Age And Crime Essay

1113 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Conclusion of juveniles tried as adults

Age and Crime,
For years people have been trying to define crime and its causes. One such theory suggests a link between age and crime. In this paper I will further discuss what is age and crime theory, what causes young adults to commit crimes more than older adults, and how this theory is used in the criminal justice system.
To understand the theory of age and crime, we must first understand what is meant by the words ‘age and crime’. Age obviously refers to the age of an offender or victim. Crime, as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary is, “an illegal act for which someone can be punished by the government.” Together age and crime help define a theory for what causes crime to occur.
The history of the theory of age and crime begins
Approximately (wierd percentage here) of young adults in America live in zones of transition. According to Shaw and McKay, transitional neighborhoods have the highest crime rates due to the high turnover rate and poor environmental conditions. (citation?). Young adults living in these conditions are more likely to be victims of crime and even commit crimes themselves. These neighborhoods result from people constantly moving in and out of them and from the poor living conditions such as inadequate housing and underfunded school districts. Seventy-five percent of high school dropouts will end up in jail or prison at some point in their lives. (CITATION). Ultimately, young adults who live in transitional neighborhoods are more likely to experience
One specific change would be to prosecute young adults as minors instead of as adults. As mentioned earlier, Germany has already put this into practice for many years. This alteration would allow young adults to receive lesser punishments and sentencings and would limit who could see their juvenile records later on in life. Prospective employers and other such people wouldn’t be able to judge or label the young adults based on a criminal history because they wouldn’t be able to gain access to it. Overall, everyone benefits from this proposition. The criminal justice system doesn’t need to pay to house more prisoners and young adults can carry on with their lives and become productive members of society label

Show More
Related

  • Age-Graded Informal Social Controls

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    Laub and Sampson (2003) believe that age-graded informal social controls are crucial in understanding persistence and desistance in offending, although more research is necessary. Laub and Sampson (2003) argue that certain turning points in life influence persistence and desistance in offending through informal social controls highly associated with the age of the individual via intervening mechanisms. The age-graded informal social control theory aims to explain persistence and desistance, thus explaining important aspects of crime over the life course. Persistence and desistance are explained through age-graded informal social controls such as marriage, employment, and military service and their accompanying intervening mechanisms making the relationship between informal social controls and persistence and desistance somewhat more complex.

    Read More

  • Why Are Some Neighborhoods More Prone To Experience Violent Episodes Than Others?

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sampson, R., & Laub, J. (1990). Crime and Deviance over the Life course: the salience of adult social bonds. American Sociological Review, 55(5), 609-627.

    Read More

  • Growin Up In the Hood

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    These crime-ridden communities (or ghettos) are springing up all through the country, mainly in and around major metropolitan areas. These areas are the most populated, so that means that within these areas are the most people there to be influenced by the crimes committed by fellow people. In Male's reading he shows statistics that prove the fact that once the poverty factor is taken away then teen violence disappears. He later adds, “That if America wants to rid of juvenile violence than serious consideration needs to be given to the societally inflicted violence of raising three to 10 times more youth in poverty than other Western nations.” (Males p386)

    Read More

  • Juvenile Justice

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... proponents say 'cracks down on the worst of the worst among teen criminals.' It is unbelievable that our society will allow for such a law. It seems unfair that a fourteen year old child can make a mistake and pay for it the rest of his/her life. The reason our system has never tried youth as adults is because they are not mature enough to think like an adult and take responsibility for themselves. At such a young age there is still hope for an alteration in his/her lifestyle, locking the child up only diminishes the chance of change. Children act out for attention and in many cases do whatever it takes to get that attention; even if it means bringing a gun to school, or going into a store and stealing a pack of gum. Our society must realize there is a problem with today's youth and find where it stems from - only then is there any hope for change. Putting children into prisons is like pushing dirt under a rug; the dirt can only sit for so long until someone realizes there's a problem and looks to see what the problem is. Our society has been pushing dirt under the rug for so long now that it's only a matter of time until the dirt chafes a hole right through the worn out rug.

    Read More

  • Juvenile Recidivism Essay

    1860 Words  | 4 Pages

    The adjustment from incarceration to society causes a series of problems, making rehabilitation difficult. When the juvenile’s leave home to be detained, all ties with society, the support systems they had, the gangs they associated with, school they attending are no longer in close proximity, which is essential for successful rehabilitation (James, Stams, Asscher, Katrien De Roo & van der Laan 2012). Another problem association with the reintegration is that juveniles are in a particularly fragile state in that they are not only transitioning from society to detention, but from adolescence to adulthood, both of which are overwhelming adjustments. Research has shown, however, that if youths stay out of trouble within the first few months

    Read More

  • Juvenile Courts

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Several studies conducted to determine impacts of transfers of cases from juvenile courts to adult criminal courts for trial and potential sentencing indicate higher recidivism rates among the offenders. This is because of the notion the youth possess on the strictness on the adult courts. They believe trials on these courts end up in harsh punishment for offenders. In a way, adult punishments scare youth away from committing major crimes. However, studies show that short term punishments imposed on young offenders in adult courts propagates the offenders to commit even more crimes that are serious after their sentence terminates. This results from interactions with other crimes bearer behind bars who are convicted for far much worse crimes than they are. In addition the young offenders continued to commit crimes at a higher rate and more often than earlier on (Shari, page 1).

    Read More

  • Criminology Essay

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminology as a genre is defined as the scientific study of crime, as well as its causes, law enforcement interaction, criminal behavior, and means of prevention. In its own way criminology is the history of humanity. As long as people have been on earth there has been criminal activity. Much like most other work atmospheres, it was a male dominated field. A woman seeking to work in criminology was unheard of. Men filled the jobs as police officers, lawyers, judges, and politicians. However, in the 1860s Belva Lockwood became determined to pave the way for women in criminology. As a women’s rights activist, she became one of the most influential women in criminology.

    Read More

  • Social Disorganisation Theory And Strain Theory

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    Crime exists everywhere. It is exists in our country, in the big cities, the small towns, schools, and even in homes. Crime is defined as “any action that is a violation of law”. These violations may be pending, but in order to at least lower the crime rate, an understanding of why the crimes are committed must first be sought. There are many theories that are able to explain crimes, but three very important ones are rational choice theory, social disorganization theory and strain theory.

    Read More

  • Social Learning Theory And Labeling Theory

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    What are theories of crime? Why are they important? In this paper, will discuss two crime theories. Social learning theory and the labeling theory. We will compare both crime theories. It will also explain how these theories are related to specific crimes. The two theories discussed will also explain the policy implications. Finally, we will address what types of programs can be created to mitigate specific crimes related to the causation theories.

    Read More

  • Why Young People Join Gangs

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that “delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).” Social Disorganization contributes to residential instability and poverty, which affects interpersonal relationships within the community and opens opportunities for crimes to be committed. The break down of neighborhood relation and social institutions create a higher likely hood that young people will affiliate with deviant peers and get involved in gangs. When there is lack of social controls within a neighborhood the opportunity to commit deviance increases and the exposure to deviant groups such as street gangs increase. Which causes an increase in the chances of young people joining street gangs. If social controls are strong remain strong within a neighborhood and/or community the chances of young people committing crime and joining gangs decreases.

    Read More

  • The Development of a Criminal Mind

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.

    Read More

  • Crime Theory Essay

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    The world will always be full of crime, thus it is necessary for scientist to grow along with the gruesome and increasing amount of violations. Due to this it sparked scientist to develop crime theories in which emerged to explain why crime is caused by individuals. Some of the few theories that have advanced over the past century and provided many answers to why crimes are committed are biological theories, psychological theories and learning theories. These theories provide an insight to its first use and change in order to provide answers.

    Read More

  • Essay On The History Of Juvenile Crime

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is very little information about the history of juvenile crime. So, in order to provide insight into juvenile crime I will first discuss be the history of America’s juvenile justice system. One of the main debates in modern time is who has the responsibility of directing the juvenile justice system so that it can become an avenue for helping prevent juvenile crimes.

    Read More

  • Are Criminals Born or Made?

    2147 Words  | 5 Pages

    Criminals are born not made. The basic definition of the word criminal is someone who commits offending behaviour within society (Harrower, 2001). The crime may range from petty theft to murder. Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes.

    Read More

  • Crime And Law Essay

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Crime is typically classified as either a property or personal crime. Personal crimes embody crimes of violence like murder and theft. With a private crime you'll have a offender and a victim. Property crimes area unit simply that, crimes against a bit of property wherever there's no use or threat of force against someone. the foremost common crime sorts area unit violent crimes, white collar and company crime, social group, and crime.

    Read More

More about Age And Crime Essay

Open Document