The Causes Of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is an ever growing issue in the United States, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, “In 2012, there were 3,941 arrests for every 100,000 youths ages 10 through 17 in the United States” (OJJDP, 2014). The way juveniles are treated in the criminal justice system is very different than the way adults are. In 1899, in Cook County, Illinois, the first juvenile justice system in the country was founded. This established an alternative way of dealing with offenders whom are inherently different, in the way they think and commit crimes, than those of adult age. There are a few distinct differences between the juvenile and adult criminal system, but the biggest difference is the

Juvenile delinquency continues to be a problem, a problem that endangers almost every American. Juvenile delinquency has the potential to considerably damage the health and well-being of families and communities. Therefore, there is a clear and urgent need for strategies and scientific study for understanding the nature, extent, and causes of law violations committed by juveniles as well as the construction of methods of control.

Juvenile Delinquency is the participation of illegal behavior by a minor who falls under a statutory age limit. A delinquent is a minor who commits a crime or a status offense. A status offense is conduct that is illegal only because the child is under age i.e. smoking cigarettes (Senna 10, 20). The cases of Eric Smith, Lionel Tate, and an unidentified NJ child are similar only because, they are guilty of killing another child, but the Criminal Justice System treated and punished them very differently. In August 1993 in Savona, New York 13 year old Eric Smith killed 4 year old Derrick Robie. Smith lured Robie into the woods and strangled, beat with large rocks, and sodomized Robie. Smith was questioned by police and kept changing some

Juvenile Justice has been a work in progress from the beginning of the program because of the evolving mentality of the generations. The purpose of Juvenile Justice was to correct the behavior of the juvenile delinquents and rehabilitation through a probationary period monitored by an individual who paid for bail and periodically reported behavior changes to courts. (Mulligan 2009) We do justice to the youth offenders by understanding the history of Juvenile Justice restorative programs, the alternatives to incarceration, and how to help them amend their actions and behavior.

James Lehman, an author who dedicated his life to troubled juveniles once said, “I believe that the kids who are labeled “good” are children who know how to solve their problems and manage their behavior and social life, and the kids who are labeled “bad” are kids who don’t know how to solve those problems.” Every day, kids are committing illegal acts of varying severity. Some are involved in petty robberies, others involved in murders and rape. These juveniles become the responsibility of the juvenile justice system which is tasked with the duty of properly helping and punishing these kids. However, this is precisely the issue, do we punish these juvenile offenders? Or do we help rehabilitate them into law abiding citizens?

We live in a world where there is a great deal of investment allotted to our children and our culture tend to be overprotective of our youth. Rightfully so, our younger citizens are considered the building blocks of our nation and the carriers of our legacy in the future. But in spite of stringent laws that seem to protect our youth, other factors such as race, poverty, and environment are catalysts for delinquent youth behavior. Juvenile crime is on the rise and is one of the nation’s serious problems. Concerns about these crimes are widely shared by government officials from federal, state, local, and the public. Given its association with aggression, substance abuse, mental health problems and generally disruptive behavior, juvenile delinquency requires high levels of public policy and media attention from professionals located within multiple disciplines in social work, psychology, law and criminal justice. Teenagers being tried as adults have grown in an alarming rate and in some cases, juvenile defendants are as young as twelve and thirteen. This issue raised concern from youth advocate groups on the assumption that our juvenile justice system is failing to accomplish what they are supposed to do, which is to protect our kids by correcting them through treatment and guidance rather than punishing them. Recognizing the risk factors that causes juvenile delinquencies, having an efficient juvenile justice system

Millions of crimes happen every year, thousand of crimes happen every month, and hundred of crimes happen every day. Many of these crimes are committed by young people under the age of 18. Juvenile crime has long been a problem. Why do some teenagers steal, while others do not? What makes some youth involve themselves in drug and/or alcohol abuse, while others abstain? When do some teens decide to participate in gang-related activities, while others refrain? Throughout America, for several reasons, there are many young women and men that commit crimes such as these. Several causes of juvenile delinquency will be addressed throughout this research paper.

In the United States, juvenile delinquency is becoming a major problem in the communities across the country. Because of the actions that these juveniles engage in on a regular basis, taxpayers across the country are having to shell out hundreds upon thousands of dollars to rehabilitate these children in order to help them make better choices. This leads citizens to wonder what factors actually cause juveniles to live a life of crime rather than success. In short, there are three main factors that often cause children to live a life of crime. These three factors are social influences, psychological characteristics, and academic potential.

Two issues that are related to juvenile delinquency are substance abuse and mental health issues. The Juvenile Justice System is contantly being reevaluated for reform. The desensitization of today’s youth to drugs and violence can lead to them trying drugs for the first time at younger ages. Soceity is also seeing an increase in young people with mental health issues today than ever before. My wife worked in a local residential treatment facility for at-risk youth for several years. Substance abuse and mental health issues were recurring themes with the youth who entered that facility. The treatment began with the individual and where possible included the family.

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

This paper explores eleven published articles that report on results from research conducted on the factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and the solutions to correct or prevent this delinquency. In the history of the construction and implementing federal laws, it has been imperative to take actions and make procedures in response to the increasing number of minors who violate the laws. The formation of a juvenile justice system that is made up of proper course and development was created. It is important to point out the reasons why these juveniles do offensive and criminal acts in order to form systematic and efficient solutions. These factors have been the basis in creating solutions against juvenile delinquency. The juvenile justice system made certain steps and processes to respond and take action against juvenile crime. They created facilities where the accused juvenile can be rehabilitated for a certain time so that he or she will be transformed by the time he or she leaves the reform center. Families, schools, and communities are encouraged to get involved for the betterment of the youth. They are suggested to be a strong support to the youngsters and join them with other activities that promote self-esteem, development, and self-confidence to keep them away from trouble. It is also recommended that they take note of each of the factors and to make solutions individually in response to the existing issues.

Through an understanding of causes of juvenile delinquency society may come to deal preventively with delinquency; certainly treatment of the offender needs to be based upon an understanding of the causal mechanisms that have produced him. In this paper we'll describe three theories of juvenile delinquency such as Social Learning Theory, General Strain Theory and Behavioral Theory and discuss appropriate preventive programs based upon these theories.

This assignment will illustrate that by understanding the fundamentals of combatting juvenile delinquency and applying the theories to command practice will enhance the overall knowledge of the material. This document will demonstrate the juvenile delinquency reduction efforts and programs currently in operation in the Tampa area community. In addition, I will propose ways to improve the Tampa area community’s juvenile delinquency prevention efforts. Next, this paper will attempt to apply the main sociological theories that underlie these interventions that shape the community’s public policy for delinquency prevention. Finally, this paper will identify an appropriate strategy geared toward preventing delinquency that in consistent with the Behavioral theory.

A traumatic childhood may predispose a child to violence against themselves or against others, in adolescence or adulthood. This information is and has been off the records, but so far no known relationship between the magnitude of traumatic experiences and different forms of violence at puberty. A study published in Pediatrics, which involved 136,549 U.S. students between 12 and 17 has been commissioned to evaluate this relationship. The researchers sought to determine six adverse experiences for which they had passed the boys in childhood and physical and sexual abuse, witnessing abuse or problems at home by alcohol or drugs taken by a relative. Then he saw the violent behavior at puberty: crime, harassment, bullying, dating violence,

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.