Application Materials For The Assistant Professor Position

The merging of the traditional criminological theories sparked a revolution of sorts in criminological thinking. With the benefit of referencing traditional theories, lifecycle theorists were able to apply these perspectives across an individual’s life through longitudinal studies focusing on adolescent social environment and constructive social control/ bonds through adulthood can be linked to deviance (Lilly, Cullen, Ball, 2015).

The theory of Travis Hirschi, which is the social bond theory focuses on the concept of the causes and the acts of delinquency, which is what this theory is extracted from. This theory emerges when an individual’s bonds to the society and the community around them are weak or broken (Topak, 2017). The social bond theory can be described as the belief that socialization and personal relationships are significant aspects of human development, which keep individuals from committing crimes (Topak, 2017). The social bond theory is composed of four key components which are the following: attachment, commitment, involvement, and beliefs (Topak, 2017). In

In recent years, data has been conducted and studied to examine the increasing difficulties in juvenile delinquencies. Since 2002, a team of researchers conducted a study to examine the statistical outcomes of juveniles partaking in or the ones who have been affected by crime. Data has shown that approximately 1 in 4 students have been tangled into a violent encounter and 1 in 6 have reported carrying a weapon to school (Salas-Wright, Nelson, Vaughn, Gonzalez, & Córdova, 2017). Juvenile delinquency can occur at any place and a large majority of juvenile delinquency begins in school. Juveniles rely greatly on their peers because they are influenced and tend to follow what their peers usually do or say.

First, I want to thank you for considering my application for the Associate Governmental Program Analyst/Staff Services Analyst vacancy. I have a Bachelor’s of Arts degree and I will have a Master’s of Arts in December of this year. I have a strong ability to effectively interact with customers, internal and external stakeholders, and staff from other state agencies. I have excellent communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, time management skills. I also have strong analytical skills and attention to detail. Additionally, I have experience researching, gathering and analyzing information to compose research papers. Individually and within group settings, I have made presentations to a variety of audiences on course-related topics. I am confident that my knowledge, skills, abilities, education and professional experience will meet the Business Programs Division’s Uniform Commercial

Please accept this cover letter with resume as my application for the position of Teacher's Aide.

Juvenile delinquency is a social issue in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, is when “a violation of the law is committed by a juvenile and is not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Juvenile Delinquency). The juvenile system is different from the adult system in many way and most juvenile delinquents are from the age of ten to the age of seventeen (Juvenile Delinquent). Once the delinquent or anyone is at the age of eighteen, they are considered to be an adult. Therefore, in the justice system they are tried as an adult. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, peer influence, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. Teens are greatly influenced by the interactions and surroundings they are around. Their behaviors can result from the parent and/or their peer influences. Parents play a great role in the child’s life and a teen’s peers also play a strong role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not insight. This research will examine links between the social environment of teens and how it influences the teens actions and behavior which leads them to commit an offense.

For this assignment, the importance of criminological theories will be discussed. Two theories will then be selected, and the main points talked about in explaining delinquency, along with possible deterrent and prevention methods for juveniles.

Although juvenile arrest rates have declined by 65% from 1996 to 2014 (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2015), juvenile delinquency is undoubtedly still a concern for practitioners, communities, and policy-makers in the United States. Seeking explanations of adolescent delinquency is a continuing quest by the social sciences to aid prevention and intervention efforts. Several quests have narrowed in on Social Bond Theory (Hischi, 1969), a foundation in the social sciences to explain deviant behavior, which has stemmed considerable research. This study is also concerned with perceived social expectations, as it is likely youth take their social relationships into consideration before engaging in certain acts. However, research on perceived social expectations and delinquency is sparse.

Social disorganization theory in part manages to evaluate why youth crime occurs; however, this theory has its limitations, and requires additional insight from another theory; General Strain Theory to provide a strong evaluation methodology. In evaluating these theories, several academic sources such as articles and books will be consulted.

This applied system is in light of the reason that the family and peer relationships an individual secures before entering emerging adulthood will continue to form their behavior as an emerging adult as well as into their adult years. The cycle of violence theory proposes that being a victim of physical abuse elevates an individual’s risk in engaging in illegal behaviors and substance use. When researchers applied this theory they found an association between experiences of physical abuse and future criminal behaviors and substance use during adulthood. Similarly, the social learning theory proposes that demonstrations and reinforcement aid in the process of learning to either participate or refrain from illegal and substance use behaviors. “In fact, youth who associate with peers who use tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana are more likely to engage in illegal behaviors and substance use (Snyder and Monroe 215).”

Across the nation, social scientists and criminologists have researched and hypothesized the main contributing factors that promote juvenile delinquency. The Strain/ Anomie theory introduced by Robert Merton and later revised by several other theorists, attempts to explain why juvenile subculture tend to behave certain ways when confronted with pressures from everyday life. Revised by other theorists, the Strain theory attempts to provide the framework of juvenile delinquency and its sources in order to analyze the effectiveness of this assumption, as well as to implement certain crime prevention policies and programs to curb this problem. This paper is going to analyze how the Strain theory contributes it’s principles of delinquency

Social learning theory posits that criminal or conforming behaviour arises from a process of reinforcement of and association with deviant or conforming behaviour (Akers, 1985), while social bonding theory states that decreased likelihood of committing crimes arises from respect and admiration for one’s friends (Hirschi, 1969). Social bonding theory suggests that stronger attachments of teenagers to their friends, even delinquent ones, reduce criminal behaviour. This contradicts social learning theory, which predicts that greater association with delinquents reinforces delinquent behaviour. Even though both have been empirically supported by criminological research, this inherent inconsistency reflects how theories have not been able to achieve scope in their explanatory

In the article they demonstrate the main hypotheses by using a table in where they explain juvenile justice intervention, deviant networks and delinquency. Also, they measure age in “waves” where wave 1 equals to 13.5 years, wave 2 equals to 14 years, wave 3 equals to 14.5 years and wave 4 equals 15 years. According to the authors, it has a greater impact if young adults have an early interaction

What creates future criminal behavior among the youth? For a long period of time, we have studied juveniles and have made several conclusions with research to figure out what causes these delinquent youth and juveniles to commit crime and what causes them to keep committing crime into their adulthood. One factor that has an adverse effect on their lives in their youth is the trauma that children go through during their early years. Some research has attempted and some successfully point toward the relationship with their friends and/or gang affiliation; stating that the status of their peer relationship have an effect on their behaviors. Other research would point to their family or educational background, concerning the effects of parents,

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.