Juvenile Delinquency And Juvenile Crime Essay

The data for this project was collected by administering an anonymous survey to incarcerated juveniles at (name of facility), the (name) receiving center and at the NAACP office in Sacramento, California. The survey asked for gender and parental status (incarcerated versus not incarcerated). Participants were given a paper survey and a pencil to complete the survey. See Appendix for a copy of the survey.

Edwin H. Sutherland’s formulation of differential association theory proposed that delinquency, like any other form of behavior, is a product of social interaction. On October 14th, 2002, 17 year old Lee Boyd Malvo was charged by the state of Virginia for two capital crimes: the murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin "in the commission of an act of terrorism" and the murder of more than one person in a three-year period. Sutherland’s nine propositions of differential association best explains Malvo’s act for the following reasons: (1) Malvo learned how to commit each heinous crime through his social interaction within his intimate group, (2) Malvo learned the techniques to commit each crime through his mentor, i.e. learning the skills

Abstract: This paper will discuss the correlation of youth gangs and how the cognitive and social learning theory comes in to play, and why female and male juveniles end up in the system. It will touch bases on how youth surroundings have a lot to do with the decisions they choose to make and the life style they end up living. Gangs usually recruit youth off the street, if a child sees that being a part of a gang is an everyday thing and is normal then they will be influenced more to do that. The cognitive theory ultimately states that a child learns from observing and from there environment. This essay will touch on the different statistics and the reasoning for youth gangs and gangs in general, it will also show statics of youth who are apart of gangs and are incarcerated. It will also show how it correlates with the cognitive theory and social learning theory.

For years, gang crime has been loathed by society, as society has perceived it to threaten the well-being of its members. In addition to the fear of gang violence, concerns have been raised of gangs polluting youth; hence, policing strategies have emerged more increasingly in an attempt to put an end to the delinquency. Nevertheless, for society the causation of gang crime has been discussed to a lesser extent; thus, the objective of this essay will be to depict a viable explanation of gang crime through the use of two criminological theories. To accomplish the task at hand; I shall, define gang crime, provide a description of social disorganization theory, illustrate how the application of social disorganization theory provides an explanation of gang crime, describe differential opportunity theory, demonstrate how differential opportunity theory can explain gang crime, and exemplify as to which theory provides a superior explanation of gang crime. In the end, it will be clear that social disorganization theory is a superior explanation of gang crime in comparison to differential opportunity theory, due to its ability to deliver a more enhanced explanation than the one that is provided by differential opportunity theory.

In order to define the nature and scope of juvenile antisocial behavior we must determine that “gangs are variable, diverse and difficult to define in precise terms” (White, 2007) and that “adolescent antisocial behavior is an issue of major concern to parents, teachers, police and governments and is a significant cost to the

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 is most likely to have a negative impact on society. The second characteristic is that if the hostility towards “youths” increases, they will eventually become “folk devils” therefore creating a division (Cohen 1973:16). The third is a form of consensus although concern is not nationwide; there should be global acceptance that the youths pose a threat to society. The fourth characteristic is formed up of disproportionality and the action taken is disproportionate to the actual threat posed by the accused group. The final characteristic is instability; moral panics are highly volatile and tend to disappear as quickly due to a lack of public interest or other rising news reports (Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994:57).

Juvenile crime has skyrocketed to an all-time high, mainly in the big cities. The major problem is kids doing crimes and not being punish severely enough due to the lack of sentencing. Today’s generation knows how to beat the system because of the sentencing guidelines. Most of the kids in Florida knew that a simple misdemeanor charge they could be released the next day. During the years from 1997-2013 the amount of kids committed to juvenile facilities has dropped from 75,000 to 35,000(Nicole D Porter) according to The Sentencing Project. The judges have their hands tied because of obsolete laws, underfunding and no space to house them. Over 30 states are reforming the guidelines to lower the time juvenile serves for crimes they have committed according to a report done in 2015 by The Sentencing Project. Some of them are pushing for probation instead of being incarcerated. There are two resolutions to resolve the problem .First one is to change the outdated sentencing by writing your congressional representative and secondly is to reinforce family values. Family is an important part of the problem.

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

One of the most concerning problems the Country faces today is juvenile crime. Juvenile crime does not only affect the person who commits the crime, it also affects victims in the crime. After evaluating two sources concerning the topic of juvenile crime, I have come to my own conclusions related to this topic. I believe that changing the juvenile jurisdiction age from age seventeen to eighteen is a great idea. I also believe that sexting is a crime for some. Juvenile crime is a huge issue in the United States, but how we punish those young adults is also very important.

Juvenile delinquents, or youth that have been convicted of a crime, seem to be the norm these days. Citizens, families, and poliy makers want new programs and policies within the juvenile justice system. Researchers have found that the family structure can be a precursor to delinquent behavior, and families do not have the control or blance that they once did. As such, mew measures need to be implemented to help these families in crisis. Rehabilitation of the family unit is the answer, say many, not punishment. In response to this, new ideas have formed to rehabilitate the family unit, but first, the family structures that are precursors to delinquent behavior must be identified.

Juvenile delinquency has been around since the late 19th and early 20th century. It was at this time that the first juvenile court was created by the child savers movement (Mallicoat 2016). The rate of juvenile delinquency increased dramatically around the year 1938, which was the time that child labor laws were enforced. These laws limited the amount of time that a child could work in any given week, which gave them more free time. Because children were used to working anywhere between 50 to 70 hour weeks, they did not know what to do with their free time. So, they did what any young child would do, they started getting into trouble. At the time, juvenile delinquency only accounted for the male population. Females at the time were being

Between the 18th and 19th centuries, juvenile delinquency became a problematic outbreak that spread throughout England. Juvenile delinquency became such a widespread problem as a disease that affected the norms of society with its abusive and violent manner carried out by juveniles. With the increasing of undisciplined juveniles throughout the country triggered the formations of gangs from its increasing numbers of members. Due to population growth and poverty with lack of guardianships in the country caused juvenile to engage in deviant behaviors and committing petty crimes against citizens. Many juveniles grew up only to know the life of crimes and conducting themselves in deviant behaviors associating themselves

The Juvenile is a young person who is between ages ten to eighteen and dependent on others for their survival. Delinquency refers to a crime committed by a young person. Juvenile Delinquency, for this reason, refers to a crime committed by a minor. The transition from childhood to adulthood is tough for some minors who end up in participating in criminal activities for survival. Much blame has been on the fall of social values, family ties and individuals. The disintegration of family norms has also contributed to increased crime rates. Most delinquents operate in groups and are usually under the influence of drugs. The following two studies check on the factors resulting in delinquency in minors.

grew by 86% from 1988 to 1992, which was more then any other type of juvenile