for the Prevention of Child Abuse- a rate 50 percent higher than in 1985. Studies also indicate that the majority of prison inmates were abused as children. (e) Teen suicide rates increased nearly 20 percent during the 1980's. Side B also reminds us that the percentage of kids arrested has remained fairly constant during the past 10 to 15 years. The charges that juveniles that are sent to adult facilities (even if protected from the "population") are harassed and even raped at an alarming rate. There is also evidence that when a juvenile is waived, there is very little effort put forth to try and rehabilitate the offender. With my major being Criminal Justice Administration, I have done more than a little research on this subject. I feel that it is very important, to the society, to feel that the juveniles are being punished for their crimes, however, I believe that their rehabilitation is even more important. I believe that, up until the age of 18, every effort should be made to try an steer the juvenile in the right direction. If all that we do, as a society, is continue to punish the juveniles, and do nothing to address the root causes of the behavior then we will never see an improvement in the statistics. I feel that we need to realize that we should not throw a child away because a mistake in judgment, made as a child. We should never forget that however we choose to treat our nations children, we are shaping, in them, the future of our country. Works Cited Richard C. Monk. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Crime and Criminology. Rose Giallombardo. Juvenile Deliquency: A Book of Readings Word Count: 972 ...
