Psychology

The general thrust of this paper aims at presenting certain Psychological and Sociological principles andor theories identifiable or evident in the conduct and practice of modern-day criminal justice agency management. As it is, the topic represents a rather broad collection of knowledge and theories psychological and sociological theories abound, inasmuch as there are a good number of criminal justice agencies around. In a specific way therefore, this paper zeroes in on the practices and rehabilitative-management approaches being offered in and by juvenile facilities. This paper shall therefore argue that certain Psychological and Sociological principles, acting as either as program-guides or as inherent foundations, can be applied to rehabilitative management programs offered by juvenile facilities.

Psychological Principles Inherent in Juvenile Rehabilitation Management
Juvenile rehabilitation facilities exist primarily in connection with the other juvenile facilities, for the purpose of promoting the overall safety of the general public, which, in the midst of severely compromising incidents of petty or heinous crimes committed by youth offenders, can be severely compromised. Juvenile rehabilitation facilities, in particular, are concerned about the need to re-establish the fundamental functionality of youth offenders less than 18 years of age, or even lower in some states (Torbet, et.al, 1996, p. 3). Hand in hand with the juvenile court systems and juvenile detention centers, juvenile rehabilitation centers see to it that the four major phases inherent in helping youth offenders are observed intake (of felons), residential rehabilitation, release readiness and community management (Johnson, 2001, p. 113).

According to Rosenheim (2002), the process of taking in a youth offender for rehabilitation involves a comprehensive inquiry into the external and internal factors which may be held as contributory forces to the commission of a crime. Risk assessment, according to the author, should entail looking into the multiple indicators which triggered youth-stress e.g., divorced parents, unemployed parents, imprisoned parents, or a generally violent community, in the commission of the crime (Rosenheim, et. al., 2002, p. 224). Herein it is evident that one can use the principles of Psychology to come up with a more or less comprehensive assessment of the causative factors of the crime. Principal to such Psychological theories is the Internal and External factors affecting the Development of a Person.

One can apply the Psychological principles on Human Development in managing the entry of any youth offender. Psychological studies agree that there are two chief factors which exert influence into the development of a persons attitude or behavior (or at least, the way he or she perceives reality) i.e., (1) internal factors, such as heredity and the mental activities itself, and (2) external factors, such as upbringing or environment. In assessing a certain youth offender for intake, one may apply these Psychological principles to see whether the fundamental capacities of the mind  or the internal factor  to act rightly is impaired, or that the inherited disposition of the offender is susceptible to aggression and violence (Sully, 2005, p. 60).

Furthermore, a Clinical Psychologist may likewise look into the environment  or external factors  to search for answers. It could be that the offender grew up in an environment which nurtured hatred and violence. It could be that the offender was, in some respects, indoctrinated into doing the crime he or she really did not want. The case in point here lies in the fact that, apart from the inherent mental processes of a person, the environment impinges upon direct influence into the manner by which a person, or a young felon for that matter, thinks or feels. Sully captures in essence the point in contention.

The growth of intellect feeling and will is as we have seen conditioned by the action of the several physical agencies, by the form and arrangement of things making up our natural habitat. The contents and the order of arrangement of environment thus help determine the form of our mental life. (Sully, 2005, p. 63).

Next, it would be consistent with the principles of Psychology that young offenders, depending on the nature and severity of their offence, are entered into an in-house rehabilitation facility with specific programs designed to address their specific needs. Among others, in-house community service, therapeutic and cathartic counseling, development of support groups, physical exercises and re-education of offenders belong to the most basic rehabilitative services which most, if not all juvenile rehabilitation facilities offer. One classic example would be the Detention Diversion Advocacy Program of the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) in San Francisco, CA. The organization provides an intensive care management for high-risk youth offenders in collaboration with defense attorney, courts, parents and community-based service providers (DDAP, 2010, n.p.).

Most juvenile rehabilitation facilities apply the Psychological principle of Control and Training as part of their intensive care management programs.  In other words, the reason why juvenile facilities bank of the capacity of youth offenders to change (for the better) lies in the reasoning that, as far as Psychology is concerned, there is a good chance for young felons to amend their ways provided that they are given adequate, critical and continuing intervention. Studies in Psychology assert that the principle of Control and Training can be learned, or unlearned, given sets of intervention. When introduced in an environment which observes and practices higher values, one is able to develop a resoluteness of the will to act only on decision which are collectively taken as appropriate or moral (Sully, 2005, p. 649). Re-education of training and control, which is essential in the rehabilitation of any youth offender, is a critical aspect of the intensive-care management program of juvenile facilities. During the rehabilitation process, and especially towards the end of such process, it is hoped that youth offenders can be re-taught to develop an acceptable orientation in life, as well as a critical sense of control, or the ability of the developed will to overcome and keep within due limits special forces or tendencies viewed as opposed at that time (Sully 2005, p. 649).

Sociological Principles Applied in Offenders Re-entry to the Community
It is expected that, in the duration of an offenders rehabilitation, certain assessments are to be made relative to the prospect of recommending such person for re-entry to the community. This, of course, is only true for those who have responded positively and have shown evident progress to the management programs offered to them. Johnson (2001) believes that community factors must be continually reassessed so that rehabilitated youth offenders must not fall into recidivism, or recurrent relapse into his or her criminal activities (p. 113). Thus, the need to ensure the peaceable atmosphere in a community is of the essence here. Put in other words, juvenile rehabilitation facilities should make sure that recommending youth offenders for re-entry into the community must be within the parameters of may be called calculable risk.

Here, one can easily apply the Sociological principles of Deviance and Norms as well as Interaction and Influence operative in re-entry processes of youth offenders.  Deviance and Norms are principles used by Sociology to assess and define the quality of an action within the purview of collective conventions and stereotypes. Norms are generally known as accepted customs, value-systems and ways within a community, while Deviance, technically, is defined as a behavior that is recognized as violating (such) expected rules or norms (Andersen  Taylor, 2006, p. 166). The two principles complement one another in that they collectively determine which ways are accepted, as against those which are not. In a community, a person is therefore expected to act morally so as not to offend the collective consciousness of right and wrong. Any action which directly constitutes a direct disrespect, say a crime, to the collective consciousness of, say respect for property, merits punishment.

One can apply the principles of Deviance and Norms in evaluating the merits of a youth offender being recommended for re-entry. Foremost from among the concern is to check whether the offenders have had a clearer orientation (during rehabilitation) of actions which constitute deviance and actions which constitute conformity to acceptable norms. The purpose is not to elicit obedience solely for its plain end. Underneath the recognition of Deviance and Norm is the need to maintain acceptable Interaction and exertion of Influence within a community i.e., that each member of the community must be bonded marked by interaction which high degree of interdependence and not of conflict (Andersen  Taylor, 2006, p. 111).

Conclusion
This paper concludes with a thought that, indeed, Psychological and Sociological principles can be applied in the practical management of a modern-day criminal justice facility, specifically relative to the rehabilitation programs offered by juvenile facilities. In the discussions hereinabove developed, it was seen that the Psychological principles of Internal and External factors affecting Human Development can be applied, especially in assessing the circumstances of youth offenders who are being prepared to participate in juvenile rehabilitative programs. Furthermore, it was also seen that the principles of Control and re-education, or Training, are evident in the rehabilitation process itself, most significantly in the goal to re-orient youth offenders towards acceptable human behavior. Last but not least, it was also seen that the Sociological principles of Deviance and Norms, as well as Interaction and Influence are of prime importance to the management of offenders being prepared for re-entry into the community.