Introduction
The existence of a juvenile system in any one given country seeks to facilitate loyalty to the rule of law and escalation of the democratic system. In the absence of a juvenile system of justice, then the correction officials have no choice but to treat those children who gets into a conflict with the law as adults (Martin, 2005).
This is perceived as a total violation of the provision of the foremost existing regional and international instruments. The decision by juvenile correction facilities to implement strategic ‘juvenile justice activities’ is often seen as an endeavor to reassert a safeguard for the juveniles, as well as aid in capturing a part of the global instruments spirits in laying emphasis on interests of children.
Even so, many correction officials are forever faced with unique situations in an attempt at handling the juvenile detainees. While it is not in doubt that the programs implemented at juvenile correction facilities are of vital benefit to the youths that they are subjected to (for example, educational courses, programs for substance abuse, mental health counseling), nevertheless the correction officials at such juvenile correction centers have to grapple daily with juveniles who have had their normal childhood (Maynard, 2002). These are a group of troubled youths who are on the brink of entering into health or mental institutions and in the worst case scenarios, committing suicide.
Discussion
Within the realms of the justice system, juveniles are viewed as a delicate lot, meaning that in the handling of these, a careful human subject approval and review is required and the corrections officials are thus duty-bound to exercise patience and humane actions even in a case whereby they have to deal with rowdy and vulgar youths, who may be under the influence of drugs.
Cases of violent juvenile children are not also lacking, all the more complicating the position of the corrections officials (Maynard, 2002). The issue of language is yet another hurdle that might stand in the way of the corrections officials as they try to implement child development programs amongst the juveniles.
Owing to the fact that the reading levels of a majority of the juveniles may be extremely low, corrections officials have on numerous occasions been forced to either reword or restructure copies of their child development programs, so that even the most deficient juvenile children may be accommodated.
Historically, the correctional philosophy in the United States has been one of rehabilitation. Ever since the start of ‘truly juvenile correctional institutions in the nineteenth century, a lot of methodologies for the rehabilitation of juveniles have been utilized to “correct” defiant juveniles (Seiter, 2008).
Going by the standards of today, several of these methods of rehabilitation (for example, silence and corporal punishment have been a source of harm to the juveniles, as opposed to remedying their behaviors (Maynard, 2002). Again, this is another challenge that faces the correction officials, as they try to correct juveniles in the hope of deterring them from committing crimes.
In their quest to maintaining conducive and safe correctional facilities to the juveniles, the correctional officers at these facilities are often faced with the challenges of dealing with some youths who may have errant behaviors, and this may be a handicap to their achieving the desired goals.
In addition, the correction officers are charged with the responsibility of not only investigation, but also detecting any incidents, activities, or events dangerous situations that may be committed by the very juveniles they are supposed to watch over (Worrall, 2006). As such, their efforts may be hampered by uncooperative youths who see the correction officers not just as a nuisance to them, but also a threat to their assumed lifestyles.
Another major role that the correction officers are charged with is that of helping in the rehabilitation of the juveniles whether on an individual basis, or as a group. It sometimes becomes difficult for these corrections officers to achieve this, seeing that all the juvenile offenders are from diverse backgrounds.
Moreover, their nature and attitude towards crime are also as varied. Such emergency situations as fires, injuries, suicide attempts, escapes, physical fights and rioting are not uncommon in juvenile correction centers, and thus it is the duty of the correction officers to see to it that the juveniles do not commit these and in the event that they do occur, that they are in a position to contain these in the shortest time possible (Maynard, 2002).
Conclusion
This may prove to be quite a challenge, as the juvenile officers may not be trained adequately with regard to the handling of these various situations (Maynard, 2002). Besides, their occurrences may be quite sporadic, and it is thus important that such correction officers are always alert to avert disasters, if at all they are to facilitate in the correction centers attaining their objectives.
Reference
Martin, G. (2005). Juvenile justice: processes and systems. London: Sage. Web.
Maynard, G. D. (2002). Correction officers. New York: Peterson’s.
Seiter, R. P. (2008). Corrections: an introduction (2nd Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Worrall, J. L. (2006). Crime control in America: an assessment of the evidence. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.