Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile Delinquency

I. The harsh beginnings.

Children were viewed as non-persons until the 1700's. They did not receive special treatment or recognition. Discipline then is what we now call abuse. There were some major assumptions about life before the 1700's.

The first assumption is that life was hard, and you had to be hard to survive. The people of that time in history did not have the conveniences that we take for granted. For example, the medical practices of that day were primitive in comparison to present-day medicine. Marriages were more for convenience, rather than for child-bearing or romance.

The second assuption was that infant and child mortality were high. It did not make sense to the parents in those days to create an emotional bond with children. there was a strong chance that the children would not survive until adulthood.

II. The beginning of Childhood.

At the end of the 18th century, "The Enlightenment" appeared as a new cultural transition. This period of history is sometimes known as the beginning of reason and humanism. People began to see children as flowers, who needed nurturing in order to bloom. It was the invention of childhood, love and nurturing instead of beatings to stay in line. Children had finally begun to emerge as a distinct group. It started with the upper-class, who were allowed to attend colleges and universities.

III. Something new?

Throughout all time there has been delinquency. It may not have had the delinquency label, but it still existed. In ancient Britain, children at the age of seven were tried, convicted, and punished as adults. There was no special treatment for them, a hanging was a hanging. Juvenile crime is mentioned as far back as ancient Sumeria and Hammurabi, w...

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...nadian, and 28 U.K. programs.

Less than half of these programs served delinquents. It was reported that 41% of delinquent youth completed the programs, 12% were administratively discharged, 14% showed no progress, and the rest were discharged due to breakdown of the youth or foster family. The average length of stay was 7.5 months. They determined that foster family care may be a viable alternative for delinquents and could be used more often. It is sometimes the case that youth are placed in the wrong setting (jail) because their is no other alternative.

The juvenile justice system today has many treatment options to choose from. The new and intensive programs, which are tailored to the individual offender, have some promising prospects. There is also hope that specialized programs started at facilities to incarcerate juvenile offenders will improve recidivism.