Interviewees
For this assignment, two people were interviewed to gain an insight into the way the people who have never had any direct experience with the juvenile justice system (JJ) view it. Interviewee 1 is a 38-year-old Afro-American who is married and has two children, one aged 15 and the other aged 12. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and changed several jobs, but currently, he is working as a manager.
He considers himself a Catholic, but “not a devout” one; he has “little interest in politics.” He believes that society’s biggest problem is the culture of consumerism and the lack of spiritual development; he thinks that the problem is in the culture that is supported through mass media. He thinks that the rest of the difficulties, including crime, stem from this issue.
Interviewee 2 is a 25-year-old White woman who is unmarried and has no children. She is a palliative care nurse, and she is studying to get her Master’s degree. She is politically indifferent and does not consider herself to belong to “any religious movement.” She values human life over the rest of things; she believes that the major issues of this country are disparities, discrimination, and several “inhumane” laws. In particular, she has been talking about abortion rights and the difficulty of realizing them. She had mentioned that her younger cousin had some issues as a youngster that eventually involved criminal justice, but she does not know the details; they were never close as family.
Views on Juvenile Justice System
Despite the lack of direct experience with JJ, both interviewees exhibited some knowledge about it. Neither of them could state the correct minimum age of offenders at the first attempt, but they define criminal justice as the system for youngsters that uses different procedures than the one for adult offenders. Both believe that the specific system depends on the state, but they found it difficult to name the specifics for their state. Interviewee 2 is not sure if youngsters can be taken to the “adult” court, but Interviewee 1 “knows” that they cannot, which is a wrong assumption.
Interviewee 1 believes that JJ presupposes less significant punishments, which is why a criminal can go away with a lesser punishment “just” because he or she is young, which is not fair. However, he also admits that young children might require specific treatment, especially if the offense is minor. He operates the word “punishment” rather than rehabilitation.
Interviewee 1, on the other hand, tends to think that youngsters (she kept saying “children”) need special treatment since they are unlikely to realize the severity of their actions before the crime. She believes that the existence of the system makes the treatment of children fair; she also suggested that placing children in adult prisons is dangerous.
Both interviewees think that there are flaws in the criminal justice system. Interviewee 2 speaks about the difficulty of rehabilitation and labels that could be attached to a person after the contact with the JJ; Interviewee 1 dwells primarily on corruption.
Both are correct in insisting that there are means for the prevention of juvenile crimes; Interviewee 2 speaks about rehabilitation more than punishment; she thinks that JJ should direct most of its efforts at rehabilitation. Interviewee 1, on the other hand, believes that the primary aim of JJ consists of delivering punishment.
Interviewee 1 supposes that his community as well as the society in general views JJ with caution, but mostly because they are cautious towards the justice system in general. Interviewee 2 also mentions that society is not very trustworthy when it comes to the justice system or JJ.
The Contexts of the Viewpoints
The interviewees were chosen because they represent different social groups: older and younger, married and unmarried. Also, it should be mentioned that for the time being, the race and gender of a person also proceed to define their social status, which may result in different viewpoints; these are not the differences in men and women or Black and White persons but those in their socialization process. Finally, the interview attempted to check if a person with children treats JJ differently; it appears that the upbringing of children did not make this person sympathize with the youths involved in JJ. Interviewee 1 never mentioned his children (or the world “children”).
In general, the viewpoints of the two interviewees appear to be influenced primarily by their philosophy. According to Mears, Pickett, and Mancini (2014), personal philosophic views often determine the attitude towards JJ in the population, which makes such a conclusion more plausible. It can also be suggested that Interviewee 2 exhibits greater empathy, which may be considered to be a product of the socialization of a female person. The description of the community’s views is likely to be influenced by the complexity of sociocultural factors.
The Impact of the Views on the Juvenile Justice System
Naturally, the two interviews are unfit for the conclusions on the views of the community since the sample is too small, but they offer several insights. A view that is of great importance for JJ and the justice system is the caution that, according to the interviewees, their communities experience towards it. The police have a history of exhibiting racism (Durr, 2015); also, there have been some recent scandals, for instance, the death of Eric Garner who was accidentally choked by a white officer (Susman & Haller, 2015).
As a result, it is not surprising that a Black person, especially an older one, expresses such an opinion. However, the Interviewee 2 shares the view, which might have been less explicitly stated, but which indicates that JJ needs to improve its reputation, which is an ongoing struggle for the justice system. Besides, the Interviewees have different views on JJ’s purpose.
It should be pointed out that the public policy of JJ has been shifting from the focus on punishment to that of rehabilitation and back (Baker, Cleary, Pickett, & Gertz, 2013), and, according to the survey of Mears et al. (2014), the majority of their respondents support a balanced approach. In this respect, the interviews illustrate the fact that society has different views on JJ and its purpose, which might complicate the process of becoming approved by the majority of the population. According to Baker et al. (2013), these views have been influencing JJ policies throughout its existence since they are typically responsive to public opinion.
Both persons also stated that there are flaws in JJ, with Interviewee 2 focusing on the consequences and Interviewee 1 dwelling on the organization (which again shows his lack of confidence in the system). These views of the people who are not involved may demonstrate public concerns. As a result, it might be wise to popularize the efforts and improvements in these areas to prove that the system is capable of evolving.
Finally, both interviewees demonstrate a certain lack of knowledge in the area. While it is doubtful that they must know the nuances, their inexperience might indicate the areas for improved public education in JJ.
References
Baker, T., Cleary, H., Pickett, J., & Gertz, M. (2013). Crime Salience and Public Willingness to Pay for Child Saving and Juvenile Punishment. Crime & Delinquency, 62(5), 645-668.
Durr, M. (2015). What is the Difference between Slave Patrols and Modern Day Policing? Institutional Violence in a Community of Color. Critical Sociology, 41(6), 873-879.
Mears, D., Pickett, J., & Mancini, C. (2014). Support for Balanced Juvenile Justice: Assessing Views About Youth, Rehabilitation, and Punishment. Journal Of Quantitative Criminology, 31(3), 459-479.
Susman, T., & Haller, V. (2015, July 18). Demonstrators echo Eric Garner’s ‘I can’t breathe’ cry again, a year after his death. Los Angeles Times.