Title: Juvenile Delinquency
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Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is a significant dilemma for the United States criminal justice system. For decades, state correctional and youth probation agencies, have struggled in determining which rehabilitative strategies would reduce chances of juveniles re-engaging in crime once released back into society. The state of Texas, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and the Texas State Board of Education, created an educational program specifically designed to provide juvenile detainees with academic credit for graduation. Juvenile detention centers believe the correctional of education programs, music and art into its curriculum are policies against engagement in crime.
Juvenile offenders, are provided with little academic training and support while in detention. According to a 2017 article in Teen Vogue magazine, the Council of State Governments Justice Center estimates the average cost of sheltering one juvenile range from one to three hundred dollars. Merely thirteen states offer state-certified, educational services, while nine offers accredited vocational classes (PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs, 2017).
These policies secure adolescents from experiencing depression and sexual violence once released in society as well as a job opportunity when released. (PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs, 2017). These negative factors stimulate the need for juveniles to re-enlist into a life of criminality as a means of escape.
A General Theory of Crime proposes, a person exhibiting low restraint, with little to no constructive, parental guidance, is highly susceptible to adverse environmental stimuli (Cullen, Agnew and Wilcox, 2018). The theorists argue that low self-control is not dependent on crime and can be remedied by positive interaction. (Cullen et al., 2018). If favorable influences are introduced to a person who actively engages in music, theoretically, the individual’s self-control level will elevate, and the likelihood of the individual continuing with the crime will decrease.
A partnership in Austin, Texas, has successfully enhanced the quality of life for local adolescent detainees by providing academic credit and introducing valuable social, behavioral, and cognitive skills. In 2010, the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Facility in Travis County joined forces with its local Austin Independent School District as well as the University of Texas at Austin Center for Music Learning, and the Austin Classical Guitar School (Marcum, 2014).
On holidays professional musicians provide individual and group guitar lessons while educating students on sheet music and instrument maintenance .(Marcum, 2014). Because of its growing success, program supervisors believe a statewide program would benefit all juvenile detainees currently residing in Texas correctional facilities.
Coupling rehabilitation with programs provide detainees with a safe and controlled outlet for aggression, frustration as well as offer academic credit hence a reduction in criminal behavior. Incorporation of a musically-based program into the educational structure of Texas Juvenile Justice Department, offers entertaining and thought-provoking activities to all juvenile detainees, allowing for stress release, team-building skills, cognitive exercise, and academic advancement. These would re-direct young criminals away from the disadvantages of crime, thereby lowering the overall juvenile recidivism rate.
References
Cullen, F., Agnew, R., & Wilcox, P. (Eds.). (2018). Criminological theory: Past to present (6th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Marcum, T. (2014). Artistry in lockdown: Transformative music experiences for students in juvenile detention. Music Educators Journal.
PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs. (2017, music played an essential role for these incarcerated youth. Teen Vogue, Retrieved from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/music-played-an-important-role-for-these-incarcerated-youth.
