Should Juvenile Criminal Justice System Focus on Rehabilitation or Punishment? (Essay Sample)

Should Juvenile Criminal Justice System focus on Rehabilitation or Punishment?
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Should Juvenile Criminal Justice System focus on Rehabilitation or Punishment?
The crime rate has been on the rise across the globe and this has been attributed to the way youths are being raised as they grow up. As a result, many countries are trying to come up with the best ways to solve the problem conclusively. This paper will show that the criminal justice system should focus on the rehabilitation of the youth rather than punishing them. This is attributed to the fact that rehabilitation is more effective as compared to a punishment which worsens the problem further.
Firstly, youths get to be affected in a negative way depending on the environment and the family they are raised. A good example is the leader of the dance group whose father was alcoholic, meaning that he learned this from family (Milgram, 2013). Despite being a good dancer, he happened to take excess alcohol together with the friend after which they got into a fight, and one person lost his life. Although the incident ended by breaking the set laws it was not intentional. The punishment meted which was being taken to the observation home was not helpful to the boy. This is because after being released nothing changed as he was in the same state. On the other hand, if he would be rehabilitated, he would have learned the negative effects of alcohol and how to quit drinking which would have changed him for the better.
Secondly, children get to be rescued from various negative practices such as child trafficking, abusive homes, and also crimes and taken to children’s homes. Although they are provided food and shelter, they are being punished because they do not receive any adult care which is very important to children while still growing up and also there being no restoration and healing of children who have come across difficult situations this is another form of punishment (Milgram, 2013). It would be helpful and effective to rehabilitate children in children’s home by providing them with caregivers who would give children emotional support as a result of the things they have gone through and experience that may be negative, and also being restored by being shown the positive side of life that they can still be the better version of themselves. This would be much effective because they will have received the much-needed support mentally, quit crime, and would have acquired ideas on better living.