Treatment versus Punishment - That is the Question Research Paper

Treatment versus Punishment - That is the Question - Research Paper Example The juvenile courts, in large part, exist so as to rehabilitate the youth who have done wrong. To that end, the paper will discuss treatment as the most effective juvenile intervention strategy to counter crime since it bests support the over arching concept of social justice. Based on the current population reports, there are more than 75 million children who are under the age of 18 years in the U.S. This is more that 25% of the total population. This number is projected to rise to over 100 million in 2050. These indicate that there are various issues that affect the American children, and there an increased risk of these children falling into the juvenile justice system. The Federal Bureau of Investigations in its 2013 report, Crime in the United States, reported that about 2 million youths below the age of 18 are apprehended every year for crimes ranging from loitering, to kidnappings, to arson, to drug dealing, to murder, and even terrorism. Besides that, the report also found that more than 850,000 youths belong to street gangs. The statistics also indicate that most youths were arrested for arson attacks and crime on property with 1% having driven a car after drinking alcohol, 25% arrested for robbery, and 41% were arrested for vandalism. Most states and cities across the nation have enacted laws that automatically bypass the Juvenile Justice System. In Boston, New York and Chicago, there are higher rates of detention as well as probation within the minority ethnic and minority groups. Averagely, 57% were Black, 22% Hispanic, 10% White, 5% Asian, and 1% American-Indian. According the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (2012), there are over 7 million youths in Massachusetts. Youths aged 19 years and below make up 27% of the population in the state of Massachusetts. In Boston, 89% of the youths apprehended in 2010 were charged with nonviolent crimes.