Delinquency: Youth Offenders

There have been many studies conducted that examine ways in which the juvenile justice system responds to female offenders. Historically juvenile female offenders have been treated under status offense jurisdiction (Zahn et al., 2010, p. 10). United States Courts would exercise the principle of “parens patriae” to place the female in detention as a form of punishment for misbehavior (Sherman, 2012, pp. 1589-1590). This principle also remains prevalent as it pertains to how the juvenile justice system currently responds to juvenile female offenders.

Throughout this essay, I am going to be looking at the topic of youth offending. I will be looking at what factors can be used as the predictors for youth offending and in particular I will be researching into how important social and cultural factors as predictors of youth offending. In order to do this, I will be looking at different sociologists theories as far as young offending is concerned and what evidence there is to support these theories. I will then conclude by discussing whether I believe social and cultural factors are important in determining youth offending.

According to Juvenile Courts, a juvenile is classified into three different groups. The first group is considered a Delinquent. A Delinquent is a person who is under age (usually below 18), who is found to have committed a crime in states that have declared by law that a minor lacks responsibility and thus may not be sentenced as an adult (Legal Dictionary). Another term a juvenile can be referred to be a status offender. A status offender is a juvenile charged with or adjudicated for conduct that would not, under the law of the jurisdiction in which the offense was committed, be a crime if committed by an adult (Act 4 Juvenile Justice). Finally a Juvenile can be identified as a dependent and neglected child. These are usually youth that are deprived and in need of support and supervision (Cliff Notes)

Juvenile Delinquency is the participation of illegal behavior by a minor who falls under a statutory age limit. A delinquent is a minor who commits a crime or a status offense. A status offense is conduct that is illegal only because the child is under age i.e. smoking cigarettes (Senna 10, 20). The cases of Eric Smith, Lionel Tate, and an unidentified NJ child are similar only because, they are guilty of killing another child, but the Criminal Justice System treated and punished them very differently. In August 1993 in Savona, New York 13 year old Eric Smith killed 4 year old Derrick Robie. Smith lured Robie into the woods and strangled, beat with large rocks, and sodomized Robie. Smith was questioned by police and kept changing some

Juvenile delinquents are minors, usually defined as being between the ages of 10 and 18, who have committed some act that violates the law. These acts aren’t called “crimes” as they would be for adults. Rather, crimes committed by minors are called “delinquent acts.” Instead of a trial, the juvenile has an “adjudication,” after which he/she receives a “disposition” and a sentence. However, juvenile proceedings differ from adult proceedings in a number of ways (Reuters, 2017). Delinquent acts are put into two categories. The first category of a delinquent act is one that would be considered a crime had an adult committed it. Given the serious nature of the crime(s), some jurisdictions will try young offenders as adults. The second type of delinquent act is age related or “status crimes” meaning that the crime(s) wouldn’t normally be performed or committed by an adult. For example, staying out past curfew or skipping school known as truancy is an act of a status crime or age related crime.

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.

Youth offenders in the United States who commit an adult crime should they be tried as an adult or sent off to rehab?

Juvenile delinquency is very important to understand. Juvenile delinquents are children who commit crimes, but to their age are unable to be judged in criminal law. The long term of criminal acts make the person a juvenile delinquent. The age of what is considered a juvenile varies depending on the state. The range can extend to the age of 21. The importance of understanding juvenile delinquents equips one to examine persistent problems that cause a child to be delinquent. The problems could include drug use, problems in school, and mental health problems. If you get to the bottom of the root of a issue necessary measures can be taken by involved parents such as if a student is having issues at school the parent could attend the

Once youth is committed a crime he or she must face the criminal justice. Whether it is simple face to face contact with the police officer or trip to juvenile facility, juvenile is becoming part of the criminal justice system. For many youth it is their first contact with the justice system however for some others it is a very familiar process. So once juvenile is making face to face contact with the police officers, his life is in the hands of that officer who can make very important and sometime life changing decision for that youth. It is up to that officer to determine whether the youth will be headed to the juvenile facilities or straight home. The difference between youth and adults crimes, is that with adult crime, police officers don’t have much of discretion to whether arrest or not that offender. Majority of the time they follow certain guidelines and laws. With juvenile justice system, officers have more freedom to make that decision. However officers do not just have a discretion whether to arrest juvenile or let him go, they also can impact juvenile’s court decisions after he or she are arrested.

The number of youthful offenders that are incarcerated has been growing rapidly in these past years. A youth offender is any person that is under the legal age. It might vary in different states, but it is mainly 18. Young offenders find themselves with the challenges of accepting responsibility as well as resources in order to adapt to society as active responsible citizens. They face these challenges due to the fact that prison time and punishments in prison have changed their way of life and have halted the social abilities needed in the outside world.

Juvenile delinquency refers to a status offense that is committed by a minor under the age of 18. Status offenses include crimes against property, for example, vandalism or stealing, physical violence against others for example, aggravated assault, murder, other crimes such as drug abuse violations, curfew and loitering, and driving under the influence; and sexual crimes for example sexual assault or rape (Enginurt, Ozer, Demir, Yildirim, & Cankaya, 2014; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, n.d.). Statistics of crimes committed by juveniles include the following: 225 arrests for violent Crime Index offenses for every 100,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 17 years-old, juveniles were known to be involved in 8% of all homicides, and violent crimes committed by juveniles peaked during the after school hours (National Institute of Justice, n.d.).

The topic of young offenders caught my eye as I was scanning for an idea to write my paper. Criminals of any fashion are of interest to me, and youth in the justice system is a subject that I have dealt with throughout my high school career. A friend of mine has been in and out of correctional facilities, and it was not till later that they discovered he had a mental disorder that he was not being treated for. This is upsetting because if he had been scanned for an issue such as this, he could have been helped rather than incarcerated. Aiding this friend the first time that he was arrested might have helped him avoid reliving these situations repeatedly. This goes not just for him, but many juvenile offenders who suffer

The interpretation of delinquency is slightly different depending on the historical period. Before the 1800s in the United States, children were targeted when there was a need in a labor. Therefore, because children were performing similar labor duties as adults there was not an obvious distinction between a child and adult at that time. With the implementation of labor laws, then children gained legal rights that separated them from adults. As of today, an individual under the age of 18 can be categorized as a delinquent juvenile based on their behavior. The majority of states consider that someone has reached adulthood by the age of 18 and has matured. An example, if a 13 year-old takes part in delinquent behavior but the same actions are taken by an 18 year-old; then there may be more reasoning to become more lenient for the 13 year-old. The leniency is caused by the difference in maturity between these ranges in age. It is more convincing to make the intent to change a juvenile’s behavior by rehabilitating, rather than with trying to change an adult’s behavior.

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

Juvenile delinquency describes the antisocial behavior of many different types of youth who are in trouble, or who are on the brink of trouble with the law. In general terms juvenile delinquency means different things to different people. By law, a juvenile delinquent is a person under the age of eighteen who is