How To Improve The Juvenile Justice System – Research And Ideas Shared By Formerly Incarcerated Teens
Shiv R. Desai, University of New Mexico
“They treat us like animals.”
“I was called a menace to society by two judges.”
These are just two of the comments made by incarcerated teens during focus group interviews inside a juvenile detention center in New Mexico. Over the course of two hourlong sessions, detained youths shared their stories of how they ran afoul of the law and discussed key strategies for how they would improve the juvenile justice system.
These sessions were conducted by members of Leaders Organizing 2 Unite and Decriminalize, a youth group comprising young people ages 15 to 19. While some members are formerly incarcerated, others are allies. I was a co-facilitator of LOUD and guided the group in its research.
Our main focus was to conduct what’s called a Youth Partici...