Definitions of juvenile delinquency vary everywhere you go in the world. The laws change from country to country and even from state to state. The United States Justice Department defines a juvenile as “a person who has not attained his eighteenth birthday”, and juvenile delinquency “as the violation of a law of the United States committed by a person prior to his eighteenth birthday, which would have been a crime if committed by an adult” (Office). The Justice Department also says, “A person over eighteen but under twenty-one years of age is also accorded juvenile treatment if the act of juvenile delinquency occurred prior to his eighteenth birthday” (Office). Many states have lowered the age of a juvenile to seventeen. The way a juvenile has been treated over the years has changed drastically.
We can trace the first penalties for crime against society, both property and personal, back to biblical times. The Old Testament is loaded with laws that led to immediate punishments, which ranged from public shame to death. The Bible was specific to make the punishment fit the crime. Deuteronomy 21:18-21 tells that if a man has a son that is rebellious, doesn’t obey his father or mother, and will not listen then he should be brought to the elders of the city. The son will be publically berated, all the men of the city will stone him, and he shall die. The evil would be taken away from them and fear would be on Israel (Bible). Age was not a major consideration for
Reading this book has had an effect on the way I see Juvenile delinquency and the Juvenile Justice System. The reason for this is because I now realize that these young individuals just do not become delinquent overnight and majority of the time it is not their fault that they are the way they are. It can be several factors that cause them to engage in criminal acts similar to the boys and girls in Giddings State School. This book may be very uncomfortable to read because of some of the disturbing events that these young individual experienced, but I would definitely recommend others to read it. Parents that are currently struggling with their teenage child should definitely read the book. I feel like the book may have solutions to their problems.
Juvenile delinquency: an act committed by a minor that violates the penal code of the government with authority over the area in which the act occurs (Bartollas and Schmalleger, 2008) pg.2. In chapter one, we are introduced to what a juvenile delinquent is, and all of the issues that come along with them. This chapter goes on to define adolescents which is “the life interval between childhood and adulthood, and usually the period between the ages of twelve and eighteen.” It is said that “those
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
What is a Juvenile? A juvenile is a person who has not reached his or her 18th birthday. Juvenile delinquency is the violation of a law of the United States committed by a person prior to reaching 18 years of age, which would have been a crime committed by an adult (office). There are many residential programs put in place all over the country to help these youths that are coming in and out of the Criminal Justice system. Once these Juveniles come out of jail, or get released on bond, they sometimes do not have a stable place to go to and live. As these youths are leaving the jail facility there are a wide variety of residential programs to help them get back on their feet. These residential programs include Out of home placement in an institutional or camp like setting, or they might be eligible for an alternative placement, such a community confinement. (programs)
The juvenile justice system was subject to a lot of corruption and civil rights violations in its early stages. Juveniles did not have the same rights as adults and could be forced into terrible living or working conditions. With no child labor laws, delinquent juveniles could be sentenced to forced labor in factories or to houses of refuge. With the ruling of Ex Parte Crouse, the state took ultimate responsibility of children and send them to these institutions, even against the will of the parents. Some of these institutions, such as houses of refuge may have started with good intention, but they ultimately led to rampart corruption and abuse of juveniles.
The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.
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.
America’s juvenile justice system has been around for ages and has had problems since its creation. The courts have failed to devise a way to help juveniles and keep them from even entering the justice system. More often than not, juveniles are forgotten and never dealt with until they reach the point where they are either going to be placed within the system or receive some sort of diversion or alternative. This is where the problem exists. There needs to be more communication between the different levels of the juvenile justice system. Particularly between the officers that may arrest these juveniles, the probation officers that deal with them, and of course the judge in the court system. The juvenile court is supposed to have provided due process protections along with care, treatment, and rehabilitation for juveniles while protecting society. Yet, there is still considerable doubt as to whether the juvenile justice network can meet these goals (Cox, Allen & Hanser, 2013).
I’m writing to you, as a concerned citizen of the United States, about the alarming rate of juvenile incarceration in the United States and the problems associated with these rates. Many young children, especially those living below the poverty line or in poverty, notably Black and Hispanic children are more likely to commit crimes than those living in the middle class or upper class and who are White. It’s simple; children with a lower social economic status are more likely to find themselves committing crimes and then being sentenced than children with higher social economic status’s. According to The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology “People in lower classes are often more visible, less powerful, and more likely to be apprehended and labeled as criminals than those from higher social classes.” (197, Ferris and Stein) This is alarming. However, this becomes more alarming when applied to children. And instead of providing help and guidance and a possibility of a future, the government places some of these children in prisons, including adult prisons, leaving them to fend for themselves. What is even more disturbing, is the institution that was created to provide students with an education, guidance and future is one of the leading causes of child incarceration besides poverty. This institution is school and this process is also known as the school-to-prison-pipeline. And for those children who do find themselves in prison, there is no help, no opportunities or
The American criminal justice system is comprised of criminal courts, correctional facilities, and law enforcement officials. Each of these components also make up the juvenile justice system but the operations of each differs with juveniles than with adults who are suspected of committing criminal acts. A juvenile offender is an individual under a certain age who is suspected of having committed a crime or a status offense. A status offense is an offense that if committed by an adult, would be legal or acceptable. Examples of status offenses are truancy, under aged consumption of alcoholic beverages, and running away from home. Law enforcement officials use their discretion when determining how to pursue status offenses involving
According to Street Law, a juvenile is any person who is not yet an adult. In most states and the District of Columbia, individuals under 18 years of age are considered juveniles. The District of Columbia along with most states in the United States view any person under the age of 18 that has committed a crime as a juvenile criminal. Acts of a juvenile crime include but are not limited to: truancy, smoking, drinking, theft, rape, murder, defiance towards parents or guardian, etc. A juvenile criminal can only be held in a juvenile institution until the age of 21, no matter how gruesome their offense may have been.
Juvenile justice can be a difficult area for law enforcement. This is said because unlike adult offenders in the criminal justice system, the juvenile justice is about reform rather than incarceration. The thought process behind juvenile justice is to help these children to become better adults, not only for their community, but also for their workforce as well. There are some rules when handling delinquents. A great example would be an adult who has a public intoxication and has to spend a night in jail. Although, if a juvenile is caught doing the same thing he is to be taken home to his parents, or legal guardian. Also, the way a trial operates is also different. During a trial in adult court, it becomes a formal matter and can be subjected to a trial by jury. Whereas the trial in juvenile court is informal, and under no circumstances, can the defendant be tried in front of a jury. Lastly, the title of the judge is different in a juvenile case and is called a referee.
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