in this age group. In the context of the criminal justice system this is important as young people who commit crime typically stop doing so by their mid-20s.
Those who decide no longer to commit crime can have their efforts to achieve this frustrated both by their previous involvement in the criminal justice system due to the consequences of having criminal records, and limitations in achieving financial independence due to lack of access to affordable accommodation or well-paid employment as wages and benefits are typically lower for this age group."
View the UK Justice Committee's Report of its Inquiry on Young Adult Offenders
"Research from a range of disciplines strongly supports the view that young adults are a distinct group with needs that are different both from children under 18 and adults older than 25, underpinned by the developmental maturation process that takes place in this age group. In the context of the criminal justice system this is important as young people who commit crime typically stop doing so by their mid-20s.
Those who decide no longer to commit crime can have their efforts to achieve this frustrated both by their previous involvement in the criminal justice system due to the consequences of having criminal records, and limitations in achieving financial independence due to lack of access to affordable accommodation or well-paid employment as wages and benefits are typically lower for this age group."
View the UK Justice Committee's Report of its Inquiry on Young Adult Offenders
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