Some Facts about Juvenile Delinquency Essay

75% of youth in correctional facilities for delinquency are not in for a serious violent felony crime (Ross). Many minors in such facilities are held because their families cannot take care of them. Drug use, often stemming from the parents, is prevalent in teens detained in juvenile detention. Additionally, teen pregnancy and sexual abuse are common among the incarcerated young adults. Most of them have some level of a psychiatric disorder, however, a small percentage of them actually receive treatment. An unhealthy home environment, drug addiction, and mental trauma all contribute to the cycle of juvenile detention. In fact, 66% of youth who have been arrested will become repeat offenders within 24 months (“21 Juvenile Repeat Offenders

There are three main integrated theories that explain delinquent behaviors committed by juveniles. They are the General Theory of Crime, the Social Process Theory, and the Interactional Theory. After researching each theory, I believe that Terence P. Thornberry's Interactional Theory best explains why children commit crimes. This essay will explain in great detail the Interactional theory and discuss its advantages and disadvantages.

Incidents like abuse from family members, bullying, neglect, and sexual abuse are the most common. Repeated abuse can lead to psychological damage and emotional scarring. Not only are traumatic psychological experiences causing these juveniles to commit violent crimes. Situations, where children have poor education, a household without discipline, peer pressure, inadequate role models, low income, and substance abuse coupled with the wrong environment, can lead to a life of crime. These negative influences guide these juveniles on the wrong path towards crime. However, it does not mean these juveniles cannot succeed; it is however up to the juvenile to make the correct choices in their

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

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.

Juvenile delinquency incorporates two general types of behaviors. Status offenses is one of the general types of behaviors that are considered harmful or inappropriate for the children and adolescents. The behavior is consider harmful and inappropriate because of the age of the offender. An example of a status offense would be running away from home, ditching school, violating curfew, and smoking or drinking. As a result, this puts the burden on the parent to take care of their child. However, if an adult commits the behavior it’s considered not illegal. Though, there are parents that don’t care for their children causing this to be a serious issue.

A status offense is an offense which is not considered a crime when committed by an adult. On the other hand it’s considered to be an act of delinquency when committed by a juvenile. Some of these offenses are running away from home, smoking tobacco and underage drinking. In some states status offenders are categories into four groups the Chins, Pins, Jins and Mins. Status offense is not considered as a crime.

Juvenile delinquency is very prevalent especially among adolescents because studies have shown that during the time of adolescence that is when delinquency tends to increase and once adolescence has passed at about 17 years of age then it tends to decrease (Adolescent Delinquency, 2002). There are many factors that can contribute to the increase of delinquency during adolescence, some of the factors can be personality, mental disorders, genetics, economic status, environment, family, and culture among others, also to understand better the causes of juvenile delinquency the social control theory is the best theory to explain juvenile delinquency as a whole (Adolescent Delinquency, 2002).

Risk factors for juvenile delinquency have been identified from multiple studies. These risk factors are different for older and younger juveniles. When focusing on the individual juvenile between the ages of

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 1993 film, Menace II Society is an American crime drama that depicts the lives of two urban teenagers living in Watts, Los Angeles. It illustrates the day-to-day illegal activities of young adolescents’ such as their involvement in committing various acts of delinquent activity. Additionally, the film focuses on the struggle that young urban youth especially boys go through everyday such as racial profiling and gang affiliation. The opening scene shows Caine and his best friend Kevin entering a local corner store to buy malt liquor. However, as the two friends were talking, two racist Korean storeowners were eyeing them suspiciously.

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).

Deviance among adolescents in our society has many different causes and multiple theories throughout the history of criminal justice have been developed to attempt to explain, prevent and reduce incidents of status offenses and juvenile delinquency. There are theories varying from individual, to social and environmental. All of these theories have their merits and contribute in one way or another to the advancement of the understanding of juvenile delinquency and the treatment and prevention of delinquency within our society. Those that have proven to be successful we have applied in our justice system while those that are proven over time to be ineffective or defective we have discarded. There is no single theory that applies to all delinquent behavior in all situations. It is best to determine what theory may work best in each specific case based on the individual and the specific situation. Dodge’s information processing theory of social problem solving (Crick and Dodge 1994) was developed by Kenneth Dodge in an attempt to explain the interaction between the child’s cognitive development and their social environment. This theory combines elements of both the individual and the social environment and examines how these two variables interact with each other to present a model for juvenile delinquency. During my investigation of this topic I discovered that an adapted model of Dodge’s theory existed that seemed to be more encompassing of the causes of juvenile delinquency,

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.

Moreover, punishment for juvenile delinquents may be the only resource available for correction officials. The juvenile justice system defines three categories of offenders: dependent, neglected, and delinquent. As defined by Seiter, “dependent children have committed no legal offense but may be without a family (parent or guardian) or without support, possibly the parent is physically or mentally unable to act in that capacity,