Alternative Sentencing Juveniles

6.) Alternative sentencing (Instead of sending juveniles to industrial schools). Example, probation which would include the completion of a community service order, or drug program.

Many juvenile offenders can be effectively rehabilitated through community- based supervision and intervention. There is need for alternatives to detention; research on traditional confinement in large training schools or correctional facilities has found relatively high recidivism rates (Austin, Johnson and Weitzer, 2005). The time a youth spend in confinement not only takes the individual away the negative factors that may influence his behavior but also take them away from any other positive reinforcements such as family and the community.
Practitioners
in Barbados have deemed the existing sentencing options ineffective and suggested alternative options where best practices from other countries, which may include restorative justice and attendance center orders, be adopted (United Nations Children 's Fund, 2010).
There are several alternatives that are available in lieu of detention.
Feasible alternatives include home detention, day and evening reporting center, and community based treatment. Strategically matching youth with needed programming requires a cross-system commitment to the objective assessment, classification, and placement of youth. Placement in these alternative programs depends on the individual, and the offence committed and it is up to the court system to assess each youth to see if one of these alternatives may be optimal. If this cannot be done in the court stage the task could be carried out during the need assessments that are usually carried out when the offender enters custody.
Home detention- this alternative requires offenders to stay at home during specified periods and other conditions such as drug testing may apply. An evaluation of a program in Unites states (Alabama), found that home detainees were no more likely to recidivate than a group held in secure detention (Smykla and Selke, 1982). Home detention provides considerable cost saving compared with secure placements (Ball, Huff and Lilly,
1988).
Day and evening reporting centers- Day and evening reporting centers are nonresidential programs that require offenders to report daily activities to case managers. They are a mechanism for enhanced supervision of offenders. They provide services such as drug treatment, job training referrals, life skills services, and counseling. One promising program model for juveniles is found in Cook County, Illinois. The program evidenced a success rate of 92 percent from December 1995 to August 2001 (Austin, Johnson and Weitzer, 2005). Youth were determined to be successful if they were not rearrested while participating in the program. The average length of participation for successful youth was 21 calendar days.
Community based program- youth remain at home and receive treatment focused on their interpersonal, peer, family, and school problems and needs.
One goal is to promote parental supervision and authority. Available literature suggests that community based programs are one of the most effective treatments (Lipsey and Wilson, 1998). To facilitate this court system can work unison the National Task Force on Crime Prevention and the Juvenile liaison scheme to tap into their resources and expertise to assist these juvenile offenders to reintegrated back into the society, instead of confining them to prison walls.
Alternatives to detention and are intended to reduce crowding, cut the costs of operating juvenile detention centers, shield offenders from the stigma of institutionalization, help offenders avoid associating with youth who have more serious delinquent histories, and maintain positive ties between the juvenile and his or her family and
community.

References

Austin, J., Johnson, K., and Weitzer, R. 2005. Alternatives to the Secure Detention and Confinement of Juvenile Offenders. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/208804.pdf.

Ball, R., Huff, C., and Lilly, J. 1988. House Arrest and Correctional Policy: Doing Time at Home. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Lipsey, M., and Wilson, D. 1998. Effective intervention for serious juvenile offenders. In Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders, edited by R. Loeber and D. Farrington. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Smykla, J., and Selke, W. 1982. Impact of home detention: A less restrictive alternative to the detention of juveniles. Juvenile and Family Court Journal 33(2):3–9.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).(2010). Veiws on juvenile offending in Barbodos, Dominica and St.Lucia. Retreived form
www.unicef.org/barbados/Juvenile_Offing_Study_WEB.pdf