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A careful observation of the current social scene would indicate that Youth Crime is gradually taking the centre stage of the everyday social life of some young persons.

Significantly ,the consequences of such social disorder, it's implications for the risks it poses to public life, ,public safety and indeed the safety of such young persons is a great concern for most responsible and law abiding citizens of our society.

This social phenomenon is a grave challenge to the police, social welfare, prisons and other stake holders of community safety and in as much as that of the welfare of young persons themselves and that of their families.

The current social climate may present the Ghanaian public with the expectations to demand it's Criminal Justice System to continue focusing on punitive or retributive responses or the 'punishment fits the crime approach' as offending or criminal behavior by young persons is deemed to be the responsibility of these young persons.

It is my considered professional opinion that such an approach or response is becoming detrimental to the future well-being of these young persons.

There are several reasons why greater use of imprisonments is not a desirable direction in which Ghana's penal policy and practice should continue to be moving.

In societies that do not use the death penalty, imprisonment is the most punitive and coercive sanction the state imposes on its citizens.

In democracies, which value freedom and humanity, there is a strong case for using non-coercive, less formal and more positive and pragmatic approaches, wherever possible and appropriate.

Little or no Community Sentences and too long prison sentences have consequences which are doubly destructive of the needs of young offenders and their communities.

Although it may be said that prison has an important role to play in protecting the community against the most dangerous and recalcitrant offenders and in punishing the most serious crimes, research evidence indicates the many disadvantages of over using imprisonment.

Firstly, it can harm the chances of young people to have to make amends and fulfill their potentials as citizens.

Secondly, by definition, prison limits the opportunities for young people to contribute to civic society and democratic life.

Thirdly, most young people who are sent to prison, leave it no better equipped to fit into society than when they entered it, and indeed some young offenders leave prison a good deal worse off.

I dare say from practice perspective that properly designed Community measures or early intervention programmes are most cost effective route to prevention than imprisonment.

Furthermore, imprisonment of young offenders may cause major problems for the prison service in accommodating young offenders in a descent, humane and dignified way.

Undoubtedly, overcrowding can be seen as the cancer of the prison system and can lead to an inevitable diminution of the regimes and activities if any available or should be available to the young offender in prison.

It would be in theory possible to build enough prison places to cope with the demand, although no country has succeeded in doing so.

Thus at a fiscal level, prison is expensive and at moral level, it is my view that rising prison population can also represent 'injustice', for those young offenders to whom prison is not strictly necessary.

The flagship of the Children Human Rights is the UNCRC, which contains 54 articles that emphasizes the paramountcy of the welfare of children.

It is a heartening development that this welfare principle characterizes the twin legislations of the Children's Act and the Juvenile Justice Act Continued    Source: marcus lawson

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