MSU department of psychology faculty member Dr. Michael Bordieri and Tracy Ross compare and contrast living conditions in juvenile detention facilities to those in zoos.
Bordieri says we have seen a major shift in the way we approach animal welfare at zoos in the last 40 years with behavioral enrichment. He says animals locked in cages will eventually display maladaptive behaviors, like nervous pacing, self injury, and aggression, which is bad for animals and bad for business at zoos.
So, instead of just confining animals, caretakers now try to create ideal environments that stimulate and showcase animals as if they were in the wild. Feeding time now involves finding hidden food or solving a puzzle instead of just being provided a meal. Exhibits now imitate natural habitats. Bordieri says this enrichment immensely improves quality of life for the animals and enhances the experience for visitors, who leave more likely to support conservation efforts.
Bordieri applies what we have learned from the evolution of zoos to the criminal justice system. He says jails are much like zoos in the 1950s; freedom and choice are taken away, furniture is bolted down, and the environment is all concrete and tile. But he says there are promising techniques and alternatives to help create more nurturing environments, specifically for kids in trouble.
The family teaching model puts kids who have been removed from their homes due to behavioral problems into new homes that have structure and rules but allow for kids to have more ownership and choice in their lives. This allows the children to learn pro-social and adaptive ways of interacting with people. Though Bordieri says this method doesn’t solve all of the challenges of the juvenile justice system, he says it is worth thinking about what is the best environment we can give to kids in trouble.
