Juvenile delinquency is a problem these days, despite a recent drop in arrests. Roughly 2.5 million juveniles are arrested every year for different crimes in America. About 100,000 of those are violent crimes, however those statistics are slightly inaccurate since only half of juvenile crimes are reported (Juvenile Justice Basic Statistics, 2011). Creating interventions to assist at-risk youth means preventing them from starting on a path to crime is a priority. Juvenile justice system researchers and professionals must gain a better understanding of the contributing elements that cause delinquent behavior. The study seeks to determine the most prevalent causes among the criminal population that induce a propensity for criminal behavior. There needs to be a balance among attributing behavior to specific causes, but strong causal designs of intervention programs can risk unsuccessful or uncertain program outcomes, although weak causal reasoning cannot be adopted to practical use and the creation of interventions (Borowski, 2003). Past theories occasionally described juvenile delinquency attributed to a single factor: Poverty and social disorganization in neighborhoods, or more proximal causes such as problematic peer influences or ego deficiency (Borowski, 2003). The approach in recent models has been that delinquent behavior is due to a large number of factors operating at different levels, including both proximal and distal factors. The study will be operate from this perspective because it would be difficult to attribute juvenile delinquency, which can take many forms, to a single factor that invariably serves as a cause in all cases. Delinquency can be defined as self-reporting for the frequency of committing certain actions ... ... middle of paper ... ...will be seen right away, for example the link between socioeconomic status, as well as between housing and delinquent behavior. The advantage of using this study design is that it can show protective factors that might deter delinquent behavior. If a student has a greater commitment to school they are less likely to have incidents with criminal behavior, or show less of a desire to associate with peers who commit specific criminal behavior. As a result of using the analysis, risk and protective factors could serve as basis for research in the future. In addition, interventions based on imparting strategies for coping could be developed. There is still much work to be done to fully explain why youths commit crimes, but this study will help gain insight and understanding of the ways that specific factors influence various types of violent and nonviolent delinquency.
Jenson, Jeffrey and Howard, Matthew. "Youth Crime, Public Policy, and Practice in the Juvenile Justice System: Recent Trends and Needed Reforms." Social Work 43 (1998): 324-32
Across the wide body of studies delving into delinquency in America, it is easy to locate research on and analysis of minorities, underprivileged socioeconomic urban centers, and turbulent family structures. However, this leaves a significant section of the delinquent population largely neglected: white middle-class youth. Contrary to the factors shown to affect delinquency in others and the applications of theory applied to them, the issues plaguing this particular portion of adolescents are in many cases entirely unique, suggesting the necessity of a more nuanced approach from angles that have up until fairly recently remained unexplored.
For many, the term juvenile delinquent likely conjures up images of groups of young men standing on street corners, wearing baggy clothes, and boasting defiant attitudes. However, some may be surprised to learn that the face of the juvenile delinquent is swiftly changing. While boys are responsible for the majority of juvenile crime overall, the number of juvenile females involved with the justice system has been steadily increasing over the past three decades (Gross 84). Of greatest concern is the context of the crimes being committed by juvenile girls, as arrest rates have increased most in the area of violent offenses. In response to this emerging trend, juvenile justice professionals are increasingly advocating for gender specific intervention and rehabilitation models to deter further delinquency involvement. This effort is rooted in investigating the risk factors for criminal behavior among adolescent females, and the compound effect multiple risk factors may illicit.
Juvenile delinquency is an issue that affects every society, some of the issues of juvenile crime are homicide, robbery, assault and vandalism among others. There are many factors that affect juveniles to commit those crimes and those factors can be poor schooling, poor housing or poor parenting, mental diseases, and physical and emotional abuse. All factors combine create an environment with full opportunities to commit drug abuse, join gangs and all kind of crimes. As consequence, very few opportunities are available for those minors to succeed in their lives, instead they will choose to commit crime to get their anger out, to get attention or just for the sake to do it. Later paying with time in prison.
Thompson, W. E. and Bynum J. E. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency: A sociological Approach Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Youths who have entered the justice system have often been diagnosed with mental disorders or diseases. “A majority of adolescents formally involved in juvenile court have at least one, if not more than one, significant emotional or learning impairment, or maltreatment experience” (Mallet, 2013). The existence of these diseases often effect the juvenile’s stability and ability to make rational decisions. Which may result in them engaging in criminal activities The prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders among youths in juvenile justice systems is reported to be between 30 percent and 50 percent (The mental health needs of juvenile offenders). The difficulties of these disorders are often
Introduction: Recidivism or, habitual relapses into crime, has time and time again proven to be an issue among delinquents, which thereby increases the overall juvenile prison population. This issue has become more prevalent than what we realize. Unless a unit for measuring a juvenile’s risk of recidivism is enacted and used to determine a system to promote effective prevention, than the juvenile prison population will continue to increase. Our court system should not only focus on punishing the said juvenile but also enforce a program or policy that will allow for prevention of recidivism. So the question remains, how can recidivism in the juvenile prison population be prevented so that it is no longer the central cause for increased juvenile delinquency? Simply put, we must create a means of measuring juvenile’s level of risk and in turn, form an effective rehabilitation program that will decrease their risk level for future recidivism.
Does exposure to deviant peers affect whether individuals participate in general delinquency? Peers have an influence on the developing individual where the individual shares definitions favorable to them (Snyder, Dishion, Patterson, 1982). Findings in literature suggest that delinquent youths are involved in a relationship between peers delinquent behavior and a respondent’s own delinquency (Warr, 1996). Shaw and McKay, in 1931, discovered that more than 80% of individuals had deviant peers, and they have a strong tendency to commit delinquent acts in the company of others. Studies found that relationships of peer delinquency from self‐report delinquency surpasses that of any other independent variable, regardless of whether the focus is on different types of crime (Haynie, 2001). On the other hand, lets note that exposure to deviant peers is not the only factor that leads adolescents in committing general delinquency. There are several factors that can lead a child into committing crime such as family, community, and school factors (Herrenkohl et. al, 2000). A debate remains over the means essential to the relationship between deviant peers and their effects on indiviudals. This is important because it illustrates that normal interaction with peer groups sways people to commit acts that wouldn’t be normal. Using the data from the National Youth Survey (Wave 7), I will investigate whether or not exposure to deviant peers affects whether adolescents participate in general delinquency.
Juvenile delinquency is a problem in society. The number of crimes committed by juveniles has gone down in the past 20 years, but it is still considered a big issue. It is believed by some people that a criminal starts young and any kid who commits crimes will grow up to be a criminal, but crimes among juveniles usually don't last for long. Most juveniles who commit crimes or status offenses, things that are only illegal because they are under the age of 18, are only Adolescent-Limited Offenders that grow out of it and become well-rounded adults. The ones who are in real trouble are the ones that keep on committing crimes even when they become adults or what is called Life-Course Persistent Offenders.
In most states juvenile delinquency are criminal acts committed by minors’ ages 10 to 18 years old, the crimes are categorized as status offenders or delinquent offenders. Offenses committed by status offenders can only be committed because the offender is a minor, such as running away from home, truancy and underage drinking. (Mooney, pg 115) then there are delinquent offenders whose offenses would be a crime if they were committed by an adult. Depending on the nature of the crime, minors are tried in a juvenile justice system or can be transferred to the adult justice system. According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, it is estimated 1.7 million youths are in the juvenile justice system with 100,000 cases being heard in juvenile court annually. Currently, it is estimated that 70% of the youths arrested are boys and 30% are girls, although African-Americans make up only 17% of the total youth population, they are 30% more likely than white youth to face harsher sentences and be transferred into the adult
One of the best strategies for combating juvenile delinquency is adopting developmental crime prevention program. Developmental crime prevention programs aim to lower an individual’s potential of becoming criminal. The theory that guides these types of programs is that criminal and deviant activity is the result of early life experiences and learning. These programs put an emphasis on what causes individuals to commit deviant acts in order to identify ways that this activity can be stopped (Lab, 2014). A key piece to developmental crime prevention programs is identifying risk and protective factors for offending.
Juvenile delinquency is a serious problem and leads to negative outcomes for youth, families, and society as a whole. Adolescents under the age of 18 who are arrested for committing a criminal act are processed through a juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice system is grounded on the principle that the youth have different needs than adults. During adolescence, youth are forming their identities and still developing mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally. Due to their early stages of development, juveniles who violate the law should be treated differently than adults.
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.
Societies interest in fighting juvenile’s recidivism is positive and rewarding to benefit of the community. Therefore, community safety is an reasonable reason to implement community based programs. “Studies have shown that many community -based correctional programs reduce recidivism and are less expensive than confinement” (Bartollas & Miller, 2008, p.210).Also, communities had the sense that firm action is paramount to divert juvenile offenders from committing crime. “Some advocates believed childhood intervention programs were having an impact on future juvenile delinquency and criminality rates” (Zigler, Edward, & Taussig,
Juvenile Delinquency refers to a violent or non- violent crime committed by persons who are (usually) under the age of eighteen. There is a debate about whether or not such a child should be held criminally responsible for his or her action. There are many different inside influences that are believed to affect the way a child acts both negatively and positively.