Juvenile Recidivism In Los Angeles

Act of recidivism is highly common among individuals who were earlier associated with drug abuse or criminal activities.

Juveniles tend to commit crimes or mistakes as a result of a variety of reasons that include poor family relationships, poor performance in schools, abusive childhood or drug abuse. As per the statistics, recidivism in juvenile offenders is estimated to be almost 40-50 percent in individuals released from a correctional facility or a rehabilitation center. Apart from escalating criminal behavior, juvenile recidivism is an additional burden on taxpayers. As per an estimate, a juvenile criminal cases costs nearly $7,000. A major part of this money can be saved if appropriate measures are taken by the government to prevent juvenile recidivism.

With the objective of reducing juvenile recidivism and an intention of making juvenile offenders socially responsible, Los Angeles County had initiated various programs. The most prominent among these is a highly successful and an award-winning program known as JOIN or Juvenile Offender Intervention Network program. JOIN is a voluntary program that provides an alternative to the juvenile court in handling non-violent, first-time juvenile offenders between the age of 10 and 17. Under this program, offenders are immediately held accountable for their offences and are imposed with appropriate “punishment”. These punishments or consequences help minors understand the seriousness of their mistakes. Consequences include apologizing and making restitution payment for damages to the victims, performing community service, attending schools and participating in counseling sessions. Another advantage of this program is that the individual completing this program will have their names removed from the criminal records.

Another such program is “Reducing Recidivism Strategies Initiative”, which is operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in partnership with the Los Angeles City Community Development Department. Under this program, adult and juvenile offenders released on parole are supported and trained with skills that are required to succeed in life after incarceration.