Posted: February 14th, 2023

Criminal Justice Systems Preventing Offenders in Younger Ages

Criminal Justice Systems Preventing Offenders in Younger Ages

Abstract
Terrie Moffit developed the developmental taxonomy theory to understand criminal conduct among offenders. He categorized two types of offenders: adolescent-limited (AL) offenders and the life-course-persistent (LCP) offenders. For LCP offenders, these individuals begin to exhibit antisocial behaviors and behavioral challenges from a young age. To mitigate crime, the criminal justice system understands that it needs interventions to reduce the LCPs’ engagement to crime from their earlier childhood years. This is because many of the adult criminals are LCPs. This research paper discusses various recommendations that could be implemented to aid the LCPs from their earlier years. These interventions will help them grow to individuals that are prosocial and exhibit proper behaviors as they develop. It is essential to note that each LCP will have risk factors and, thus, require mitigation measures. Therefore, the responsible parties should understand the young individual to implement the right interventions.
Introduction
The developmental taxonomy theory has been one of the primary guiding research in antisocial and criminal conduct. In theory, Terrie Moffit indicated two main categories of offenders who could be identified in the population (Schulz, 2014). These categories include the adolescence-limited (AL) offenders and the life-course-persistent (LCP) offenders. These categories of offenders are considered to come from alternative developmental pathways and engage in various qualitative forms of antisocial conduct. The AL offending has been known to grow in conjunction with puberty causing a disjuncture between biological and social maturity. The AL offenders will typically engage in aggressive and impulsive conduct that is normal among adolescents, for instance, the use of drugs and property crimes, among others. Notably, most of the AL offenders desist from crimes after their social and biological developments are back to a level of equilibrium.
Conversely, the LCP offenders begin to demonstrate signs of antisocial conduct in their early childhood tears. As the individuals grow, their behaviors become severe, leading to violent interpersonal conduct of aggression. Most of the severe and egregious crimes have been caused by LCPs within the general population. Some researchers have found that while LCPs make up 5 to 10% of the whole population, they are responsible for over 50% of the crimes. Criminal justice systems are looking to implement measures that could prevent offending among life-course-persistent offenders, uniquely if they could be identified in their younger years. This research paper will discuss the recommendations that the criminal justice system could implement to prevent offending,
Recommendations to Prevent Offending Among the Life-Course Persistent (LCP) Offenders
For criminal justice systems to prevent offending among LCPs, they need to understand the importance of working with schools, families, and the community. These young offenders are more likely to open up to learning and changing their behaviors when guided by familiar entities or parties. To this effect, the systems should seek to support and provide essential resources to ensure all interventions, whether in families, schools, and communities, are running efficiently to improve the behaviors of the LCPs. The improvisation of the interagency mechanism is one strategy to prevent offending (Flores, 2003). This mechanism considers that many of the LCPs will have concurrent challenges such as antisocial conduct, learning challenges, mood problems, and being exposed to either abuse or neglect. Therefore, coordinating efforts between the justice systems,m schools, child welfare agencies, and health institutions dealing with mental issues will be essential in dealing with LCPs. while the integrated programs are typically rare, the effectiveness continues to be evaluated and found to be effective.
Several mechanisms will be required for the coordination and full integration of a system characterized by continuous care and sanctions for the LCPs. These mechanisms include having a governing body or interagency council that comprises representatives from the different juvenile justice agencies (Flores, 2003). It could also include human service organizations with authority to convene and develop a comprehensive mechanism to deal with the child delinquents. The second mechanism is having a front-end mechanism in the criminal justice system that will conduct a comprehensive assessment of LCPs. The third mechanism would be to ensure collaboration and coordination in efforts related to the post-adjudication phase. These efforts include wrap-around services applicable to both children and families in a flexible and individualized manner.
The second recommendation is to have multiple intervention points for the LCPs, depending on the exhibited personality disorder and the current family dysfunctions (Public Safety Canada, 2018). For the children in their early childhood stages, childhood disorders may be noticeable by the parents, kindergarten teachers, and social workers. The early intervention focuses on providing the families with information to understand their particular personality disorder affecting the child. With this understanding, the individuals also learn the right responses, both verbal and behaviorally. For instance, the adults may set limits on any acting-out behaviors in conjunction with explaining to the child why they should not be violent and to implement consistent consequences for choosing to do so. In schools, the teachers and workers need to concentrate on the right kind of discipline and positive and non-stigmatizing rewards for the LCPs (Public Safety Canada, 2018). Therefore, the parties responsible for the LCPs will ensure that they avoid imparting any negative identity labels in responding to acting-out behaviors. They are to identify the extreme expressions from the affected children and devise intensive interventions to be implemented by other parties . for any extreme cases. The children are referred to child psychiatrists, who will improvise specialized treatment interventions.
For the LCPs in the middle childhood stage between 7 and 10 years or are in the late childhood stage of 11 to 12 years, the behavioral challenges associated with any disorders are typically manifested in the home and school environments (Public Safety Canada, 2018). However, they are increasingly exhibited within neighborhoods and among antisocial peers. They could quickly join informal gangs that could include older youth to engage in numerous criminal activities. The LCPs will require several intervention strategies that rely on their antisocial behaviors. Beyond the interventions involving families and schools, there will be a need for organized and supervised activities, whether in school or the communities. These activities will act as alternatives to learn positive or prosocial behaviors. Innovative community programs that provide immediate diagnostic, referral planning, and streamlined access to proper governmental and nongovernmental agencies’ resources will also be prudent in LCPs with intensive risk factors. An integrated intervention strategy is vital for the LCPs in these stages to mitigate the potential likelihood of them becoming adolescents with severe and violent behaviors.
Additionally, a Developmental and Life-courses (DLC) Approach could be implemented to identify the different risk factors that could lead to delinquency in the different developmental stages (Casey, 2011). Through this approach, the entities can understand the continuity and change in offending that happens through one’s life course. The primary focus is on the risks and protective factors that have a direct correlation to crime. The different career dimensions, such as onset, persistence, specialization, and seriousness, are also considered (Sullivan et al., 2012). Identification of these risk factors will lead to the implementation of interventions that will directly handle them. Farrington 2003 did his research on this approach and found that the onset of young offenses lies between the ages of 8nand 14v before they prevail in the ages between 15 and 19. Most of the offenders who desist do so between the ages of 20 and 29. With this understanding, in conjunction with an individual is an LCP, then the right interventions are implemented in the earlier stages. Notably, this approach requires an extensive understanding of different interventions that apply to individual risk factors. A whole system of factors such as the changing antisocial and delinquent behaviors, developmental differences, and the best interventions for each individual who has their own set of risk factors.
Nonetheless, Casey’s (2011) research would find that different interventions are effective when incorporated effectively. For instance, having interpersonal skills training, regardless of the individual, will help develop the individual regardless of their risk factors. The offenders that have not been institutionalized have demonstrated positive progress after undergoing individual counseling, behavioral interventions, and the provision of multiple needed services. These three treatment programs are also alike for those within institutions in families, communities. A proper analysis of the individuals will lead to the formulation of interventions that apply to many individuals, which also are useful.
Conclusion
Life-course-persistent offenders will usually portray similar antisocial behaviors and behavioral challenges from a young age. By the time this LCP offender is engaging in crime during their adolescent years, they usually have exhibited this kind of conduct in their earlier years. Therefore, the criminal justice system should look to collaborate with different institutions such as families, schools, and communities.b the interactions will help in identifying the LCP individuals and have them partake in programs that potentially reduces their risk of engaging in crime.

References
Casey, S. (2011). Understanding young offenders: developmental criminology. The Open Criminology Journal, 4(1).
Flores, J. R. (2003). Child delinquency. Bulletin Series Administrator.
Public Safety Canada. (2018, January 31). Youth at-risk of serious and life-course offending. Retrieved from https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/lf-crs-ffndng/index-en.aspx#toc5e3
Flores, J. R. (2003). Child delinquency. Bulletin Series Administrator.
Schulz, S. (2014). Juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice: Causes of crime and delinquency in Namibia-Readings from data on age-crime distribution.
Sullivan, C. J., Piquero, A. R., & Cullen, F. T. (2012). Like Before, but Better: The Lessons of Developmental, Life-Course Criminology for Contemporary Juvenile Justice. Victims & Offenders, 7(4), 450–471. doi:10.1080/15564886.2012.713318