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D’Marco Baucum

Dr. Crawford

Liberal Studies Senior Capstone Proposal

Poverty and Youth Incarceration

Introduction

In most countries, juvenile court systems impose corporal punishment on the youth at the

correctional services. This has led to increasing concern about the impact of harsh punishment on

the young generation that is raised in the correctional services. There is also concern that harsh

punishment has led to incidences of increased criminal activities in as much as they are intended

to correct the bad behavior of the youth. Growing up in humble backgrounds has been

established as one of the causes of deviant behaviors amongst the youth. This study is intended to

establish the nexus between criminal conduct among the youth, poverty and the penalties that

arise from being sentenced.

Several countries have passed laws that determine the extent of punishment to be given

such as mandatory penalties that should be administered and the extent and other laws, hence this

has led to extreme punishment for young individuals which is a common practice in the juvenile

courts. These laws have been set up to prevent minors from engaging in criminal behaviors and

safeguarding society. According to some studies that have been conducted, the implementation of

such laws has several unexpected effects (Mears & Mancini, 2013).

Severe punishment of the youth who are found guilty of engaging in criminal activities

has become a major concern. Youth who get locked up for a long time may have disrupted

education, social isolation, and a lack of positive role models, all of which may increase the

likelihood that they would engage in criminal activities again in the future. In addition, jail

conditions can be severe and brutal, which can cause trauma and mental health problems to these

juvenile offenders.
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The unequal application of the judicial law on the youth from low-income families is a

further cause for worry. It is well known that poverty has a significant role in the high prevalence

of criminal activities among young people. Young people who are raised in poverty are more

likely to experience trauma, lack of resources, and exposure to violence, all of which can

increase the likelihood that they would engage in criminal activity just to get a hold of the things

they lack. Youth from low-income households might also not have access to effective legal

counsel, which might result in heavier punishments and a never-ending cycle in the criminal

justice system.

The impact of harsh sentences and poverty on young people's participation in adult

criminal activity is a crucial issue that requires in-depth research. Understanding the causes of

the issue is essential to coming up with workable solutions and improving the conditions for

young people involved in the juvenile judicial system.

Problem Statement

This research project examines the potential effects of severe punishment and poverty on

the likelihood of young people engaging in adult criminal activity. The following research

questions will be especially investigated by the project:

1. The effect of harsh judicial punishment on the likelihood of former juvenile criminals

participating in criminal activities again in the future.

2. How poverty is related to the prevalence of youth engaging in criminal activities.

3. The relation between poverty and harsh judicial punishment on promoting criminal activities

and how to moderate it.

Background of the Problem

The juvenile justice system in the world particularly in the United States has been a

matter of huge debate and controversy. While the system is intended to provide accountability

and rehabilitation for youth who have been involved in criminal activities, there are concerns

about the harshness of the system and its impact on young people.

One major issue is the practice of imposing tough sentencing on youth who are involved

in criminal activities. While the intention behind these harsh sentences is to deter youth from

engaging in criminal behavior, research suggests that they may have unintended negative

consequences. For example, youth who are sentenced to long periods of incarceration may

experience disrupted education, social isolation, and a lack of positive role models, all of which

can increase their likelihood of involvement in criminal activities in the future.

Poverty influences stress mechanisms such as depression and lowered self-esteem that

prompt delinquency among the youth. The rise of youth delinquency results in potential risk for

criminal activities and contact with the juvenile justice system. Additionally, Jarjooura et al.

(2002) mention that the higher the exposure to poverty, the higher the risk for the youth engaging

in delinquency as opposed to lower exposure rates to poverty. The persistence of poverty

influences the nature of factors such as cognitive stimulation to criminal activity, the nature of

violent offenses, and the age of delinquency onset.

Moreover, the criminal justice system may disproportionately target youth from low-

income backgrounds. Poverty has been identified as a key factor in the prevalence of criminal

activities among youth. Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to experience trauma,

lack of access to resources, and exposure to violence, all of which can contribute to a higher risk

of criminal behavior. Additionally, youth from low-income backgrounds may lack access to
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effective legal representation, which can result in harsher sentencing and a cycle of involvement

in the criminal justice system.

Literature Review

The juvenile justice system has been a topic of interest for policymakers, researchers, and

practitioners alike for many years. The system is tasked with rehabilitating youth offenders and

helping them reintegrate into society. However, in recent years, the system has come under

scrutiny for its harsh sentencing, particularly towards the youth. There is growing concern that

these practices may be contributing to the criminalization of youth and perpetuating a cycle of

involvement in the justice system.

Farrington et al (2012) further highlight how the juvenile justice system differs from

adult systems. The adult sentencing when imposed on juvenile offenders imposes great risk as it

denies the offender an opportunity to be tried as a minor with still developing cognitive abilities.

However, the authors argue that the rehabilitative approach in a juvenile system becomes better

equipped for the behavioral modification of young offenders. The success of rehabilitation

becomes manifested when the youth can be integrated into new environments safe from the

social factors that prompted the criminality.

Critics argue that tough sentencing can have long-lasting negative effects on the lives of

young people. Incarceration, in particular, has been identified as a major issue. Youth who are

sentenced to long periods often experience disrupted education, social isolation, and a lack of

positive role models, which can increase their likelihood of involvement in criminal activities in

the future. Additionally, youth who are incarcerated may experience trauma, which can further

contribute to the cycle of involvement in the justice system.

Poverty has also been identified as a key factor in the prevalence of criminal activities

among youth. Poverty-ridden kids are more likely to face trauma, a lack of resources, and

exposure to violence, all of which can contribute to a higher risk of criminal conduct.

Furthermore, adolescents from low-income families may lack access to efficient legal

representation, which can lead to harsher sentences and an ongoing cycle in the criminal justice

system.

The connection between harsh sentencing, poverty, and youth involvement in adult

criminal activities is nuanced and varying. Jaggers et. al. (2016) argue that the punishment-

oriented approaches present in the juvenile system when combined with social limiting factors

such as poverty increases the continued risk of youth criminality. Other factors, according to

research, could mitigate this association. Family support, access to educational and employment

opportunities, and exposure to positive role models, for example, can all help to reduce the risk

of youth criminal participation.

Despite the popularity of literature on the matter, there is still much that is unknown.

There is not much research on how poverty and harsh sentencing interact to promote youthful

involvement in adult criminal activity. Furthermore, the impact of protective variables such as

family support in connection to the risk of criminal activity among youth has received less

attention.

This research proposal aims to address these gaps in our understanding. Specifically, the

proposal will investigate how the juvenile justice system's tough sentencing practices and

poverty interact to increase the likelihood of youth involvement in adult criminal activities. The

research is intended to address how protective elements such as support from the family can help

to moderate such relationships.

As the research proposal addresses such issues, it aims to increase our knowledge of the

complex relationships between subjecting the youth to severe punishment, poverty, and the

chances of juvenile engagement in adult criminal activity. Whatever the finding comes from

these studies, they are likely to have an impact on practice and policies which are aimed at

reducing youth crime involvement hence improving the outcome for those who pass through the

juvenile justice system for correction services.

References

Farrington, D., Loeber, R., & Howell, J. C. (2012). Young adult offenders the need for more

effective legislative options and justice processing. Criminology and Public Policy,

11(40), 727-750. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9133.2012.00838.

Jaggers, J., Robison, S. B., Rhodes, J. L. F., Guan, X., & Church, W. T . (2016). Predicting adult

criminality among Louisiana’s urban youth: Poverty, academic risk, and delinquency.

Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 7 (1), 89-116.

Jarjoura, R., Triplett, R. A., & Brinker, G. P. (2002). Growing up poor: Examining the link

between persistent childhood poverty and delinquency. Journal of Quantitative

Criminology, 18(2), 159-187. https://doi.org/10.1023/A: 1015206715838

Mears, D. P., & Mancini, C. (2013). The unintended consequences of mandatory sentencing: A

review of the literature. Sociology Compass, 7(8), 604-620.

https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12052