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A Problem Exists
In today’s society there is a lot of crime going on that involves minors and the first thing that some people do is blame parents for the misbehavior. What if the minor lives in the home with an alcoholic mom, and a drug addict father, and the minor feels as though he/she is in the world alone. The definition of a minor is “an infant or person who is under the age of legal competence”. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/minor) The minor starts hanging with the wrong crowd to feel wanted and decides to rob a bank, he goes to jail, and is sentenced to prison. Now there are clearly things that contributed to the way the minor committed this crime but it does not make it okay either. He was not getting any attention at home so he
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Criminal psychology degree programs look at each of these factors to understand how they affect youth and how these negative influences can be curtailed”.(http://criminology.regis.edu/criminology-programs/resources/crim-articles/contributing-factors-to-juvenile-crime). Peer pressure is something that makes someone feels as though they have to do a certain thing if not others may not be their friend. There are a lot of kids who have to deal with this all throughout school in order to fit in with others or to feel wanted by their friends. For example: In school, girls and boys may be pressured to have sex because all their friends are doing it and it’s cool to do and nothing will happen. After that one time she becomes pregnant, in the back of her mind she may be thinking to herself that if I would not have had sex and remained celibate this would not have happened to me. The reason why she fell for it is because of the pressure to do it from
Juveniles don’t deserve life sentences without parole for many reasons but one main reason is becase people don’t know a person’s life at home and sometimes living in a broken home can affect their social life. According to the article “Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents”, the author Scott Anderson states that,“The only way to unlock the mysteries of the psyche is to dissect your childhood, especially the formative influence of your parents” (Anderson 56), proving that juveniles are easily influenced to do terrifying crimes and is not their fault because no one was there to guide them.
For a long time, Memphis has been considered one of the United States’ most dangerous cities. When compared to other urban communities of similar sizes, the city in the Mid-South usually tops the list in terms of the number of crimes. Its violent and property crime rates are among the country’s highest, and in the recent years, statistics have shown that they are continuing to increase (Peagler). One specific area of concern regarding Memphis’ crimes is the alarming rate of youth offenders. Like the city’s other rates, the amount of crimes involving juveniles are on the rise, and thus, more effort should be made to prevent young persons from engaging in criminal behavior. The proposed solutions are to demand more beneficial volunteering from
Many theories, at both the macro and micro level, have been proposed to explain juvenile crime. Some prominent theories include Social Disorganization theory, Differential Social Organization theory, Social Control theory, and Differential Association theory. When determining which theories are more valid, the question must be explored whether people deviate because of what they learn or from how they are controlled? Mercer L. Sullivan’s book, “Getting Paid” Youth Crime and Work in the Inner City clearly suggests that the learning theories both at the macro level, Differential social organization, and micro level, Differential association theory, are the more accurate of the two types of theory.
Crime rates across the U.S. for juveniles is at all time high. Juveniles across all demographic have been punished more severely than those of the past. Contributing factors including lower socioeconomic areas such as the Detroit Metropolitan Areas & Chicago. This paper will discuss the apparent issue within the system focusing on juveniles in urban areas.
According to the article of “Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults?” at Buzzle.com, “It is a proven fact that when a child is at the age around nine or ten that they do not have the mental accessibility to think as an adult” (Borkar). Citizens see this statistic as a reason as to why children should not be tried as adults. “Children are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities” (Equal Justice Initiative). These juveniles are subject to much harsher punishments which includes life sentencing (Michon). These people do not feel that these children should be in a prison for the rest of their life for something they did when they were 13. Broken families can be a reason for a child to rebel and become trouble. “Psychology speaking, it is said that there are no ‘problem children’ but only ‘problem parents’” (Borkar). Parents roles are to guide their kids in the right way. Children will not know what is right or wrong if parents do n...
As minors commit violent crimes without being held accountable, they can grow up to be real criminals and they can be very dangerous. Without a solid foundation of what is right and wrong, these minors will grow up believing that their actions are the norm. For this reason, minors need to be held accountable. They need to be taught that they cannot get away with their crimes. In 2007, courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1.7 million delinquency cases. Delinquency cases include vandalism, shoplifting, robbery, and murder. These are just some of the crimes minors can commit. This was up by forty-four percent from 1985. If a minor grows up believing that crime is acceptable, they will repeat the pattern. Without interrupting the pattern and making them accountable, these minors will always have a twisted sense of right and wrong. A sense of what is right and wrong is important and can be learned at any age. Minors learn very young, what...
Today?s court system is left with many difficult decisions. One of the most controversial being whether to try juveniles as adults or not. With the number of children in adult prisons and jails rising rapidly, questions are being asked as to why children have been committing such heinous crimes and how will they be stopped. The fact of the matter is that it is not always the children's fault for their poor choices and actions; they are merely a victim of their environment or their parents. Another question asked is how young is too young. Children who are too young to see an R rated film unaccompanied are being sent to adult prisons. The only boundaries that seem to matter when it comes to being an adult are laws that restrain kids from things such as alcohol, pornography, and other materials seen as unethical. Children that are sent to adult prison are going to be subjected to even more unprincipled ideas and scenes. When children can be sent to jail for something as minor as a smash and grab burglary, the judicial system has errors. The laws that send juveniles to adult prisons are inhumane, immoral, and unjust. Kids are often incompetent, which leads to unfair trials. Adult prisons are also very dangerous for minors, and in many cases this leads to more juvenile crimes.
The United States has been affected by a number of crimes committed by juveniles. The juvenile crime rate has been increasing in recent years. Everyday more juveniles commit crimes for various reasons. They act as adults when they are not officially adults. There is a discussion about how juveniles should be punished if they commit heinous crimes. While many argue that juveniles who commit serious crimes, such as murder, should be treated as adults, the fact is, juveniles under the age of eighteen, are not adults, and should not be treated as such.
Due to the increased recognized differences between adults and juveniles in terms of needs and developmental capabilities, offender’s treatment differ depending on whether they are treated in an adult or juvenile court. In the adult court jurisdiction, public safety and retribution are the most salient tenets while in the juvenile courts the best the intentions are intended towards the best interest of the child focusing on rehabilitation. The best goals and objectives of the juvenile court sanctions aim at ensuring that the youth in trial at the juvenile court desists from delinquent behavior and thus easy to be reintegrated in the society once more. This fact is mainly achieved through offering the youth individualized case management programs
In particular, those teens who have committed serious crimes such as armed robbery or murder, are definitely accountable. Felonies are crucial, therefore if one has the capacity to commit such serious crimes then they definitely do not have the mindset of a child. Juveniles who commit intensive crimes as such should receive life without parole because they are responsible, dangerous, and unforgivable. Guilty teenagers should pay the price, even if that price is life without parole because they are responsible for their actions.
The question of if juvenile offenders deserve a life sentence is controversial and discussed in many forms because every crime is different. It is argued because some crimes are so cruel and heinous that even if a minor has committed them, there is no other punishment than life in prison without parole. However, there are crimes like a felony murder, when you are involved in the felony but not the actual killing; if one were part of a heist to rob a bank and something went wrong and their partner pulled out a weapon and committed a first-degree murder, they would be an accomplice. In these kinds of crimes a minor should not be given a life sentence. There is also the idea that children under the age of 15 or 16 are not mature and may have had a troubled childhood in which there should be alternatives provided like rehabilitation.
In today's society, there are many crimes that happen worldwide that doesn’t just include adults. One issue that is found is juvenile offenses and the decision on whether or not juvenile offenders should be tried and charged as adults in criminal court. The debate comes along the question of whether a criminal who is a juvenile should be punished the same as an adult would if committing the same crime. Individuals, who commit serious crimes, including teenagers, should be penalized according to the law. Age should not be the primary factor in account of violations; many may consider that the child or young adult did not have the ability of knowing right from wrong or that they were raised with similar accepted behaviors.
The social environment of teens holds an enormous influence on how the teens act and behave. Teens are easily influenced by their surroundings and they look to others for guidance. Their behavior results from that of the parent and peer influences. Parents play a particularly influential role in their child’s life and it is up to them to make sure that they are leading their sons or daughters in the right directions. A teen’s peers also play a large role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not around. A teen’s social environment, consisting of family and peers, plays a vital role in their life, therefore becoming the ultimate cause of juvenile delinquency.
Children commit adult crimes. The problem is how do we punish them? Should they be treated in juvenile facilities, or punished with adult criminals? In some states, you are considered to be an adult at 17 years old, therefore, as criminals get placed “in adult prisons for more sophisticated training in violent crimes and victimization.”(Pg. 637)
Most parents never want to believe it is their fault that their child is acting out in such ways, but most children learn from things around them and majority of the time they learn from what they are raised around, so when they see certain things happening on tv, in movies or even from their parents they can start to believe it is okay to do. Juveniles who start offending before the age of 12 are more likely to continue offending into early adulthood according to Rolf Loeber and David P. Farrington (Loeber,R., Farrington,D.). When you think deeply about what they believe then you realize that the earlier your child starts the more likely it is that you created a felon for life, so why shouldn’t the parents be held responsible? Aren’t the parents supposed to guide you and lead you to