저연령 보호소년에 대한 효율적 처우방안

Abstract

Given the media hype and political rhetoric surrounding youthcrime and school violence in the United States in recent years,there has been great concern among Americans that juvenilecrime has been on a rapid ascent, especially violent crime. Needless to say, a generation of “super-predators,” a term coinedby John Dilulio (1995) to describe preadolescent, “fatherless,jobless, and Godless” youth that would grow up to becomedangerous criminals, struck fear in the hearts of averageAmericans. But despite sensationalization by the media,politicians, and certain academics regarding the rise of juvenilecrime and violence, contrary to popular belief, research hasrevealed that school crime has been on the decline in recentyears, and for that matter, so have the rates of violent andproperty crimes in general (Greenwood, 2006; Lawrence, 2007). Regardless of whether crime rates are high or low, there areendless debates on what constitutes effective means of combatingcrime. Although violent crime committed by juveniles hasdeclined in recent years, punitive measures taken against juvenileoffenders have become harsher. The key question, therefore, is whether or not harsher punishments are an effective deterrent tojuvenile delinquency. If not, are there more effective alternativesto the “get tough” approach to crime and delinquency?This paper will draw upon the sociological theories of crime—in particular Travis Hirschi’s social control theory—whileexploring the effects of academic and vocational educationprograms as both preventative and reactive approaches tomitigating delinquency among youth, in contrast to punitivemeasures that emphasize incarceration. Specifically, it will beshown that an educational approach emphasizing rehabilitationover retribution helps to decrease delinquency, while incarcerationof juvenile offenders—whether in youth detention centers or adultprisons—leads to continued and increased offending among youth. This is not to say that education programs and otherpreventative approaches should replace all punitive measureswholesale—one may argue that no punishment for a criminal ordelinquent act, like excessive punishment, may very wellmotivate one to continue to be delinquent—but if shown to beeffective, may serve as supplements to the “get tough”approaches to crime control.