Describe the differences in the appropriate application of the get tough and go soft approaches to sentencing

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Get tough approach:
(i) was triggered by the failure of the reform agenda of the 1970s to address violent youth crime and repeat offenders
(ii) is associated with the Reagan administration's crime control policy for juveniles
(iii) focuses on preventive detention, transfer of violent and repeat juvenile offenders to the adult court, mandatory and determinate sentences for serious and repeat juvenile offenders, increased long-term confinement for juveniles, and enforcement of the death penalty for juveniles who commit "brutal and senseless" murders
(iv) led to a number of federal juvenile justice initiatives in the 1990s that went beyond those implemented in the 1980s such as: establishing curfews; passing parental responsibility laws; increasing efforts to combat street gangs; moving toward graduated sanctions; creating juvenile boot camps; maintaining and strengthening current laws restricting juveniles' use of guns; opening juvenile proceedings and records; transferring juveniles to criminal or adult courts; and expanding sentencing authority over juveniles
• Go soft approach:
(i) first became popular in the 1960s when professionals and students became aware of the extent of youth crime, the negative impact of delinquency labels, and the criminogenic and violent nature of juvenile institutions
(ii) urges a least-restrictive philosophy, implying 'do not do any more than necessary with youthful offenders'
(iii) entails keeping status offenders out of the juvenile justice system
(iv) provides juveniles with all the procedural safeguards given to adults