Juvenile Justice: Two Possible Meanings
Two factors have led me to write this
commentary. One, for the last 2 1/2 months
I've been working in a Juvenile Correctional
Facility as an Education Assistant and two, I
recently posted quite a few links to Juvenile
Justice sites in the Criminology Room. Thus,
its not surprising that this subject is on my
mind quite a bit these days. I'd like to
share some of my thoughts about Juvenile
Justice based on my study of it and on my
experience working with incarcerated
juveniles. This experience, however, goes
beyond the slight time I've actually spent in
a Juvenile facility. Although there are a
number of things unique to this setting,
there are many similarities between it and
adult correctional facilities. I have a
great deal of experience in adult
prisons...having taught numerous college
courses in quite a few prisons since 1986.
This experience gives depth to my perspective
as well as a backdrop against which to
observe and analyze juvenile settings. So be
advised that I've not a novice when it comes
to prisons, okay?
The title of this commentary, Juvenile
Justice: Two Possible Meanings...refers to
two possible ways to understand "juvenile
justice." One way is the standard way...a
justice system pertaining to juveniles. The
other is a tad sarcastic...the so-called
"justice" applied to juveniles might be seen
as childish...juvenile in the sense that it
is inadequate and silly. Silly refers here
to the ridiculous treatment of juveniles
inside these places. This may sound harsh to
some, but I'll try to explain it so this
harshness is diminished. Further, I'm not
going to deal with the issue of "legal
rights" of incarcerated juveniles here. This
is, of course, of paramount
importance...given the history in this
country of the almost complete lack of
acknowledgement of these rights (now changing
ever so slowly). Instead, I want to focus on
the atmosphere and treatment of juveniles
inside these facilities...both by the
institutional authorities and educational
authorities...and the premises and
assumptions upon which they are based. This
might necessarily rub against the "rights"
issue, but that's not my point.
I'm an educator...not a correctional
officer or administrator. My presence in
prisons over the years has been for the
purpose of educating, not control. Although
an educator who frequents prisons is
certainly an "authority figure," I've always
considered that any authority I have inside a
prison is no different than that I have on a
college campus. Further, although I must
keep "order" inside a classroom in a
prison...upholding and maintaining the
"rules" of the institution (something I've
done faithfully), I've firmly and honestly
distanced myself from the institution's
authority structure...something I've
considered essential for creating the kind of
atmosphere I consider integral to the
education process. Since distrust of
correctional authorities is fairly rampant
among inmates, if I am to gain the trust of
students I feel I've got to make sure they
understand my position. This approach has
worked thus far every time and I wouldn't do
it any other way. Let me add one other
thing...in all the classes I've taught in all
the prisons I've entered (including the
less-structured setting I work in now), I've
never been threatened by an inmate, never had
a life=threatening occurennce in a prison
setting, and have never had one instance of
violence. I feel safer in a prison than I do
on the highway, that's the truth. I've never
taught a class or met with any kind of inmate
with the door open or with an officer
present, either.
Furthermore, I'm a sociologist...not a
psychologist, shrink, nor anything else
associated with psychology. Having said
that, I very much lean towards an integrated
sociological approach...one that could
loosely be called social psychological. I
take as important both the individual and the
group and instead of posing them as
opposites, I ask about the relationship
between them. Instead of focusing on the
MACRO structures, instead of limiting myself
to just the MICRO level...again, I ask about
both of them...what is the relation between
them. Therefore, as it relates to prisons
and the individuals in them, I'm concerned
with both the individual who is there AND the
social forces/currents/structures which gave
rise to them being there...not to forget just
why we have the prisons in the first place.
Thus, it is my considered opinion or
perspective that the dominance of
pychological approaches in prison...both
adult and juvenile...is one of the largest
problems in doing anything with and/or for
any inmates. I've yet to be in a prison of
any sort that had a "staff sociologist."
Yes, maybe there's a "social worker" here and
there, but then again most social work is
done from a psychological perspective
anyway.
So what's my point here? It's that I
wonder just what it is the juvenile
correctional authorities think they are
actually doing for the kids they have in
their facilities. The one I work in is
essentially a "close" or "maximum" security
facility. There is little to nothing the
"youth" can do without a staff member
present. There are few activities for the
youth in this facility. Most of them sit
around and do nothing. Cards are
allowed...as are dominos...some books...a
TV/VCR for the privileged...but that's about
it. They are constantly bombarded with
orders to get their feet down, keep it
quieter, and permission to "move" from one
place to another. Even when they are sitting
quietly and bothering nobody, their feet
being up on a nearby chair or stool is
singled out...causing just a bit more
resentment. And that's just about all this
system produces...resentment (and subsequent
comments back at the staff member...which
then leads to some time of censure such as a
"downgrade" or being put "out of group," and
ultimately, to the "isolation" cell.
Furthermore, most "treatment" is geared
toward behavior modification rather than
cognitive change. Oh yes, there's much talk
about "thinking errors," but its always done
on a psychological premise.
Another constant reality is the almost
total lack of precise definition of when a
youth will be leaving. This indefinite
quality to the atmosphere keeps the youth on
edge...sometimes leading to depression and an
acting out of it...sometimes to open
defiance. The premise seems to be that these
are "bad" kids who need a lesson taught to
them. That "lesson" seems to be to keep them
wondering about their fate/future...with
little to no sense of responsibility to keep
them informed about their own lives. That is
kept firmly in the area of "need to know" and
quite clearly that most of the time the youth aren't considered to
be in this "need" loop.
As far as education goes...lip service is
given to its importance, but the truth of the
matter is that education is considered to be
a "weak sister" in the triad of "security,"
"treatment," and "education." This in a
state which requires by law that incarcerated
youth be given an educational effort.
Education and Treatment are kept squarely
separate from one another...as if they don't
involve the same or similar things. I work
for an educational service with a contract to
provide this state-mandated education...so,
again...I'm not a staff member of the
institution itself. Although I personally
get along pretty well with the daystaff on
the unit I work, its pretty clear that the
boundaries are there. I dare not talk with a
youth about "treatment issues..." whatever
THEY are...with sanctions more likely to come
from my own organization than the staff on my
unit. I find this not only to be stupid, but
insulting to me and the youth. I'm suppose
to tell a boy that I can't talk about his
past experiences or future possibilities
because of an artifical and arbitrary
"division of labor." I'm suppose to, in
effect, tell a youth who trusts me...one who
probably has never been really listened to
before...that I can't let him speak his mind
because I'm not the "right" person? Talk
about catch-22's!!!!
But the thing that galls me most about the
rampant hypocrisy in this and other "youth
facilities" is the terminology used. Even
though each and every kid in there knows they
are inmates...watched over by guards...in a
prison...run by a warden, the "correct"
terminology is that they are
youth...supervised by Group Life Coordinators
GLC's)...in a youth correctional
facility...run by a superintendent. The
reasoning behind this hypocritical
terminology is that they don't want the kids
to think they are "criminals." They don't
want them to have a self-concept that might
further their chances of being incarcerated
in the future. Whew!!! Given how they're
treated...as explained above...one wonders
just who is fooling whom here, huh?
Before bringing this to a close, I do need
to mention that in both adult and juvenile
facilities I've met many people genuinely
concerned about those individuals
incarcerated. So, I don't mean to impunge
the character or motivation of every single
individual staff member. However, even these
individuals...the ones who really care...are
limited by their "job realities"...the major
one is their need for a job, period. Yet,
and its a big "yet,"...I've also met many
institution staff members who seem to delight
in putting down their "charges," who take
great delight in "lording" it over them,
especially when they know nobody will do a
thing to them for doing it. It's truly a
mixed-bag of people working in these
places.
One final thought...I've really not touched
on the educational issues as much as I
intended to when I began this commentary. I
guess one reason is that I still work for
this particular organization and its "onsite"
supervisor...meaning, I too want to keep my
job for the moment. However, I will say that
I find it severely contradictory when I hear
people who supposedly value education as a
means of change spew out stereotype after
stereotype about those they are there to
"serve." I've heard this in adult and
juvenile settings and it makes me ill. When
I hear comments about someone incarcerated
along the lines of "lower in the genetic
pool," I have to wonder just what their
conception of education really is...if at
all. Education...anywhere...is, if nothing
else, predicated on the ability to change.
Seems some educators working in prisons...on
all levels of education...should find other
work. I'm constantly reminded of the lyrics
to the Pink Floyd song...hey, teacher...leave
those kids alone. This applies to more than
the frontline teachers...al least in the
prison...oops, youth facility I work in.
I'll have more commentary about all this
as time goes on, especially about my sociological conceptions of how things should be in prisons...but meanwhile, as usual, what do YOU think?
David H. Kessel
