Juvenile Delinquency and the Criminal Justice System

Placing a juvenile in a detention center early in the court process increases the risk that youths will be found to be delinquent and damage their prospects for future success. A majority of the youths that are placed in these facilities pose little or no threat to the public and essentially do not need to be there. This portion of the juvenile court process is detrimental to the future and mental aspects of a youth’s life. We desperately need to change the way that we handle the juvenile court system because we are only reinforcing the delinquent behavior that these youths have been exposed to. We need to focus on the rehabilitation and prevention efforts for these youths not the punishment aspect and until then (insert a better ending).

When a juvenile commits a crime, it is not considered a crime, however it is considered juvenile delinquency. A massive problem throughout the US is juvenile delinquent acts. Juveniles acting out in a delinquent manner can be caused by many things. However, there is not just one reason why a juvenile may commit these acts. Instead there are many reasons that could lead up to delinquency. In this essay, I will be discussing a few theories as well as ways juveniles may receive treatment.

How would you feel if the police arrested kids all over our country to jail for just crossing the street the wrong way or pushing another kid on the playground? That is what is happening to many underage juvenile all over the United States; they are being sent to adult prisons for crimes that do not deserve such severe punishments. Why they were tried as adults is an enigma and we will explain why this is a terrible injustice. In 1899 children in between the ages of 7-14 were believed they were incapable of committing criminal intent. The court system back then believed that if enough evidence could be gathered to convince a jury, the underage person would be convicted and sent to an adult prison. Currently in our state, persons as

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.

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.

Over 1/3 of the 11,000 index crime arrests were juveniles under the age of 16.

Every individual in the United States has been affected by juvenile crime. It does not just affect the parents of the juvenile but also the neighbors, teachers, other families, and the police. Juvenile delinquency is the act of committing crimes and offenses by youth personnel. Essentially, criminal behavior engaged in by minors and is the major problem of youth in modern society. Juvenile delinquency is important because it has implicated misery to the victims and has conveyed problems to its perpetrators. While delinquency rates have been decreasing, the rates are still far too high. Numerous programs to prevent juvenile delinquency have been attempted but not all of them succeed in stopping the youth from entering the lifestyle of 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.

The authors, in Preventing Juvenile Delinquency: Early Intervention and Comprehensiveness as Critical Factors., use determine factors of different programs, and to see what works and what does not. In this way, the most successful programs can continue to be implemented and improved. They looked at poor child-rearing practices, poor parental supervision, criminal parents and siblings, low family income, large family size, poor housing, low intelligence, and low educational attainment to determine cause of delinquency behavior in juvenile.

Juveniles have always been a touchy subject in the criminal justice system. Many would argue that they deserve to be treated and sentenced as adults while others believe that they can be rehabilitated and changed into fully functioning members of society. Florida has established a Juvenile Detention Alternatives initiative in order to support the vision that all juvenile justice offenders would have opportunities put in place to develop them into law-abiding adults. This initiative uses core strategies and decision-making skills based on data driven policies and practices that will reduce secure detention placements and promote healthy lifestyles for the youth while also enhancing public safety. A program established by the Department of Juvenile Justice in Florida hopes to do just that. Intensive Delinquency Diversion Services, also referred to as the IDDS, is offered to youth who are first time offenders. This intense community and home-based intervention hopes to deter offenders from becoming lifelong criminals. This paper will give a brief background the program, a summary and description of the program, a theory that supports the program, and finally policy implications of the IDDS program.

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.

Overall, the research collected has examined juvenile delinquency, the persistent consequences of incarceration, and suggestive measures from the Public Defenders that could help reduce recidivism and provide justice for the offenders, the victims and the community. The research highlighted the crime pattern in young offenders, existing racial disparities in the juvenile criminal justice system and the lack of a proper support structure that encourages the youth to make bad choices. Studies included in the research demonstrated that most juvenile delinquents belong to underprivileged backgrounds, where their mental and educational needs are not properly addressed. They don’t receive community policing and are more likely to be viewed as criminals by the Law Enforcement and the public. Given their poor background, these children are more likely to be incarcerated than their counterparts and conclusively have a poor

The utilization of evidence based programs have proven to have positive outcomes for youth such as; reduced anxieties, and depression, academic success, support systems and skills for employment. Characteristically, juvenile delinquency follows a route comparable to that of usual adolescent development. Delinquent behavior is a path followed and not just something that children randomly engage in and therefore, through the understanding of the developmental paths of at-risk youth, researchers believe that early interventions can help to increase positive outcomes (Youth.Gov, 2017).

I am taking Criminology class this semester. Therefore I have to write a paper. The topic is relating to the criminal justice system and the impact of juvenile delinquents joining youth gangs in Australia. I would like both perspectives, the Australian First Nations and Non-First Nations to compare and contrast. I have used google for articles I was able to find a few criminology articles. The articles have to be criminology peer reviewed articles.

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