Pre Existing Strategies For Youth Offending

Pre Existing Strategies For Youth Offending For over a decade Labours three successive administrations from 1997 to 2010 has left the youth justice system in a state of near permanent reform. With almost two decades prior to 1997 in opposition Labour had the opportunity to implement ready-made polices on criminal justice which started with the youth justice system by adopting a root and branch reform agenda.  [2]  This paper will critically review the policies pursued by Governments over the past fourteen years to address the social causes of crime amongst young people. The primary question this paper will ask is whether these policies have made a difference to either crime figures or recidivism amongst juveniles. The paper will initially begin by discussing the pre-existing strategies on youth crime employed before the last fourteen years which is crucial to critically reviewing the laws development over the past fourteen years. The second part of this paper will focus on the strategies employed to deal with the social ca uses of youth crime. The final section of the paper will draw the paper together by discussing the impact of the strategies employed by the various Governments to deal and manage youth justice offending by examining their impact upon youth offending. Pre-Existing Strategies for Youth Offending: Much of the twentieth-century juvenile justice system was characterised by a double taxonomy which can be best described as punishment and welfare.  [3]  The last fifty years have seen a bewildering complexity of shifts in the approach of the police, courts and various governmental agencies established to respond to youth offending and the social causes of crime.  [4]  It has been a dissected mix of governmental policies that alternate between punitive punishment and a welfare or care approach. The literature presents the 1960s as a high point in the development of welfarism in the youth justice system with a shift away from penal punishment to family councils and family courts to deal with juvenile offending and the surrounding social causes of youth crime.  [5]   The coming to power of the Conservative government in the 1970s brought a shift back to punitive punishment for youth offenders with an increasing use of juvenile courts with custodial sentences rising from 3000 in 1970 to over 7000 in 1978.  [6]  Alongside this shift towards a strong sharp punishment of youth offending in England and Wales, Scotland sought to introduce an alternative approach with the introduction of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. An underlying feature of this approach to youth offending were welfare tribunals which used lay people such as social workers, teachers and family representatives in coming together to manage youth offending in a collaborative way to tackle both the wider social causes of youth offending and the individual offence under consideration. Pratt argues that there were four major sets of criticisms of the welfare model of youth justice: firstly the treatment-orientated interventions were perceived to be ineffective.  [7]  Secondly, evidence suggested that care could become more coercive than punishment. Thirdly, professional expertise of the members of the tribunals was less important than it was perceived to be, in that members were serving with little experience of juvenile offending. Fourthly, the care model of justice was alleged to be ineffective at dealing with youth delinquency. The election of the Conservative government during the 1980s with a law and order agenda produced a mixed approach to youth offending yet again.  [8]  The 1980s brought an introduction of a multi-agency approach to youth offending and the social causes of crime, with an increased use of formal and informal cautioning of youth offenders which distinguished first offenders from repeat offenders. A distinctive feature of this approac h to youth offending was the introduction of the concept of corporatism into the youth justice system which allowed a system to produce efficient, effective justice that worked.  [9]  The focus was on delivering a youth justice framework that worked efficiently delivering value for money for the government using cheaper alternatives than the court system. The youth justice model of the 1980s enjoined the 1990s with a marriage of punitive sentencing of repeat offenders with an incoherent cautioning system for first time youth offenders which the police patrolled without any consistency.  [10]   New Labour, New Youth Justice Police? It is arguable that, amongst other issues, Labour won its first general election under the banner of its tough talk on criminal justice issues.  [11]  By taking a mixed approach between retributive justice and restorative justice Labour sought to increase the States control, regulation and mangerialism of criminal behaviour and the social causes surrounding crime.  [12]   Labour sought to formulate its youth justice policies around a development of pre-existing philosophies of restorative justice values and practice including responsibility, restoration and reintegration, which would draw upon the experience of the existing framework.  [13]  Labour presented a Third way to deal with law and order which centred upon tackling the youth crime which were premised upon making young people take responsibility for crime through the concepts of responsibility, restoration and reintegration.  [14]  The centre piece of reform manifested itself in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 which have sought to bring restorative elements and values on a formal platform within youth justice.  [15]  In essence the statutory framework represented a clear attempt at modernising youth justice based on empirical evidence.  [16]   The reform advanced by Labour to deal with the social causes of youth offending effectively represented a new youth justice system composed of a Youth Justice Board (YJB) at national level and a multi-agency Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) at local level to administer the youth justice framework.  [17]  This multi-level and multi-agency approach to youth justice redefined the architecture of the youth justice apparatus by reconfiguring the lines of power, management and responsibility.  [18]  In addition to redefining the youth justice apparatus within the criminal justice system, Labour adopted a twin track approach with a perpetual stream of legislative reform focused on reformulating the punishment framework within criminal justice. The main stay of the reforms was provided in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which established the Youth Justice Board, Youth Offending Teams and for a restructuring of the non-custodial penalties available to the Youth Court, other reforms included: anti-social behaviour orders (ASBO) and action plans, to reparation orders and parenting orders.  [19]  For offenders under 18, the system of police cautioning was replaced with a new system of reprimand and warnings, to allow young offenders to have the opportunity of at least one reprimand and one final warning prior to prosecution.  [20]   Newburn argues that the new reforms implemented sought to allow restorative values where possible within youth justice through the development of restorative cautioning, action plans and reparation orders.  [21]  The action plan represented an attempt to allow youth offenders to begin a short intensive programme of community intervention combining punishment, rehabilitation and reparation to change the offending behaviour and prevent further crime.  [22]  Although Labour sought to redraw the criminal justice agenda many of the reforms introduced echoed and resembled the multi-agency approach of the 1980s.  [23]  The crucial difference between this fresh attempt at reform was that part of the multi-agency approach this time was not to divert but rather to intervene and become involved in the process.  [24]  A central driving force in Labours restorative reforms was the influence of communitarian thinking, particularly with the introduction of reparation orders and rest orative cautioning.  [25]  The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 placed local authorities with the responsibility of formulating and implementing annual youth justice plans which dealt with the social causes of crime amongst other priorities. Gelsthorpe and Morris argue that the reforms introduced will allow restorative processes to occupy a marginal place within criminal justice until contradictory values and practices of blaming and punishing are given significantly less emphasis and restorative values and practices are given significantly more emphasis.  [26]  A potential flaw of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 presented in the literature is that significant elements inherent in the reforms are premised on the basis of proportionality which is characteristic of punitive punishment. Wasik identifies that the reparation order is subjected to the normal requirements of proportionality which is linked to the retributive justice value of responsibility of the offender for the crime.  [27]  The central concern among advocates of restorative justice is that this model will not operate with the full potential of restorative justice values and principles which could over time gradually become more punitive than restorat ive in nature. Much of the debate throughout the literature focuses on the various elements of the reforms which can be considered to have restorative ideals.  [28]  The most significant reform was the introduction of Referral Orders as part of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. Dignan and Marsh argue that Referral Orders are potentially one of the most radical aspects of the entire youth justice reform agenda where the court can divert the young offender away from the courts system to deal with the offending behaviour through restorative approaches.  [29]  Crawford and Newburn argue that the reforms implemented by Labour were heavily influenced by the what works paradigm and the language of risk factors.  [30]   Conclusion: Goldson argues that Labour introduced an unprecedented corpus of youth justice legislation both in terms of reach and volume.  [31]  Fergusson argues that the approach to youth offending became a melting pot of contradictions, ideals and ideologies where a hybrid model emerges which encompasses a dissected mix of restorative and retributive values.  [32]  Fergusson correctly identifies that the way governments present policy rhetorically, how they codify it legally, and how those policies are played out in practice are critically different facets of the policy process in the management of crime.  [33]   Successive governments have responded to the social causes of youth crime in various ways throughout the last five decades, in particular the latest strategy employed a double edged sword which leans heavily on punitive punishment for adult offenders with a more welfarist approach in dealing with youth offenders.  [34]  Restorative justice undoubtedly represents one of the most significant developments in criminal justice and criminological practice and thinking over the past two decades.  [35]  It is arguably the social movement for criminal justice reform of the 1990s and into the new millennium.  [36]   Empirical evidence emanating from America, Australia and New Zealand indicate that where the use of restorative justice is prevalent for young offenders, there has been success at reducing youth offending rates and a reduction in repeat offending resulting in greater effectiveness at dealing with youth crime and the social causes of crime.  [37]   The net effect of these new policies aimed at the reduction of youth crime and tackling the social causes of crime represent a more integrated approach by the state to manage youth offending rates. The policies acknowledge the failures of the previous strategies of strict punitive punishment as a deterrent for further offences. The approach of incorporating restorative values, although arguable only at the fringes of the youth justice system, represents a more inclusive justice system which takes into account mechanisms to address the social causes of youth offending.

Native Americans in the United States Essay

Based on the ethnic groups (Table 1: Appendix), several beneficial values that helped to shape the United States lifestyle can be described (Holland, 2006). In particular, the brief summaries have given the clear picture of Multiculturalism in the United States in relation to the origin. The United States, for that matter, is captured as a multicultural society that is open to all people with different backgrounds. From an early time, several groups started moving into the region due to various reasons, which allowed for the development of a culturally diverse society. Hence, the United States substantially benefited from the cultural diversity as improved workforce was available for the various work scenarios. Despite the obvious benefits of multiculturalism in the society, some negative forms such as racism, stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination flourished over several years (Holland, 2006). In the recent past, for example, several ethnic groups such as the African American, Hispanic, and Indian Americans have continually suffered racism, discrimination, and being depicted in certain stereotypes. Firstly, segregation between the Whites and Blacks was a key characteristic of the population before the rise of the civil rights during the 1950s and over (Holland, 2006). Workplaces, schools, commuter busses, and residential areas were segregated between the two groups until in 1954 when segregation in schools was banned. As a result, people started integrating on a multicultural perspective, which led to the realization of better performances and solutions for the workplaces. Besides the significant leap ahead, other factors such as prejudice and stereotyping still exist at the current date. For instance, the African American and Hispanic groups have been stereotyped in the villainous characters such as gangsters, robbers and the like for several decades (Holland, 2006). Such beliefs have existed for several years and are even a common occurrence in media the same way. Hand in hand, prejudice has also resulted from the occurrences. Therefore, prejudice and stereotypes are a normal situation in the culturally diverse environment of the United States. However, the multicultural nature of the country’s population resulted in some positive factors such as creation of a multicultural workforce that can meet the requirements of the target population in an effective manner (Kenyon, 2005). In connection to that, all the ethnic groups in the American landscape are subject to some positive, as well as, negative aspects of the cultural diversity. As a result, prejudice, stereotypes, racism, and discrimination that were once extremely high have considerably low effects on the modern and socially active populations. In conclusion, the United States still leads with regards to the benefits of cultural diversity among its people. Table 1: Multicultural Matrix and Analysis Worksheet. Part I: Matrix What is the group’s history in the United States? What is the group’s population in the United States? What are some attitudes and customs people of this group may practice? What is something you admire about this group’s people, lifestyle, or society? 1. The African American Several African American people are linked to a history of slavery since their ancestors were brought in the United States as slaves. This happened first during the 1600s-1700s, and where they assisted English colonialists to get American independence. Later, prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to change discrimination against Blacks. As a result, a breakthrough into the rampant segregation between the whites and blacks reduced. The African American has an approximate population of about 37 million forming about 13 percent of the total population of the United States. The African Americans are characterized by the practice of several cultural activities depicted in their music, art, and lifestyle. As such, they form a significant part of the USA as their culture substantially influenced the American culture. I appreciate the African American lifestyle and their music such as Hip-hop and reggae music. Additionally, I love their celebrations such as the Black history celebrations in which they remember their historic past. 2. The Hispanic and Latino American The Spanish became among the first settlers, before Europeans, to settle in some areas of America such as Florida and California. Several people of this group speak the English language only and have adopted the European-American Culture. On average, the Latino and Hispanic population in the United States is approximately 16 percent of the whole population. This accounts to almost 50 million people. The Hispanics are depicted as religious people who believe in helping one another. Families may be nuclear or extended, and the father is the final decision maker in the family setting, while the mother is the home care taker. However, all family members are expected to assist in the effective functioning of the setting. I love Hispanic music and their musicians such as Ricky Martin and Jenifer Lopez. Additionally, their Mexican foods are an excellent appetizer that I always cannot ignore. 3. The Indian American The Indian American officially became legal citizen in the United States in 1946. The Indians immigrated into the United States via other countries such as Jamaica, South Africa, and United Kingdom among other countries. The Indian population in America is reasonably low at approximately 0. 89 percent of the whole population. As such, this reflects to about 2. 5 million people. The Indian Americans have a strict cultural background and adhere to strict rule on religion, culture, and food among several other practices. Their religions are diverse and may include Hinduism, Islamism, Christianity, and Buddhism. I value the cultural practices of Indians especially those practicing Hinduism as they have fascinating ideas. One example is the caste system, where once in a low or high case system; one is destined to remain right there. 4. The American Asian Asians of the Chinese background came into the United States due to mainly conflicts from their countries. One situation was the Vietnam War, which led to massive migration of the affected into the USA. In the 1970s and 1980s, therefore, was time for the largest Asian migration into the United States. The Americans Asian account for about 5 percent of the United States’ population. As a result of cultural diversity, the American Asians are exposed to several challenges. I admire the Chinese way of life that comprises of fun in the form of art and craft. Additionally, I find pleasure watching some of their movies and appreciate the Yoga. 5. The Native Americans The Native Americans were the original settlers of the United States of America. Relevant sources indicate that they enabled undetectable communication during the World War II using their native language. As pertains to name, the Native Americans are recognized as the first settlers of the United States. However, they account for a small population percentage of about 1 percent. The Native Americans culture show dissimilar practices in all other nations. In particular, those living on reservations show dissimilar cultures from the ones not living on reservations; however, some similarities may exist in their heritage and traditions. The Native Americans fascinate me with their incredible lifestyle such as them living in tepees and their spiritualism. 6. The Bahamian American The Bahamian American migrated into the United States from the Caribbean during the late 19th century in search for job offers in the agricultural sector. The Bahamian American has an extremely low population of about 40,000 people. Hence, it accounts for approximately 0.01 percent of the whole population. Bahamian Americans preserved their cultural heritage; hence, have a distinguished way of living and culture. The Bahamian way of living and cultural heritage provides an excellent measure of modern living from historical setting. Their cultural practices are engaging. Part II: Analysis Basing on the above listed ethnic groups, several beneficial values that helped to shape the United States lifestyle can be described. In particular, the brief summaries have given the clear picture of Multiculturalism in the United States in relation to the origin. The United States, for that matter, is captured as a multicultural society that is open to all people with different backgrounds. From an early time, several groups started moving into the region due to various reasons, which allowed for the development of a culturally diverse society. Hence, the United States substantially benefited from the cultural diversity as improved workforce was available for the various work scenarios. Despite the obvious benefits of multiculturalism in the society, some negative forms such as racism, stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination flourished over several years. In the recent past, for example, several ethnic groups such as the African American, Hispanic, and Indian Americans have continually suffered racism, discrimination, and being depicted in certain stereotypes. Firstly, segregation between the Whites and Blacks was a key characteristic of the population before the rise of the civil rights during the 1950s and over. Workplaces, schools, commuter busses, and residential areas were segregated between the two groups until in 1954 when segregation in schools was banned. As a result, people started integrating on a multicultural perspective, which led to the realization of better performances and solutions for the workplaces. Besides the significant leap ahead, other factors such as prejudice and stereotyping still exist at the current date. For instance, the African American and Hispanic groups have been stereotyped in the villainous characters such as gangsters, robbers and the like for several decades. Such beliefs have existed for several years and are even a common occurrence in media the same way. Hand in hand, prejudice has also resulted from the occurrences. Therefore, prejudice and stereotypes are a normal situation in the culturally diverse environment of the United States. However, the multicultural nature of the country’s population resulted in some positive factors such as creation of a multicultural workforce that can meet the requirements of the target population in an effective manner. In connection to that, all the ethnic groups in the American landscape are subject to some positive, as well as, negative aspects of the cultural diversity. As a result, prejudice, stereotypes, racism, and discrimination that were once extremely high have considerably low effects on the modern and socially active populations. In conclusion, the United States still leads with regards to the benefits of cultural diversity among its people. Part III: Sources Holland, C. (2006). Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Central America: An Historical Perspective. Retrieved November 12, 2011 from the Prolades Website: http://www. prolades. com/Ethnic_Religious_Diversity_CAM-Holland. pdf Kenyon, A. (2005). The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace. Retrieved November 11, 2011 from the Leading Today Website: http://www. leading today. org/Onmag/2005%20Archives/may05/ak-may05. html Reference List Holland, C. (2006). Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Central America: An Historical Perspective Retrieved November 12, 2011 from the Prolades Website: http://www. prolades. com/Ethnic_Religious_Diversity_CAM-Holland. pdf Kenyon, A. (2005). The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace Retrieved November 11, 2011 from the Leading Today Website: http://www. leading today. org/Onmag/2005%20Archives/may05/ak-may05. html.

An Inspector Calls- How Priestly Presents Arthur Birling Essay

Arthur Birling is a self-centred man intent on climbing the class ladder, even at the expense of his family and employees. He regularly uses his obsessive behaviour over status to invoke popularity or power within a particular crowd, which is evident in the very first scenes of the play when Birling says to Gerald: ‘It’s exactly the same port your father gets from him’, suggesting Mr Birling bought it in order to imitate a more prominent societal figure as well as to gain a rapport with Croft. Similarly, Birling tries this technique with the Inspector, however this time to gain leverage over him by asking if he sees much of ‘Chief Constable, Colonel Roberts’, following up his threat with a disclosure of his superiority; â€Å"He’s an old friend of mine†¦I see him fairly. We play golf together†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This was intended to make the Inspector feel belittled and impressed by Birling’s relationship with the Chief Constable, however Priestly makes this decidedly lost on the Inspector, because as a symbol of socialism, he wouldn’t care. One thing Priestly in particular was grateful for after the World Wars was the newfound merging of classes, reflected her in An Inspector Calls by the Inspector’s indifference towards Birling’s titles and wealth. It shows that Birling, regardless of how much money he has or who he knows, is still being investigated for neglecting his social responsibilities. This ultimately shows Socialism as uncorrupted when juxtaposed against the 1912 society where the belief was that if you were rich enough, you weren’t guilty of anything, which is why Birling is outraged by the Inspector’s visit; â€Å"†¦we’re respectable citizens and not criminals!† Despite the possibility that Mr Birling perhaps had an uneasy upbringing, occasionally indicated by his faux pars, which his wife readily berates him for (‘(reproachfully) Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things-‘), Priestly leaves no room for the audience to sympathise with Birling because in doing so, Capitalism would be accommodated for. To remedy this, Birling is presented as a fool to the modern and 1945 audience by describing the Titanic as ‘†¦unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.’ As well as wrongly predicting that there wouldn’t be war. As a result, the audiences, likely emotionally affected by these events, would be angered at Mr Birling’s stupidity, making him instantly unlikeable. Coincidentally, J.B Priestly transforms the illusion of grand Capitalism to one of supreme naivety at  Birling’s failure to see past his own self-importance. This sides the audience with what seems to be the only other option that they won’t condemn themselves to this 1912 attitude; Socialism. In essence, Priestly shows that Birling and people like him are a negative part of society because of their refusal to hold any responsibility for anyone other than themselves; â€Å"I can’t accept responsibility†. This in turn steers the audience away from Capitalism by using Mr Birling’s selfishness as a warning to us all: If we don’t accept the responsibility we owe to other people, then no matter who we are, or which walk of life we come from, we will be as foolish as Mr Birling.

The American Criminal Justice System - 1398 Words

The American Criminal Justice system is arguably one of the most fair systems in the world. However, like anything it has its flaws. There are many flaws but the largest three, in my opinion, would be the fact that we have the highest incarceration rate of any other country, the high penalties for drug users, as well as the jury system. The high incarceration rates and the penalties for drug users affect each other but they are still issues on their own. In fact, many of issues within our system coincide within each other. Addressing the incarceration rate issue, since 2002 the United States of America has had the largest incarceration rate in the world. Other countries have hovered around one hundred prisoners per one hundred thousand population, however the United States. has been at approximately five hundred prisoners per one hundred thousand population. In America men have fourteen times higher incarceration rate than women, is it because men commit more crimes than women? Or is there a bias on the male population. The Telegraph, A magazine operating from the United Kingdom, says that women commit petty crimes and their criminal careers are shorter lived, and this has been going on since the early 1970’s. The top five sources of incarceration in america from least common to most common are offenses that everyone can think of. Assault, which accounts for more than one million offenses each year. Larceny, also known as theft is also one of the largest felonies inShow MoreRelatedThe American Criminal Justice System873 Words   |  4 PagesThe American criminal justice system has set up laws and by breaking the laws would be considered a crime, and depending on the crime that is broken have different types of degrees. And these crimes can be broken into three different categorize and whether or not it will be classified as a felony, misdemeanor or an infraction. 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