Punishment and Welfare in the Youth Justice System Essay

Punishment and Welfare in the Youth Justice System - Essay Example Historically, the debate over whether good practice in youth justice should reflect the punishment or welfare model has exercised policy-makers for over a century. From the 1960’s to the 1980’s, policy trends evolved toward the welfare model of punishment in which punishments are excluded, or are to be carefully adapted to the special needs of young people. In the 1980’s added attention was focused on juvenile offenders with policy makers instituting a stricter punishment-orientated juvenile justice system, for example, the Crime and Disorder Act of 1998, which established the Youth Justice Board and reduced the age of prosecution to 10 years.1 Youth justice procedures in the 21st century are mixed, not clearly reflecting either the punishment or welfare model of corrections. The use of the reprimands and warnings system attempts to travel both tracks, being tough on adolescent crime while believing that young offenders can, more than adults, be influenced positi vely with guidance during the warning phase of punishment. It also involves police and parents in the discipline of youths. Both public and governmental opinion suggests the debate of the effectiveness of punishment or welfare has not been resolved. While the retributive nature of the past has paled away and the adult-involved, rehabilitative approach has become predominant in juvenile justice, many call for increased punishment methods intertwined with the system of reprimands and warnings. A majority of parents want corporal punishment to be reintroduced in schools to tackle what they perceive is an increasing problem of classroom disorder.