Causes And Consequences Of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is an ever growing issue in the United States, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, “In 2012, there were 3,941 arrests for every 100,000 youths ages 10 through 17 in the United States” (OJJDP, 2014). The way juveniles are treated in the criminal justice system is very different than the way adults are. In 1899, in Cook County, Illinois, the first juvenile justice system in the country was founded. This established an alternative way of dealing with offenders whom are inherently different, in the way they think and commit crimes, than those of adult age. There are a few distinct differences between the juvenile and adult criminal system, but the biggest difference is the

Researches have continuously tried to explain why people commit crime and engage in juvenile delinquency. Over the past century, many theories have emerged and been adopted as the main contributing factors for why juveniles engage in deviant behaviors. Some theories, such as

Juvenile Delinquents are being incarcerated at earlier ages as time progresses. The term delinquent speaks of two or more youths, typically amongst the ages of ten and seventeen years old, who are involved in doings well-defined as illegal. The study of juvenile delinquents in inner city Chicago have been studied for many years and the rates continue to sky rocket as juveniles are being locked down by the justice system. Cases of violence amongst juveniles has been increasing rapidly in the past 20 years, juveniles are now linked to severer crimes, and it can be speculated that regardless of efforts of rehabilitation that the recidivism of juveniles relapsing is very great. Thus leading to physiological and mental problems that can be damaging to the youth as

Juvenile delinquency has become a controversial issue within the Criminal Justice system. In the United States, juvenile delinquency refers to disruptive and criminal behavior committed by an individual under the age of 18. In many states, a minor at the age of 16 to 17 ½ can be tried as an adult. Once the individual reaches adulthood, the disruptive and criminal behavior is recognized as a crime. However, the criminal justice system has divided juvenile delinquency into two general types of categories that has brought upon controversial issues of inequality and corruption. Yet, putting young individuals in juvenile detentions facilities seems to open the door for them to commit more crimes in the future. Therefore, under certain circumstances juveniles should be tried as an adult.

Juvenile crime is a term around the world that is difficult to pinpoint and although there are several definitions many fail to be concrete. There are many factors that play into sentencing juveniles or minors upon a crime committed. How old are they? Can they mentally form criminal intent? Are they old enough to no longer be treated as children? Some people would argue that a criminal is just that, regardless of age. Research on the other hand shows that juveniles have underdeveloped brains who at times have difficulty rationalizing decisions and weighing out consequences. It is important that these issues are addressed because of the implications this has on not only the juveniles but the community around them. These

The juvenile justice system is imperfect, at best, and part of this stems from the fact that juvenile justice, as a specific, discrete category of crime and punishment is still a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, the notion of childhood and adolescence as distinct phases of human development is a novel idea that did not truly emerge until the twentieth century, so it is only natural that some elements of the juvenile justice system seem to have been made up they went along. Now, however, after substantial research into juvenile delinquency, it causes, and potential solutions, a much clearer picture of the phenomenon is emerging that will allow parents, teachers, legislators, and law enforcement officials to better reduce juvenile delinquency without imposing unnecessarily harsh restrictions of juveniles. By examining the history of the juvenile justice system alongside more recent research into juvenile delinquency, it will be possible to see how the most effective treatments going forward will likely focus on reducing risk before delinquency occurs and rehabilitating juveniles already in the justice system, as opposed to more punitive measures that mark juveniles as a criminal and thus hinder them for the rest of their lives.

Juvenile Delinquency seems to always find itself on the front pages of newspapers. The juvenile delinquency rate is very high in America, today. According to Seigel and Welsh (2014) juvenile delinquency is defined as the participation in illegal behavior by a minor who falls under the statutory age limit (p. 648). The statutory age limit varies in different states. For example, a juvenile might be considered an adult in different state for various crimes. Statistics show that each year, juvenile commits about 9.8 percent of almost 12,000 homicides (Zagar, Grove, & Busch, 2013).

The necessity for development of a separate court system designed for punishing juvenile offenders came about with the idea that juveniles are “less culpable” than adult offenders, and therefore more adaptable to rehabilitation from their delinquent misbehavior. Building on this idea, juvenile court was established to offer intervention, rehabilitation, and protective supervision for young offenders, unlike the general idea of criminal courts aimed at punishing, incapacitating, and generating retribution. (Bishop & Frazier, 1991)

People may wonder the reasons as to why so many juveniles are being found committing as many harmful crimes that they are in today’s society. There is a list of reasons that the ACS Distance Education organization has listed to being factors as to why juveniles may be committing crimes or becoming more susceptible for it. In their lists they name peer pressure, peer involvement in problem behavior, lack of supervision, criminal parents, lack of discipline, family income, drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, family conflict, opportunity for crime, and poor education. There may be several other reasons that juveniles are becoming active in crime but these are the main ones that stick out (ACS, 2014). Teens can often find themselves interacting with the “wrong crowd” and find themselves engaging in acts that may be new to them that are also illegal. If a juvenile allows themselves to interact and engage in those activities then they will begin to duplicate what they see and commit the same criminal acts. Parents and

The issue of whether juveniles should be prosecuted like adults is a controversial one. Today, a high percent of juvenile offenders have a past criminal history or have been arrested for violent crimes such as rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide. These offenses are serious and should be dealt with seriously. If a juvenile choses to act in violence and currently been on probation for such acts, then perhaps, they should be treated in the adult court. If the juvenile is, a repeat offender and they did not learn anything from the rehabilitation facilities provided by the state, harsh consequences should follow. It is estimated that seventy-five percent of adolescents who spent time in juvenile detention centers are incarcerated

Juvenile offending is a concern in society today. Juveniles account for approximately 19% of the population but are responsible for 29% of criminal arrests (Cottle, Lee, & Heilbrun, 2001). Crime overall has been found to be decreasing throughout the last two decades. The issue is that the rate in which adult crime is decreasing is significantly greater than the rate in which juvenile crime is decreasing. Since the rate of juvenile crime is so high, juvenile delinquents are seen as predators and many believe they lack morals. The way in which media of today’s society constructs juvenile delinquency impacts the views of a community towards their youth and youth offenders. Media presents an inaccurate image of youth offenders as violent predators (Rhineberger-Dunn, 2013). This inaccurate image significantly promotes the myths that juvenile crime is rising, juveniles commit crimes that are primarily violent, and that juveniles are highly effected by recidivism and continue committing crimes into adulthood (Bohm, & Walker, 2013). It has already been stated though that crime rates have been decreasing over the last two decades so the first myth is refuted. The myth that juveniles primarily commit violent crimes is also very off. In most cases, juveniles are involved in property crimes and although there are some violent crime cases, they are very rare. When these rare violent crimes do occur, youth can be tried in adult court. The

It is a common believe that adolescents require a special system thru which be processed because they are “youth who are in a transitional stage of development…young offenders that are neither innocent children nor mature adults…” (Nelson, 2012). Because juveniles are in a process of constant development sociologically, psychologically and physiologically, the juvenile court system focuses on alternative sentences and the creation of programs that will offer them rehabilitation instead of incarceration. However, in cases of extraordinary circumstances, the juvenile system shifts from looking at rehabilitation as a first choice to accountability and punishment (Read, n.d). All levels of society are collectively involved in delinquency

When a juvenile commits an act that would be criminal if committed by an adult, the juvenile is determined to be delinquent. Delinquent acts may include crimes against persons, crimes against property, drug offenses, and crimes against public order. Delinquency prevention efforts seek to redirect youth who are considered at-risk for delinquency or who have committed a delinquent offense from deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system (Deling, 2014).

As stated by Bartol and Bartol “Juvenile delinquency is an imprecise, nebulous, social, clinical, and legal label for a wide variety of law- and norm-violating behavior” (2011, Pg 139). The juvenile delinquency term has come to imply disgrace in today's correctional institution. Our government is up hold to procedures and expected to come with a solution to solving the delinquent problem. An underage offender can be labeled a delinquent for breaking any number of laws, ranging from robbery to running away from home, and especially being involved in school violence. The following situations faced by correction officials when dealing with juvenile delinquents will be examined. Three main areas (child development, punishments, and deterrence

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.