R-3-4

Transforming Perceptions of Juvenile Offenders

I caught myself listening attentively. My eyebrows raised instantly, my eyes enlarged as I

had adjusted my slouching posture. It was a typical Tuesday night; I had a meeting with my

fellow Diablo Ballet Teen Board members. We were about to begin discussing our plans and

hopes for our upcoming fundraiser, but before I could open my purple pocket sized planner and

even click my pen, a story began to unfold. The words that rolled over her tongue engrossed me.

Lauren, the Director of Diablo Ballet began to speak excitedly, This past weekend, I had an eye

opening experience that brought tears to my eyes. I had the chance to volunteer at a Juvenile

Hall. As she continued telling her story, I imagined myself in her shoes.

As I walked hesitantly through the massive hall, the bright fluorescent lights begin to

suffocate me. The security scanned and searched me; they checked for all the needed paperwork.

I was about to enter a room with people like me; except not at all. The many limits and

procedures I had to follow made me uncomfortable and distinct from everyone else. I would

have never known that so many teens have committed a crime, and that now they have ended up

in this same concrete building. As I looked around the room, I made eye contact with many of

them. They looked fearful, ashamed and isolated. I then remembered that Im in high school; I

see my family every day; I have freedoms, but they dont. I began to wonder what they go

through each day, what they reminisce about, what they aspire to become. However, these young

offenders put themselves in this situation and they chose to behave in deviant manners. As a

result, they are separated from society. I sat on a stone-cold flimsy chair and I began to question,

What do these juvenile offenders do once they are released? How do they detach from their

sinister habits, memories and past? How could their transition from juvenile hall to their

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community be easy if they have been locked up in handcuffs estranged from society? As minors,

their mistakes have made a crucial impact on their life. They have become socially behind in

education and work because of the opportunities they have missed outside of their juvenile

facilities. At this time, Lauren finished her story. I blinked.

As a member of the Diablo Ballet Teen Board, my mission is to fundraise for the PEEK

program. This program has encouraged me to become involved with helping, supporting and

guiding underprivileged families and juvenile offenders that lack adequate resources and

sufficient aid of which they need to be successful in society. I am fascinated by the juvenile

justice system and I want to research improving transition outcomes for the juvenile offenders. I

am inquisitive to know more about societys prejudices and assumptions of juvenile offenders

and how their views can affect the juveniles potential success into adulthood. As they

reintegrate back into society, one important step to helping these youth is:

To develop a better understanding of how and why they become involved in the juvenile
justice system, and some of the major obstacles that stand in the way of their successful
transition into adulthood and economic self-sufficiency. (Dedrick 1)

For instance, this group of marginalized young adults can become more aware of the leading

factors that caused them to turn down the wrong path. They have unheard voices and they need

support and guidance in order to remove themselves fully from their deviant behavior habits.

This thought led me to develope a question: How does society's perceptions influence or affect a

juvenile offender's ability to reintegrate into society? My goal is to build rapport and understand

juvenile offenders on a personal level through a holistic view without focusing on their crimes or

labels.

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 Transitioning from a confined facility with personal care and rigorous supervision, to the

less structured environment of society is an immense change for juvenile offenders. Its

extremely difficult for juvenile offenders to reintegrate into society due to the impact of the

prejudices and preconceptions that their communities and society reflect, which in turn not only

results in an unsuccessful transition, but causes recidivism rates to increase. For instance, a study

of how Columbus, Ohios newspaper reported on the citys murderers revealed that reporters

disproportionately gravitated to unusual cases when selecting victims (white women) and to

typical cases when selecting perpetrators (black men) (Ghandnoosh, PhD). After being locked

up in a secure confinement building for a long period of time, the young offenders face various

pressures after they are released from their sentence. They are pushed to tackle social, economic

and personal complications as developing young adults, while simultaneously having been

given the message that they must be confined because they pose a threat to society, many live in

constant, if well-hidden, fear of themselves (Bernstein 31). Furthermore, majority of the

offenders have been heavily influenced by and are now trying to distant themselves from

delinquent peer groups, poor academic experience, high-crime neighborhoods, weak family

attachments, their lack of consistent discipline and physical or sexual abuse (Stephens). These

risk factors have made it even more difficult for the offenders to succeed and compete in society.

During their reintegration into communities and school, they have to be able to find

affordable housing, manage their savings and financial crises, and be exposed to support services

to help them satisfy specific needs. An insufficient amount of support may continue to grow

beyond the detention institutions, juvenile incarceration decreases the chances of high school

graduation by 13 to 39 percentage points and increases the chances of incarceration as an adult

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by 23 to 41 percentage points, as compared to the average public school student (Wihbley).

Already falling behind on cognitive and emotional functioning, education and communication

skills, they are unable to become socially responsible adults who cannot contribute productively

to society. A successful transition outcome is achieved when factors of predisposing a person to

criminal behavior are addressed in a holistic fashion and when the physical and social needs of

offenders are supported both within the prison and after the offender's release (Griffiths). In

addition, juvenile offenders must accept responsibility by continuing to be motivated to actually

make a difference in their own life. If juvenile offenders are able to build trust and strong

relationships with their supervisors, communities and schools, not only will their transition

outcome be a success, but the likelihood of falling back into their old habits and deviant

behaviors will decrease. Educators, adults and services provided for delinquents must address

and deal with their own preconceptions and trepidations concerning juvenile offenders, attitudes

that may impede decisions about placement services for juvenile offenders can hinder their

transition (Arnette). But what are these biases and preconceptions that society holds, and how

do they affect a juvenile offenders ability to reintegrate into society successfully?

Media has always had a powerful role in shaping society. The influence of inexact

broadcast and depositions of accounts, leads to erroneous impressions and conceptions of

juvenile offenders. The violence is perpetrated from deviant behavior is seen as an uncontrollable

epidemic through media news, skewing juvenile crime as a great threat to societys values and

safety. The exaggerated portrayal of young offenders has caused delinquent behavior to be

blown out of proportion, while reductions in juvenile violence have frequently gone

unreported (Johnson). Images are sensationalized and the way crime is introduced is

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exaggerated. This in turn creates a misrepresentation of the juvenile offenders as incorrigibly

rebellious and as dangerous criminals. A vast number of media reports such as magazines,

internet articles and TV, renders a false conception of delinquents as trivialized and condemned

in society and their communities. Additionally, the laws of juvenile halls and policies cause

society to treat them in negative and dehumanizing manner. The importance of a secure and

personal relationship with those that can guide them, is vital for a juvenile offenders transition.

It is imperative to recognize and interpret the common threads that connect the kind of reporting

that help readers and viewers to understand the threat posed by teenage violence, the reasons

why it is occurring, and what might be done to prevent it from happening in the future (Doi).

The way in which society interprets youth incarceration for the youth is that the person that

committed a crime, is the crime. Therefore, these delinquents continue to stay marginalized even

after they are released, because the majority of society labels them as a threat to public safety.

Continuing to limit a juvenile's freedom during reintegration prevents them from self-directing

and taking time to improve. Moreover, severely controlling interaction with life outside their

juvenile hall prohibits the young offender from acting to repair any crime he or she has caused.

Juvenile offenders thrive on existing supportive relationships, rather than isolation. A judge who

served on the Superior Court of Santa Clara County explains that compared to white youths,

minority youths are 2.8 times more likely to be arrested for a violent crime, 6.2 times more likely

to wind up in adult court, and seven times more likely to be sent to prison by adult court

(Cordell). The pressures of being labeled as an unchanged criminal only makes it harder for

juveniles to store enough confidence or to build and connect with families as they transition from

adolescence to a stable adulthood.

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 In learning the effects between having a supportive relationship versus being stuck in

isolation (during a juvenile's transition), I talked to Katie Perry, a Youth partner for

underprivileged families and juveniles. When young adults commit a crime or perform an act of

deviance, they automatically marginalize themselves from society, and part of society likes to

keep it that way after the offenders are released because of the fear factors that media has

created, Perry admitted. The fear factor both from juvenile offenders and society generates an

uncomfortable and distant relationship, which does not provide what delinquents need the most:

connection and support. Treating juveniles as individuals rather than generic juvenile offenders

or cases in need of improvement, will aid in their transition and recovery from prison to

community. Community members and groups can construct an environment where all juvenile

offenders are held to high expectations while simultaneously allowed to make errors without the

traumatic outcomes that incarceration brings (Lockyer). These particular minors are essentially

influenced to believe that they are worthless, and that they will never be anything of value. They

internalize this self-defeating message that media has purported about them because of their

vulnerability and guilt. The media uses its formed cultural stereotypes to create an uncontrollable

fear that juvenile offenders become not just deprived of liberty, but punished (DuVernay). The

influence of media reports affects the relationship between law enforcement and the communities

they serve. The visual medians that shape societys perceptions have instilled an overwhelming

sense of fear. Society has continued to stay in a safe space by allowing the strict structured

detention system to continue after the juvenile offender's release only because that is what

everyone is accustomed to, and has adapted to. The problem with the production of media

representations of crime is that:

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 Although there is a broad range of media coverage about crime, with some venues and
reporters cautious not to promote biased public perceptions, less mindful coverage
abounds on television and in print. Given that the public widely relies on mass media as
its source of knowledge about crime and crime policy, these disparities have important
consequences. (Mutz & Goldman)

The duty of media, (specifically in TV organizations) is to fulfill the demand and supply

relationship between producers and their consumers by effectively attracting the audience to

hot current events. While their task is to creatively produce satisfying content, their messages

are representing an unrealistic image of the trauma and incarceration that juvenile offenders

undergo. However, the media allows room for the audience to expand their own deliberations

about crime and justice. Forcing young people to be secluded from the world for a long period of

time induces psychiatric symptoms, the added element of false media representations of

delinquents causes them to see themselves initially as a permanent outcast (Bostic). It is vital

that any offenders must interact and socialize with others in order to stay away from a state of

emotional shock. Relationships between delinquents and their staff in the residential facilities

that consist of trust, intimacy and healing, do not require room isolation, as a form of

punishment. According to a recent study, only eight percent of the youth who passed through

Missouris system wound up in the adult system within five years of their release (Bernstein

147). Due to this system, their recidivism rates have shown greatly lower measures than other

states. The cycle of developing terror and fear from being marginalized leads to more rejection

and anger. This vicious cycle of mankind eventually causes juvenile offenders to fall back into

crime and guilt, increasing recidivism rates.

The juvenile facilities, detention centers and halls are run by the states, and they consist

of a diversity of many strict procedures and regulations. One might ask, what does a juvenile

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offender experience when they first enter one of these buildings? As with most confinement

procedures, the juvenile offender is accompanied by a parole officer to the security station. At

this time, the young offender is directed to get their picture taken, fingerprinted and then

assigned an identification number; which essentially is the start of an unfamiliar atmosphere that

they will shortly become a part of. Immediately after they become a member of the juvenile

justice system, they are required to leave every personal belonging behind; temporarily stripping

away their unique self-worth. The delinquents reside in a compact cell and follow a structured

routine.

In addition to misrepresentations of juvenile offenders in media, the judgment and

interpretation of the stereotypes of criminal defendants have a vast impact on a juvenile

offenders transition into society. Media organizations coverage not only increases the salience

of crime, it also distorts the publics sense of who commits crime and triggers biased reaction

(Mauer). This creates racial misconceptions about Latinos and African Americans in the criminal

justice system. Newspapers, magazines and television news have over-represented racial

minorities as crime suspects and whites as crime victims. Minority suspects are more likely than

whites to be presented in a non-individualized and threatening way (Prince). The racial nature

of crime reports identify African Americans and Latinos as unpleasant, threatening and

permanent second class citizens, based on their conduct, characteristics and worth. Blacks and

latinos are more likely to appear as perpetrators, lawbreakers and robbers than whites. The

misconceptions of society on young offenders is significant because, they are a central

component in a circular process by which racial and ethnic misunderstanding and antagonism are

reproduced, and thus become predictable influences in the criminal justice process (Entam &

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Gross 5). Specifically, blacks are stereotypically linked to crime and guilt, which affects how

juvenile offenders view themselves as developing adults, as they reintegrate into society.

Conflicts between blacks, latinos and whites rise because of the cynical emotions and sense of

communal distance that develops from media misrepresentations. The attention to racial

difference continues in the United States; in shaping performance and reliance. The life of a

juvenile offender can be correctly reported if their consequences, pressures and regulations they

follow are documented with honesty.

One of the findings that I came across during my research mainly on how the general

public can connect and get to know juvenile offenders in a holistic way was through creative

classes involving dance, journalism and drawing. While speaking with Jonas, the co-founder of

the PEEK program, she expressed its purpose and impact on juveniles: it potentially can

transform juveniles lives from the challenge of communicating without words, which gives

them a chance to express any pressures or conflicts they are going through. The unheard voices

of these young offenders lifestyle and aspirations being heard in a safe space is found in the

magazine, The Beat Within. In this case, through healthy relationships with their staff, these

juvenile offenders are able to self express in their writing and critical thinking. The dance

program and magazines are examples of real accounts and stories told by juveniles. This

promotes a successful, non-violent and productive future for juvenile offenders. Advocates for

focusing rehabilitation programs rather than a strict structured agenda believe cruelty debases

both the victim and society inflicting it, and that punishment for crime should not be vindictive

but designed to strengthen a prisoners ability to observe social constraints (Fuller 31). These

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effective outlets for the young adults also encourage them to take what they wrote and transfer to

their relationships with their officers and communities.

My discoveries of a juvenile offender's transition to society has given me a whole

different perspective on how crime and justice is portrayed in media. Understanding and getting

to know these young offenders and the life experiences they undergo will effectively change

ones views of delinquents. The preconceptions that society has developed does indeed affect a

juvenile offenders ability to reintegrate into society successfully. The influence of trustworthy

relationships and socialization are the most vital factors that a juvenile offender needs in order to

transition more successfully. The clever techniques of media have twisted and conveyed juvenile

offenders as only a threat to society. More importantly, the system has devalued juvenile

offenders as seen by effect on teens that are a part of a strict structured system which revolves

around isolation as punishment. The importance of rehabilitation, therapeutic programs, and

healthy connections with communities are the elements necessary for growing young adults.

Society's misconceptions of juvenile offenders has left them to constantly feel as though they are

in a state of permanent abandonment, distress and culpability.

No system, no matter how philanthropic or beneficial can make up the repressive effects

incarceration has on children. Society and the world must arrive at a position where no public

entity mortifies juvenile offenders, and all work together to boost their confidence and potential -

to better their chances. This will require a huge transformation of society's assimilations of

whom juvenile offenders are and what they can actually be after their time in prison. This will

take more than the perfect system. It will take a movement of determination and passion for

change.

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 Works Cited

Electronic

Arnette, Lane. From the Courthouse to the Schoolhouse: Making Successful Transitions.

Washington, DC, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile

Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2000, Accessed 19 Feb. 2017.

Birkbeck, Christopher. "Media Representations of Crime and Criminal Justice." Oxford

Handbooks. Oxford, 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

Bostic, Brittany. "Does Social Media Perpetuate Youth Violence?" Michigan Youth Violence

Prevention Center. MI-YVPC, 14 Dec. 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.

Cordell, LaDoris. "Is the System Racially Biased?" PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 2014.

Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

Dedrick, John. "Info Brief." Improving Transition Outcomes for Youth Involved in the Juvenile

Justice System: Practical Considerations 25 (2010): 1-12. Navigating The Road to Work.

NCWD For Youth, Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Doi, David. "Media and Juvenile Violence: The Connecting Threads." Nieman Reports Media

and Juvenile Violence The Connecting Threads Comments. Nieman Foundation at

Harvard, 15 Dec. 1998. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

Entman, Robert, and Kimberly Gross. "Race To Judgment: Stereotyping Media And Criminal

Defendants." Duke Law Journal 2008.1 (2008): 93-133. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

Ghandnoosh, PhD, Nazgol. "Racial Perceptions of Crime and Support for Punitive Policies."

Psychology Benefits Society. American Psychological Association, 30 Sept. 2014. Web.

20 Apr. 2017.

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Griffiths, Curt. The Social Reintegration of Offenders and Crime Prevention. Public Safety,

Government of Canada, 19 Jan. 2016, www.publicsafety.gc.ca. Accessed 19 Feb. 2017.

Johnson, Robert. "Crime Control in America." Nothing Succeeds Like Failure (1979): 11-54.

Pearsonhighered. Pearson, 2010. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.

Lockyer, Bill. "The Juvenile Crime Challenge: Making Prevention a Priority." Hoover

Commission. Little Hoover Commission, 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

Mauer, Marc. "Race and Punishment: Racial Perceptions of Crime and Support for Punitive

Policies." The Sentencing Project.org. The Sentencing Project, 03 Sept. 2014. Web. 24

Apr. 2017.

Mutz, Diana, and Seth Goldman. "Mass Media." The SAGE Handbook of Prejudice,

Stereotyping and Discrimination (2016): 241-58. ISCAP. Sage Reference, 28 Jan. 2016.

Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Prince, Richard. "How Media Have Shaped Our Perception of Race and Crime." Journal-isms.

Journalisms.theroot.com, 04 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

Stephens, Ronald. From the Courthouse to the Schoolhouse: Making Successful Transitions.

Washington, DC, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile

Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2000, Accessed 19 Feb. 2017.

Walsh, Nastassia, and Josh Weber. Measuring and Using Juvenile Recidivism Data to Inform

Policy, Practice, and Resource Allocation. Justice Center, The Bureau of Justice

Assistance, July 2014,

www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/scl-rntgrtn/index-en.aspx. Accessed 20 Feb.

2017.

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Wihbey, John. "Juvenile Incarceration and Its Impact on High School Graduation Rates and

Adult Jail Time." Journalist's Resource. Harvard Shorenstein Center, 4 Feb. 2015. Web.

19 Apr. 2017.

Primary

Perry, Katie. "Re: Juvenile Offender Questions." Received by Teresa Garcia, 14 March. 2017.

Jonas, Lauren. Personal interview. 9 March 2017.

Print

Bernstein, Nell. Burning down the House: the End of Juvenile Prison. Perseus Distribution

Services, 2014.

Fuller, Ted W. Prison Reform Catalysts. Createspace Independent Pub, 2013.

Imarisha, Walidah. Angels with Dirty Faces: Three Stories of Crime, Prison, and Redemption.

Press, 2016.

Lankford, Susan M. Born, Not Raised: Voices From Juvenile Hall. Humane Exposures

Publishing, 2012.

The Beat Within: A Publication of Writing and Art from the Inside. The Beat Within,

Intersection for the Arts, 2017, www.thebeatwithin.org/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

Film

DuVernay, Ava, et al., directors. 13th . Kandoo Films, 2016.

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