Juvenile Justice and Does it Work? Part 1

Juvenile Justice and Does It work?

Let's step back and look at the whole picture for a minute. If we just sort through some facts, things we already know we just might be able to determine and answer the question Juvenile Justice and Does It work?

The fact is, American and Canadian societies are very much alike in a variety of ways. We eat the same kinds of foods, watch similar movies, enjoy listening to the same kind of music and we visit across the border. But these considerable similarities do conceal profound differences. Now, let's take a look at the U.S. incarceration rate which is more than six times as high as Canada's and the United States does have a homicide rate of more than three times as high as its northern neighbor-Canada. Again, I beg to ask, Juvenile Justice and Does it Work?

Oh, there are those who argue that incarceration is the answer to the crime problems yet they are hard-pressed to explain why it is, that Canada can incarcerate a much smaller proportion of its people and still and still have an extremely low homicide rate. However, we don't need to go acrossed the border to find clear evidence that crime doesn't necessarily go down when incarceration goes up. Juvenile Justice and Does it Work, doesn't seem to be looking too good right now.

Alright, now let's take a look at Louisiana's incarceration rate which is more than six times the rate in Maine. Now, if incarceration worked as a crime control stragtegy, we would expect Louisiana to have less crime than Maine.

Well, folks, the fact is, it's just the opposite. You are three times as likely to have your vehicle stolen, five times as likely to be robbed and about nine times as likely to be a homicide victim in Louisiana as you would be in Maine. Now, listen to this, Wisconsin locks up twice as many people as Minnesota, but still has a 50 percent higher homicide rate than its neighbor to the west. There are so many more comparisons like this, but the real point is, more incarceration does not mean less crime. Truly, you must ask yourself, Juvenile Justice and Does it Work? Is there a better way, a better answer?