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Social deprivation and crime are inextricably linked essay
Crime among youth introduction
Juvenile delinquency cause and effect
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According to the Ministry of Justice report (2014), there were 98,837 law violations committed by young people in England and Wales in 2012 and 2013. The report highlights the fact that 13.6 per cent of 1,235,028 arrests for notifiable offences were of youngsters aged between 10 to 17 years old. Juvenile delinquency is one of the major communal issues faced by contemporary UK society nowadays. The problem of youth crime should be seriously taken into account as the various kinds of crime are committed by children, who have less understanding of the world compared to adults. Ministry of Justice (2014) also affirms that in 2012/13, 27,854 young people entered the Youth Justice System for the first time. Furthermore, over 40,000 juveniles under the age of 18 years old were sentenced in England and Wales in 2012/13 (Ministry of Justice, 2014).
Daily Mail (2012) claims that offenders under the age of 18 commit a quarter of all crimes, accounting for more than a million in a single year. The Home Office found that juveniles were responsible for half of the robberies, 32 per cent of burglaries, 31 per cent of vehicle crimes and 28 per cent of criminal damage offences (Daily Mail, 2012). Moreover, the warning alert is that there is a chance of reoffending by the young criminal. As stated by Daily Mail (2012), about three quarters of young criminals return to crime within a year. With regard to the evidence provided it could be stated that youth crime is a serious issue with the possibility of developing into a severe problem in the UK and the significance of emphasizing the issue of juvenile delinquency, therefore, is crucial. This essay will outline and review the causes, effects and possible solutions to such an ominous subject as you...
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... demonstrate criminal behaviour when they do not have similar resources as their peers (Reading Craze, 2013). According to McCord (2001), “factors such as peer delinquent behaviour, peer approval of delinquent behaviour, attachment to peers, time spent with peers and peer pressure for deviance have all been associated with adolescent antisocial behaviour” (via Shader, 2004). Giddens and Sutton (2013) believe there are strong links between crime and social exclusion. They claim that crime rates reflect the growing number of people who do not feel valued by the societies they live in and they lack parental support and guidance.
Moving on to community factors, the environment a juvenile is raised in plays an extremely significant role in influencing the likelihood of delinquent behaviour. The neighbourhood one lives in can allow criminal activities to go unmonitored.
One might believe that if an individual is more educated and hold an adequate job, this person would have a lot to lose if involved with crime. This makes education and employment a type of deterrent to crime.The community is the „other parent‟ for children. They are going to follow what the community around them does. If there is violence, drugs, and weapons frequenting the streets, they are more likely to participate in it. Alcohol and drugs is a complex issue relating to crime. Looking at newspapers, most of the crimes committed involved were from people under the influence of alcohol or
In February 2002, the House of Commons passed the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). The Act came into effect in April 2003, replacing the Young Offenders Act (Mapleleaf). The new legislation attempts to balance the legalistic framework of the Young Offenders Act and the social needs approach underlying the Juvenile Delinquents Act. This goal is apparent in the Declaration of Principle stating th...
The Youth Criminal Justice Act, often called by the name of YCJA, is specifically made for youths ages varying from 12 to 17 that disobey the law. In April 1, 2003, the YCJA replaced the previous justice act called Young Offenders Act due to several negative concerns. “These concerns included the overuse of the courts and incarceration in less serious cases, disparity and unfairness in sentencing, a lack of effective reintegration of young people released from custody, and the need to better take into account the interests of victims.” The main purpose of the YCJA aims to have a fairer and more equitable system. Although the YCJA is an effective law within the justice system, a main aspect/characteristic that needs to remain, is keeping the
Most young offenders get into trouble with the law only once. But the younger children are when they first break the law, the more likely they are to break the law again (Statistics Canada study, 2005). The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) attempts to acknowledge that different youth need different sentences within the justice system, while ensuring that it is fair and equitable for them. Many people, both in Canada, and around the world, believe that youth are not reprimanded harshly enough for the crimes they commit and that they are, in general, are able to squeeze through the justice system without punishment. Others, believe that the justice system does not treat youth fairly and punishes them without acknowledging that rehabilitation
Hendrick, H. (2006) ‘Histories of Youth Crime and Justice’, In B. Goldson and J. Muncie (eds) Youth Crime and Justice. London: Sage
The overwhelming majority of juveniles are involved in impulsive or risky, even delinquent behaviors during their teenage years. However, the majority go on to become very productive citizens who do not commit crimes. In order for this to continue the government established the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) which gives young offenders a chance to better themselves, and. By doing so, the YCJA helps teach youth that their actions are unacceptable and the punishments imposed are lesser then an adult. Through the analysis of their unacceptable actions, lesser punishments and a better future, it is clear that YCJA is highly effective at giving youth a better chance in society.
Opinions such as those found in the Smith Family Youth Unemployment Report (2003) which hypothesize that juvenile crime is directly connected to the high rates of youth unemployment in Australia cannot be neither accepted nor critiqued until there is a clear understanding of what the terms “Youth Unemployment” and “Juvenile Crime” mean in the context of this essay. In this essay youth unemployment is generally taken to include the entire 15-24 age cohort – not just 15-19 year old teenagers – who are no longer at school or university and who are without a job. I have chosen to include 20-24 year olds under the banner of “Youth”, as it gives a fairer picture of the performance of all young people in the labor market and takes into account the pattern of employment both during and after leaving school or university.
Vandergoot determines that the reasoning capacity of an adolescent, the ability to make legal decisions, and filter unnecessary information is unclear to a juvenile in the justice system; the vagueness of youth stepping into the courts prevents them from fully participating in the justice system. ( Vandergoot, 2006). As a result of this impreciseness youth encounter Vandergoot concludes a separate justice system allocated for youth to adhere to adolescent needs. Vandergoot discusses the Youth Criminal Justice Act a justice system devised to adhere to youth needs. She summarizes the system that benefits young offenders in contrast to adult offenders. Vandergoot concludes “the goals of the youth legislation…its major objectives are reducing the use of incarceration for young offenders…the YCJA emphasizes restraint, accountability, proportionality, and discretion… it encourages use of extra judicial measures” ( Vandergoot, 2006, p30). Vandergoot determines that the objectives of the Youth Criminal Justice Act is in the interest of youth, however, she accounts for the long term effect on adolescence as well. Vandergoot concludes the emotional and social consequences as youth interact with the system. Vandergoot claims the system leaves juveniles “debased”, suffering an “assault on their self-image”, that “block or snares in the adolescent psyche”, ultimately lowering their motivation and self-esteem which advances youth to have the “they think I’m bad I’ll show them I’m bad” mentality(Vandergoot, 2006). The mentality that derives from direct encounters with the youth justice system, often damages the adolescence completely disregarding the purpose of a youth justice system. Mary Vandergoot’s Justice for Young Offenders Their Needs, Our Responses clearly emphasizes the need
Serious crimes such as murder, burglary and rape have raised questions as to whether the young offenders should face severe punitive treatment or the normal punitive measures in juvenile courts. Many would prefer the juveniles given harsh punishment in order to discourage other young people from engaging in similar activities and to serve as a lesson to these particular offenders. However, results from previous studies indicate such punitive measures were neither successful nor morally acceptable. Instead, the solutions achieved have unfairly treated the youths and compromised the society status (Kristin, page 1).
Youth and juvenile crime is a common and serious issue in current society, and people, especially parents and educators, are pretty worried about the trend of this problem. According to Bala and Roberts, around 17% of criminals were youths, compared to 8% of the Canadian population ranging from 12 to 18 years of age between 2003 and 2004 (2006, p37). As a big federal country, Canada has taken a series of actions since 1908. So far, there are three justice acts in the history of the Canadian juvenile justice system, the 1908 Juvenile Delinquents Act, the 1982 Young Offenders Act, and the 2003 Youth Criminal Justice Act. In Canada, the judicial system and the principles of these laws have been debated for a long time.
In England, conforming to the Civitas’s Crime report Youth Crime in England and Wales (2010) the youngest age that someone can be prosecuted is as young as ten years old. It is also mentioned that trailing, patrolling and applying penalties on young offenders costs almost four billion pounds annually. The numbers of first time offences committed by a young person has decrease over the years; according to the Youth Justice Statistics (2014) youth crime is down by 63% since 2002. In regards to the offences themselves, nearly every offence category has decreased in reoccurrence with exception to drug offences declares Civitas’s Youth Crime in England and Wales (2010). The same report states that theft and handling remains the highest volume category taking up 21% of all youth crime. It is shortly followed by violence against a person, 19.5%, and criminal damage, 11.9%. It can be concluded from both aforementioned reports that crime in the UK is decreasing. Contrariwise to this, youth reoffending rates are soaring concludes Civitas’s Youth Crime in England and Wales (2010).
Goldston, B (2013), ‘Unsafe, unjust and harmful to wider society’: Grounds for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales’, Youth Justice, vol. 13, no. 2, 111-130.
Any person can commit a criminal act providing that they were physically capable in doing so. The justice system, however, treats offenders differently if they are under the age of 18 due to the different levels of maturity, self-awareness and personal responsibility involved. The criminal justice system and the extent of its effectiveness when dealing with young offenders is a contentious issue. With rates of youth detentions escalating, it has caused some to question the reliability in the justice system and in the rehabilitation when dealing with young offenders. That being said there is still a reasonable success rate in assimilating young offenders which may be due to the justice systems guidance or the natural maturing of these offenders.
Youth justice is a complex concern. There are many different ways to approach it — and just like anything else, everyone believes that their model is the most effective for reducing crime. Q’oranka Kilcher, an American actor once said “[…] it’s important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven 't had the right mentors and supporters around them - because of circumstances beyond their control.” This seems fair. Youth may not be able to control their circumstances, but should they be responsible for their own actions and be punished? Or, should they be supported and encouraged in order to get rehabilitated? Different opinions influence different models. Four
(Her Majesty’s Stationery Office) (HMSO, 2003). There are diverse types of crimes committed by different people and age groups. How these are handled by the prison system matters a lot. If a minor commits a crime depending on what the crime is should be