KIDS AND CRIME

January 2000
		Should juveniles who commit serious crimes be treated as adults? Cabrini College criminal justice professor Linda Collier and Northeastern University criminal justice professor James Fox respond to your questions.

Forum introduction Should parents be liable for their children's behavior? Can children in detention be rehabilitated by the age of 21? Should children be given special rehabilitation? Does putting kids in adult prison essentially mean throwing them away? If kids can commit adult crimes, shouldn't they get adult punishment?   Jan. 14, 2000: The youngest person ever convicted of murder receives his sentence. Dec. 16, 1999: A new study examines violence in America. Browse Online NewsHour coverage of youth, the law and education.     Join Together: A Resource site for reducing gun violence The office of Michigan Governor John Engler

Charles Benedetti of Chicago, IL asks: Shouldn’t children be given special rehab treatment instead of prison, so they can understand the severity of their crimes? If not, they'll never experience a real rehabilitation, nor moral development, which is what they need most.   Linda Collier responds: Based on information compiled by The Office of Juvenile Justice Programs in October of 1997, it was determined that there were 125,805 young persons assigned to 1,121 public and 2,310 private residential facilities. These numbers encompass both secured and non secured facilities. Nearly 1/4 of the juveniles were in facilities because of their involvement in crimes such as aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, arson, and burglary. Two percent had been charged or adjudicated with homicide or murder. Nathaniel Abraham is now resident among this crowd. Some sociologists feel that young people learn more from their peers than adults. If that is true, I would say given the above facts, Abraham's ability to be "specially" rehabilitated in this environment will be greatly challenged. We'll certainly have the opportunity to find out how good Michigan's youth detention centers are in another 8 years when Nate is 21 and released, free and clear. (Editor's note: Prof. Collier provided a single answer for this and the following question.)   James Fox responds: I sympathize with your view, and recognize that a juvenile detention center is not always the best place for rehabilitating an offender. But rehabilitation is not the only purpose of punishment. Given the fact that the crime was murder, despite his young age, some prison time is required to achieve a measure of justice. Fortunately, the prospects for rehabilitation are better within the juvenile system than had he been housed with adults (which sometimes happens unfortunately). We should also understand that some "rehabilitation" will naturally occur by virtue of maturation. There is evidence that teenagers (and even more so pre-teenagers like Nathaniel) are less capable than adults of thinking through the consequences of their actions. (Note I said less capable, but not incapable, and this reduced capacity justifies a juvenile sentence). People do change when they get older, and we all hope this happens with Nathaniel.