Juvenile Delinquency Essay

To many Americans today, the country is a hostage-but not from oversea terrorism as one might expect to think. No today, we live in fear from our own children; and these are the same young people who we are entrusting the future of this great country with. According to the Department of Justice report released in November, thirty-eight percent of those arrested for weapons offenses in 1995 were under the age of eighteen (Curriden). In the same report, the Bureau of Justice Statistics stated that in 1995, 3 out of every 100 eighteen-year-olds were arrested for weapons offenses. A rate three times higher than for males twenty-five to twenty-nine and five times higher than for males thirty to thirty-four (Curriden).

In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While

The changes in family values and structure in the United States has helped contribute to juvenile delinquency today. Society needs to recognize problems within the home before trying to find solutions to problems for todays at risk youth in America. Major structural changes inside of the home could adversely affect the raising of juveniles leading to delinquency. Some of the issues I will discuss in my paper are divorce, child abuse, mothers working outside of the home, and single-parent homes. Ineffectively raising a child can cause low

This research is important because understanding what makes a juvenile delinquent is necessary to know. Parents can be educated on what is affecting their teen to contribute to delinquent behavior. The family structure has been avoided by many citizens. Educating the public on the family structure can make a different in a teen’s life.

A group of seven juvenile delinquents sit at a table sporting jumpsuits that’s draped over their street clothes, not knowing what’s expected to happen next during their jail visit at the Douglas County prison in Georgia. The cameras, that are rolling for Beyond Scared Straight, a reality television series that takes at risk teenagers to different state run prisons across the United States to give them a glance of where they 'll end up if they continue making wrong choices, show the confused look on the delinquents’ faces when they see the next prisoner walking through the door. Instead of a pair of six foot, 300 pounder monsters that were charged for two counts of aggravated assault and attempted murder like some of the inmates that the

My last point as to why children turn to delinquency is due to a lack of communication with their parents. According to Clark and Shields at https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-19417319/family-communication-and-delinquency (1997) they state that “the importance of positive communication for optimal family functioning has major implications for delinquent behavior. They also discovered that communication is indeed related to the commission of delinquent behavior and differences are shown within categories of age, sex, and family marital status.” This has been caused due to the new family model known as the nuclear family. What this is, is a family with parents who are both working, and the extended family is spread throughout the country making it very difficult for children to receive any too little form of supervision, as well as communication from their family. This also goes back to the sheep and the sheep dog theory that without guidance and rules a child is doomed to have a lack of actions versus consequence ideals.

In today’s society, it would be assumptive that the juvenile justice system would take the necessary precautions to preserve and or rehabilitate the juveniles that are present in its system. With this in mind adolescents still, face sentencing of life without the possibility of parole and trials transferred to adult court. When you think of adolescence, the term development or puberty may come to mind. Teens or pre- teens are still in developmental stages of their lives and tend not to think or act on the level that an adult would. Juvenile justice focuses on the mere ideal that juveniles are not adults and should not be treated or tried as such. Heinous crimes, such as murder, could possibly draw a wedge between this thought. Taking the life

Read more: Juvenile Delinquency - Family Structure - Single Parent, Poverty, Theory, Development, and Children - JRank Articles http://family.jrank.org/pages/1006/Juvenile-Delinquency-Family-Structure.html#ixzz46Gx1b0sF

Juvenile delinquency is a social issue in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, is when “a violation of the law is committed by a juvenile and is not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Juvenile Delinquency). The juvenile system is different from the adult system in many way and most juvenile delinquents are from the age of ten to the age of seventeen (Juvenile Delinquent). Once the delinquent or anyone is at the age of eighteen, they are considered to be an adult. Therefore, in the justice system they are tried as an adult. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, peer influence, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. Teens are greatly influenced by the interactions and surroundings they are around. Their behaviors can result from the parent and/or their peer influences. Parents play a great role in the child’s life and a teen’s peers also play a strong role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not insight. This research will examine links between the social environment of teens and how it influences the teens actions and behavior which leads them to commit an offense.

the stress of having a large family on a low income may lead to less

Characteristically, juvenile delinquency follows a similar path just like normal adolescent development and children tend to follow delinquent and criminal behavior rather than engaging in it randomly. Research has shown that there are two types of delinquents, those in whom the onset of severe antisocial behavior begins in early childhood, and those in whom this onset coincides with entry into adolescence. With either type, these developmental paths give families, communities, and systems the opportunity to intervene and prevent the onset of antisocial behaviors and justice system involvement (APA, 2017).

Juvenile offending is a major problem in society. Understanding the risk factors that contribute to the increased likelihood of a juvenile to engage in delinquency is important. There are many factors that can influence the increased risk of juvenile delinquency. These factors include poverty, low socioeconomic status, age (Jarjoura, Triplett, & Brinker, 2002), race, gender (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015), education (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015; Jarjoura, 1993), and family structure (Anderson, 2002; Kierkus & Hewitt, 2009). It is important to examine if some risk factors can contribute more than others and to what extent they interact with one another. This paper will discuss three important risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of juveniles engaging in deviant acts. The three risk factors discussed are poverty, family structure, and educational attainment. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how these three risk factors interact with one another, resulting in a higher propensity for involvement in juvenile delinquency.

Children need to have a role model in their presence to advocate educational activities, community involvement, and avoiding contact with the law for bad behavior. As Baker states, “Delinquents are made, not born” (1991, Pg. 274). Possible noncriminal behaviors that may affect a juvenile to become delinquent include; child neglect and/ or abuse, termination of parental rights, foster home placements, those beyond parental control, interfamily assault and other criminal acts (Baker, 1991, Pg. 275). Parents must learn to teach family conflict intervention, management problems, favorable parental attitudes and involvement in problem behaviors. At an early age we learn to do what it thought, showed, and have the adult figure set the example in our lives. For example, helping with academic failure, avoid delinquent criminal peers, and guide away from drug use and crime. Adolescent problem behaviors start with the parents, then move into the community, and society must respond by providing alternative programs and institutions to help the problem.

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.

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