Alternatives to Incarceration
Alternative to incarceration refers to a punishment other than involving jails or prison for an individual who is found guilty of a crime. There has been a history of alternative punishments with a special focus on past few decades. Here, it is also important to mention that juvenile are individuals that have not reached the mature age or have not grown into majors in legal terms (ACLU, 2016). So any crime committed by this category of individuals will be regarded as juvenile delinquency or juvenile crime.
Several alternatives to incarceration for juvenile have been introduced over the period of time. Three major alternatives are discussed as follows:
Early Intervention: it includes programs that are based on “nip in the bud” approach to the matter of crime. It involves visiting homes and teaching parents the ways to keep their children saved from indulging into criminal activities in certain ways (ACLU, 2016).
Education in Prison: This program applies to those who are found convicted of crimes. They are taught the importance of moral values, and their thought is put into right direction through psychological therapies and training (ACLU, 2016).
Community Based Programs: Such programs are implemented on a community level. Youth is encouraged to join certain social groups where people share their ideas based on the importance of leading crime-free life and sticking to moral values. Canada’s ‘Omega Boys Club’ is an example of community based program (ACLU, 2016).
It is found that alternative to incarceration involves several benefits on an economic level. For example, according to research conducted most recently, it is found that the youth involved in criminal activities is accounted for a high percentage. Furthermore, out of 1000,00 of those, 70,000 are found to be in prison causing an approximate cost of $28,000 per year (Juvenile Justice, 2016). Therefore, alternative punishment is a two-dimensional solution with reference to the economy. On one hand, it will allow this inactive percentage of youth to contribute actively towards economic development. Secondly, it will also provide relief to law enforcement institutions by saving the cost incurred as a result of managing overcrowded jails. Being a better source of preventing crime, it is also likely to reduce the crime rate ensuring long term benefits and cost saving (Johnson, 2009).
In addition to advantages on an economic level, there are also significant social benefits of using techniques alternative to incarceration. For example, educational programs, especially those that are initiated at early stages of development, are a great source of minimizing crime rate. In this way, people will feel safe and secure. Adherence to the moral standard will accelerate the march towards the goal of making this world a better place to live. Preventing the juvenile from crime and showing them the path of morality ensures bright future of society, as moral values thrive in such kind of atmosphere. One of the most important aspects of this strategy is that it creates alignment between society and government policy (ACLU, 2016). Thus, both play an active role in social development through different educational and other programs.
References
ACLU. (2016). Alternatives to Youth Incarceration. Retrieved August 29, 2016, from https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/youth-incarceration/alternatives-youth-incarceration
Johnson, L. (2009). New Reports Highlight Economic Benefits of Alternatives to Incarceration. Justice Policy Institute. Retrieved August 29, 2016, from http://www.justicepolicy.org/news/1929
Juvenile Justice. (2016). Community-Based Alternatives. Retrieved August 29, 2016, from http://jjie.org/hub/community-based-alternatives/
