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Juvenile Delinquency: An Overview
History
Juvenile delinquency has a history that dates back hundreds of years. Before the 19th century children were tried in courts the exact same as adults were, but it was only the most severe juvenile cases that actually went to trial. Children were put into prisons, transported and even hanged. In 1880, there were 6,500 children under 16 in adult prisons, 900 of which were under the age of 12 (King & Noel, 1993). Before 1900, many social ideologies shifted resulting from industrialization. The United States’ first juvenile court was opened in 1899 in Illinois. It was spearheaded by Jane Addams and many other influential women in children advocacy. Addams and the others wanted to have a separate court for
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One of the most critical to understand in the society we live in is the Positivist School of Criminology’s theory. Unlike the Classical School of Criminology theory which focuses on rational choice and deterrence, the positivist school theory ‘considers the circumstances of individuals and states that some people are influenced to offend because of determinism” (Fuller, 2015). Determinism is the philosophical doctrine that human action is determined by external forces and is not a result of free will. The Positivist Theory recognizes that the impoverished and minority populations are more likely to break the law because of the social disadvantages that they face. In many impoverished families and communities, delinquency and incarceration is unfortunately an ongoing cycle and it can feel like it is the only …show more content…
According to the Monitoring the Future study (previously called the High School Senior Survey), in 1996, 50.8 percent of high school seniors reported having used illicit drugs (1996). The study also found that male juveniles arrested for drug offenses had the highest rate of positive drug tests when compared to youth arrested for other types of crimes. Substance abuse and delinquency often share the common factors of school and family problems, negative peer groups, lack of neighborhood social controls, and a history of physical or sexual abuse (Hawkins et al., 1987). Substance abuse is also associated with crimes of violence and income-generating crimes such as robberies in youth. Other social and criminal justice problems often linked to substance abuse in juveniles is drug trafficking, youth homicides, gangs, and
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.
The historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States is one that is focused on forming and separating trying juveniles from adult counterparts. One of the most important aspects is focusing on ensuring that there is a level of fairness and equality with respect to the cognitive abilities and processes of juvenile as it relates to committing crime. Some of the most important case legislation that would strengthen the argument in regard to the development of the juvenile justice system is related to the reform of the justice system during the turn of the 19th century. Many juveniles were unfortunately caught in the crosshairs of being tried as adults and ultimately receiving punishments not in line with their ability
This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has come to be what it is today. When a juvenile offender commits a crime and is sentenced to jail or reform school, the offender goes to a separate jail or reforming place than an adult. It hasn’t always been this way. Until the early 1800’s juveniles were tried just like everyone else. Today, that is not the case. This paper will explain the reforms that have taken place within the criminal justice system that developed the juvenile justice system.
In 1899, the nation’s first juvenile court for youth under the age of 16 was established in Chicago to provide rehabilitation rather than punishment. By 1925, following the Chicago model, all but two states had juvenile courts whose goals were to turn youth into productive citizens utilizing treatment that included warnings, probation, and training school confinement(Cox et al. 2014, p.2). Treatment lasted until the child was “cured” or turned 21. Although judges spoke with the offending children and decided upon the punishment, the lack of established rules and poor rehabilitation led to unfair treatment. In 1967 “ U.S. Supreme Court case of In re Gault held that juveniles were entitled to the same constitutional due process rights as adults, beginning a national reform in juvenile justice and the system was repaired to afford children many of the same rights that adults have in court” (Cox et al. 2014, p.4). Also, state legislatures passed laws to crack down on juvenile crime, as recently, states have attempted strike a balance in their approach to juvenile justice systems as research suggests that locking youth away in large, secure juvenile facilities is ineffective treatment towards different genders in which it doesn’t provide appropriate rehabilitation.
A deep look into juveniles in adult prisons. Touch bases on several smaller issues that contribute to juveniles being in and effects of adult prisons. The United States Bureau of Prisons handles two hundred and thirty-nine juveniles and their average age is seventeen. Execution of juveniles, The United States is one of only six countries to execute juveniles. There are sixty-eight juveniles sitting on death row for crimes committed as juveniles. Forty-three of those inmates are minorities. People, who are too young to vote, drink alcohol, or drive are held to the same standard of responsibility as adults. In prisons, they argue that the juveniles become targets of older, more hardened criminals. Brian Stevenson, Director of the Alabama Capital Resource Center said, “We have totally given up in the idea of reform of rehabilitation for the very young. We are basically saying we will throw those kids away. Leading To Prison Juvenile Justice Bulletin Report shows that two-thirds of juveniles apprehended for violent offenses were released or put on probation. Only slightly more than one-third of youths charged with homicide was transferred to adult criminal court. Little more than one out of every one hundred New York youths arrested for muggings, beatings, rape and murder ended up in a correctional institution. Another report showed a delinquent boy has to be arrested on average thirteen times before the court will act more restrictive than probation. Laws began changing as early as 1978 in New York to try juveniles over 12 who commit violent crimes as adults did. However, even since the laws changed only twenty percent of serious offenders served any time. The decision of whether to waive a juven...
Initially, taking a course on juvenile delinquents did not interest me. But during these ten or eleven weeks of school, I have became to fulfill a better understanding as to why these type of kids choose to do some of the things they do. Our textbook, Juvenile Delinquency, by Robert Agnew and Timothy Brezina, focuses solely on what causes and controls juveniles to act out and commit these crimes. When reading this textbook, I became aware that most of the crimes such as burglary, theft, larceny, rape, gang violence, property damage, and etc. were mainly committed by male juveniles. And although this textbook doesn’t state it directly, I feel like most of the information obtained was based on male juveniles. In one of the earlier chapters, I remember reading something about how female juveniles are more closely supervised than males, and that although the rate for female juveniles is increasing, it still isn’t as high as the rate of male juvenile delinquents. So I proposed this research question: Why are females more closely supervised than males if there is a higher rate for crime with male juvenile delinquents?
The Criminal Law state at the age of 7, any young child that are engaged in a criminal behavior can be prosecuted in the Family Court of Law. Additionally, juveniles can also be arrested for curfews violations, refusal to obey parents, running away, skipping school, and underage alcohol consumption. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that roughly half of all youth arrested are charged with theft, simple assaults, drug abuse, disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. OJJDP statistics confirms that theft is the greatest cause of youth arrests. (Martin, 2011) When they are prosecute and after the judge made there verdict, they become Juvenile Delinquent. A Juvenile Delinquent is a youth between the age of 7 and 18 who commits the act of a crime. The law also follows a specific term placement, which is:
Treating juveniles as a separate class in the criminal justice system did not exist until the late nineteenth century. Juveniles were grouped with all other violators of law within the nation’s courts. Along with rapid industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and social change that shocked our society came the necessary reforms to the criminal law system that saw things like probation, parole, undetermined sentences, and most importantly for the subject at hand, the juvenile court system. Recognizing the need for different type of solution, states began to adopt “open-ended, ...
This paper describes the various legislations and movements that were established in 19th century to address the issue of juvenile justice system. It outlines the challenges faced by the legislation and movements and their implications in addressing the issues of the juvenile justice system.
The juvenile system was first established in the United States around 1899 when Illinois had their first court appearance including a juvenile. This then led to the Nation’s first juvenile system being created, which was for youth under the age of eighteen who have been convicted of crimes. Up until then, most youth were tried as an adult until the system was put into place. The system has different sections in which they youth is taken in such as: intake, adjudication, disposition, and post adjudicatory.
Criminology is the study of why individuals engage or commit crimes and the reasons as to why they behave in certain ways in different situations (Hagan, 2010). Through understanding the reasons or why an individual commits a crime, one can come up with ways to prevent and control crime or rehabilitate criminals. There exist a large number of criminology theories, some link crime to an individual or person; they believe a person weighs the cons and pros and makes a conscious decision on whether to commit or not commit a felony. Others see the society as having a duty to make sure that its members do not engage in criminal acts by providing a secure and safe living place. Some claim that some people have hidden or dormant characteristics that determine their reaction or behavior when confronted or put in particular negative conditions (Akers & Sellers, 2012). By understanding and studying these theories, together with applying them to people, psychologists and authorities can prevent criminals from committing or repeating crimes and aid in their rehabilitation. As many theories have emerged over time, they continue to be surveyed and explored, both individually and in combination in order for criminologists to develop solutions and eventually reduce the levels and types of crime. The most popular criminology theories emphasize on the individual, positivist and classical traits. This paper will explore the classical theory, which is among the earliest theories in criminology.
Gang violence and murder are two factors that contribute to the delinquency that develops in young boys and girls. Violence is seen among juvenile delinquency, where teenagers are victims of violence that exists around their neighborhood or violent acts their peers around them commit. Violence exists in poor neighborhoods where juveniles do not have any money or jobs and leads to them becoming thieves. Caine is a young man that is surrounded by violence and drugs, where he becomes a delinquent due to him growing up in a dangerous neighborhood and being part of a group where his peers murder and steal.
Juvenile delinquency is committing criminal acts or offenses by a young person, generally involving people under the age of eighteen. That is what this research proposal is about. For my research proposal my research question is what can cause or deter juvenile delinquency in first time offenders? I feel that this is an important question to be asking, because in our society there is too much juvenile delinquency and if we can use this research to figure out what can cause and deter this phenomenon then we could sincerely help a lot of adolescents.
After interviewing my teenage cousin whom has been in several altercations at home and school, enlightened me on the ways that teenagers in her age group gets involved in drug use. Kids start as young as ten years of age using, selling, and experimenting with drugs. My teenage cousin was expelled from public schools when she started experimenting with drugs. She was surrounded by many challenges when she enrolled in the alternative behavioral school. Many students, whom attend the alternative behavioral school use drugs, sell drugs, are on probation, have been arrested, engage in sexual activity and drink alcohol.
Routine activities are the things that someone does each day, who they do things it with, when they do it, and the locations that they choose to do these things. In the case of juveniles it might be going to school, spending time with their friends at a mall after school, or even just driving around town. Kids who spend a majority of their free time with people their age, especially if these people are delinquents, are more likely to be presented with a situation of crime. The routine activities, mixed with the people they do these activities with; can lead juveniles to delinquency, especially when there is a great lack of supervision.