Disaffected Youth

In cities like Baltimore, Maryland, and Chicago, the worst cities for urban youth, teen crime is not extraordinary. The poverty-ridden towns further provide reason and excuse for crime. Now this can be caused by many things, but the key ones are for money to provide basic needs and a way to obtain material goods that could not be obtained lawfully. In “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, two impoverished teens growing up in Baltimore experience very different lives, one will find himself on top of the world, and the other far below in a state prison.

The boys often feel that their personal protection is the driving force in their decisions. Through circumstances that are not their fault, many of the boys grow up in extreme poverty. Within those neighborhoods drugs, crime and violence are heightened. In order to stay safe, the boys must give the impression that they are not going to be intimidated. They may have no desire to be involved in criminal behavior, but because the police automatically assume they are criminals, they subject themselves to self-fulfilling prophecy in order to have some protection. They choose to behave certain ways with their peers in order to maintain the façade that keeps them “safe” and keep the playing field level. These behaviors are labeled the “school to prison pipeline”. Many of these boys have grown up

This may lead to police resources becoming strained dealing with certain types of crimes and they are unable to engage in preventive patrol or respond to calls about suspicious groups of youth, which in turn leads to the number of youth arrested for minor types of property crimes and antisocial behavior declining although the number of crimes haven’t

There are a few common reasons for young people to be involved in crime. These include poor parental supervision, drug and alcohol abuse, neglect and abuse, homelessness, negative peer associations and difficulties in school and employment. The criminal justice system effectively deals with young offenders through unique techniques to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. Even though young offenders commit a large percentage of crime, they also have the highest likelihood to be rehabilitated and change their lifestyles as they mature. There are several factors influencing crime by young offenders including psychological and

A subculture is an offshoot of referential cultural but in essence very different from culture. The term subculture is commonly employed to signify shared systems of common values, norms and interests that distinguish certain people and societies from others. Thus, criminal or delinquent subcultures indicate systems of standards, morals and interests that endorse criminal or delinquent behavior. The numerous activities categorized in law as criminal are related to numerous delinquent subcultures. The standards, morals, or interests of these subcultures might back specific criminal acts, a restricted set of such actions (Anderson 1999). Trained criminals for instance are proud of their craft; manage their profession in order to keep them safe and their business proficient and usually stay away from other criminal involvement that might bring them to legal light. However, not all criminal subcultures that well organized. A number of are merely opportunistic, accepting several kinds of criminal behavior as opportunities come up. Hence specialization is rare in delinquent subcultures.

Trepidations pertaining to young people, being unable to fulfil their educational goals, being involved in antisocial activities, expelled from mainstream schools because of truancy and other disruptive transgressions or out of work, reinforce the obligation to the end child poverty ingenuity implemented by the Coalition Government in 1999. Equally, in their manifesto, the Conservatives avowed to enhance the emphasis on assisting families and vulnerable young people. Subsequently, this is trailed by the government’s enactment of pertinent policies to try and refine the life probabilities of young people who have numerous concerns. Likewise, this has prompted the invention of more initiatives, including the advent of the targeted youth programs.

Sampson and Groves (1989) argued that if we use residential instability for example, this should not be regarded as a direct cause of crime, but as something which ‘fosters institutional disruption, and weakened social controls’ (Sampson et al., 1997: 919) (Sutherland et al. 2013 p. 3). Likewise, it is through that a lack of contact and the loss of trust in neighbours may contribute to criminal behaviour (Sampson et al., 2005). ‘Family disruption’ (lone parents) was added to the list by Sampson (1987) to an illustrative model of crime; this was thought to affect the ability of parents to manage their own children as well as their capacity to provide guardianship of the local community (Sutherland et al. 2013 p.3)

There is debate whether youth crime is really a problem to society or just an issue that is constructed by society. It is argued that media has influenced society’s views on this matter by categorising young people as ‘folk devils’ (Banks, 2013). Certain groups, episodes and people that pose a threat to society’s values is when a moral panic takes place (Cohen, 1972). For example, this can be seen nowadays when there is no actual threat but old people get intimidated when they see large groups of young people hanging about on streets. These influences led to policy change, increasing the level of social control. This means that youth crime may be perceived as a moral panic rather than an actual problem.

Kelling and Wilson’s article “Broken Windows” focuses on the importance of disorder in generating and sustaining crime that is more severe. The writers explain that disorder is not directly related to serious crime, but instead leads to increased fear as well as withdrawal from residents, which allows more serious crime to move in because of decreased levels of informal societal control. Kelling and Wilson believe that police can play a key role in disrupting this process. If they put their focus on disorder and minor crimes in neighborhoods that have not yet been overtaken by serious crime, they can help reduce fear and resident withdrawal. The promotion of advanced levels of informal social control can help people take control of their neighborhood

The purpose of this paper is to address residential segregation, why it exists, and how it relates to crime. Residential segregation is the physical separation of one or more groups based upon race and is more pronounced in suburban areas and inner city neighborhoods (Class Notes, 2014). Inner city neighborhoods are heavily populated with racial and ethnic minorities and tend to lack socially stabilizing resources such as adequate parental supervision, education, and long-term, stable employment (Walker, 2007). The conditions of poverty limit the opportunities for residents to escape inner city neighborhoods and create opportunities for the existence of crime and criminal behavior.

Violent crimes can be defined as murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault or even petty theft and others depending on state law. According to the number of violent crimes committed by people under the age of 18 has declined since its peak in 1994. That is not saying violent crime among youths are unlikely to happen. Out of the 2.5 million juveniles arrested in 1999. 104,000 of the arrests were for violent crimes. “Juveniles accounted for 16 percent of all violent crime arrests and 32 percent of all property crime arrests in 1999”. The more recent numbers in certain cities paint a gloomier picture. In Minneapolis, 63 percent of all violent crime and property theft suspects were juveniles in 2005. Washington, D.C and Boston are facing similar increases in violent juvenile crime despite the nation’s overall rejection. The rejection that occurred in most of the U.S. during the past decade coincides with the fact that most states now permit minors to be tried as adults for violent crimes and all states have a procedure for transferring juveniles to the adult criminal system. Some of the transfers to adult court even occur automatically based on the juvenile’s age and crime. However, since this is governed by individual states, there is no consistency to which juveniles get transferred and for what crime which may explain why certain cities

A human’s development is a lifelong process beginning before birth and extending until the moment of death. In every moment of life, every human being is constantly evolving in their own person way. Some evolve mostly with physical changes while other evolve based more solely on mental evolution. However, as humans grow their cognitive abilities advance and decline in response to the brain’s growth from childhood and reduced function in their old age. Psychosocial development is also significantly influenced by physical growth, as our changing body and brain, together with our environment, shape our identity and our relationships with other people.

Critically discuss the assertion that “young people are propelled into crime through circumstances beyond their control” (Muncie, 2005, p.116).

The movie thirteen is a raw psychodrama directed by Catherine Hardwicke is based on the life of a young teenage girl, Tracy Freeland whom catapults from pre adolescence/childhood to a wild and rebellious thirteen year old girl. Filmed in Los Angeles, Tracey and her mother’s relationship are put to the test when she befriends Evie. Evie is a popular girl from junior high school who introduces her to the world of sex, drugs and self-mutilation. We see a physical and psychological change in Tracey almost overnight, as her kinship with Evie transforms into a toxic relationship. Tracey’s early traumatic life experiences, manifests into a co-morbidity of depression and borderline personality disorder that affects her ability to cope with an

Most of the problems facing today’s youth are not restricted to any one ethnic or religious group, but affect young people generally. Most discussions on youth have focussed on issues such as drug abuse, crime, violence, sexuality and poverty. In addition to these, today’s youth are afflicted by new challenges.