Recidivism
The high rates of recidivism within youth offenders that occur across the nation is a reflection of the failures of policies aimed at preventing youth crime. The mass incarceration of juvenile offenders does not prevent or deter crime, as evidenced in modern studies
- 70% of youth paroled from California state institutions were rearrested within two years.
- The US Southwest as a region had a rearrest rate of 85% within five years
Why do youths face such high rates of re-arrest?
The effects of juveniles being placed in detention facilities are far-reaching and compounding in the life of a mentally ill youth offender.
- having a criminal record excludes the child from legitimate employment and education opportunities, thus forcing the child back into a life of crime as a way to earn money and support themselves
- detention facilities rarely offer comprehensive, sufficient and appropriate rehabilitative services, and the juvenile will often be released back into the public with worsening or new mental health problems
- lack of community-based rehabilitative services post-release leaves mental illness and substance abusers untreated and poorly supervised
What can be done to reduce the rates of recidivism?
Current and past studies show that programs that focus on deterrence, surveillance or discipline - such as the current juvenile justice system in America- tend to increase the rate of recidivism.
Successful programs that actually improve rates of recidivism tend to focus on certain risk factors that youngsters are exposed to, as well as the development of new skills. Programs that identify and provide treatment for specific risk factors such as anger problems, lack of self-control, lack of affection, lack of role models and poor academic skills have shown to decrease rates of recidivism by 20%.
Programs that focus on developing problem-solving and perspective-taking skills have shown to decrease rates of recidivism by 26%.
Successful programs that actually improve rates of recidivism tend to focus on certain risk factors that youngsters are exposed to, as well as the development of new skills. Programs that identify and provide treatment for specific risk factors such as anger problems, lack of self-control, lack of affection, lack of role models and poor academic skills have shown to decrease rates of recidivism by 20%.
Programs that focus on developing problem-solving and perspective-taking skills have shown to decrease rates of recidivism by 26%.