The Theories of Risk & Protective Factors Among Youth Offenders

The general deterrence concept was remarkable because punishment decreased crime. Ever since the number of police were put on the street, the delinquency rate has undergone a two-decade decline. Now, the problem occurs when certain youths continue to do crime after serving punishment. In some instances, experiencing punishment may actually increase the likelihood that offenders may commit new crimes. Especially for juveniles that live in troubled neighborhoods punishment will not lead to any drop on the crime rate. They care about committing crimes that are profitable and beneficial to them rather than worrying about getting

How can theories help us to understand criminal behavior and to design strategies intended to control such behavior?

The primary risk factors for criminal behavior majorly come into play in the early years of a person’s life.

The criminal justice system approaches young offenders through unique policies to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. They take special care when dealing with juveniles in order to stop them from repeat offending and stop any potential bad behaviour which could result in future. Juveniles have the highest tendency to rehabilitate and most adopt law-abiding lifestyles as they mature. There are several factors influencing juvenile crime including psychological and social pressures unique to juveniles, which may lead to an increase in juvenile’s risks of contact with the criminal justice system.

There are a few common reasons for young people to be involved in crime. These include poor parental supervision, drug and alcohol abuse, neglect and abuse, homelessness, negative peer associations and difficulties in school and employment. The criminal justice system effectively deals with young offenders through unique techniques to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. Even though young offenders commit a large percentage of crime, they also have the highest likelihood to be rehabilitated and change their lifestyles as they mature. There are several factors influencing crime by young offenders including psychological and

Studies suggest that young people are often at risk of re-offending (e.g. Sharkey, et al, 2003; Vincent & Seagrave, 2005). Sharkey and his colleagues explained that youth often reoffend since, as they prepare themselves in returning to their respective communities, they are usually confronted by similar situations that had influenced their behaviors prior to committing offenses. Another group of researchers however show that youth engaged in education, employment and other productive endeavors in their communities within 6 to 8 months after their release are less vulnerable to commit another offense (e.g. Keating, et al., 2002, Bullis, et al, 2002, Grossman & Tierney, 2008).

Juvenile crime is a term around the world that is difficult to pinpoint and although there are several definitions many fail to be concrete. There are many factors that play into sentencing juveniles or minors upon a crime committed. How old are they? Can they mentally form criminal intent? Are they old enough to no longer be treated as children? Some people would argue that a criminal is just that, regardless of age. Research on the other hand shows that juveniles have underdeveloped brains who at times have difficulty rationalizing decisions and weighing out consequences. It is important that these issues are addressed because of the implications this has on not only the juveniles but the community around them. These

So the youth can learn that the crime is serious and should not be committed again or their will be consequences

The evidence that is provided expresses that prisons should be a place to “conduct health education, screening for disease and treatment” however, right now prison is just a place where disease is allowed to spread back and forth between the general public (p.123). The fourth topic is educational management which covers how the education system can decrease youth crime by making a small change in the time school starts. This section states that if school started later than youth would have less opportunities to commit crime. At the moment the only thing that is hindering this from occurring is the inconvenience it would bring adults (teachers, parents, etc.). This section also discusses peer on peer (mainly bullying) crime and how it should be treated as regular crime not something that can be overlooked. This sections ends stating that we should hold schools more accountable for the crime rates of their students.

“The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) defines recidivism as a return to incarceration within three years of the offender’s date of release from a state correctional institution.” (Schelle, 2012) The 2011 recidivism rate for all juvenile offenders was 36.7%. The recidivism rate for African American juvenile offenders was 43.8%. Eighty-two percent of the juveniles who recidivated did so with a new crime, and the other 18% returned because of technical violations. “Of all juveniles released in 2008, 40.9% of males returned to IDOC, while only 15.8% of females returned,” (Schelle, 2012). Surprisingly, juvenile sex offenders had the lowest recidivism rate at 13.6%. (Schelle, 2012)

Currently to deal with juvenile offenders involved in the youth crime, there are two options available. The first option that prevails to a larger extent is known to us as incarceration while the second option that is slowly gaining trends is known to us as rehabilitation programs. This paper focuses on thorough analysis of both these options and the impact that they have on the offenders as well as the society as a whole. The paper also assesses the viability of these options in order to determine which of these will prove to be more effective and beneficial.

Therefore, numerous interventions have been designed to address and redirect specific behaviors of delinquent youth who are at-risk for recidivism or who have been incarcerated and are facing greater involvement within the juvenile justice system (Youth.Gov, 2017). More importantly, not every intervention works with every youth offender. The key is to focus on each youth as an individual and not as a population.

subjected to the juvenile justice system, but an alarming number of youths are transferred to

I believe a weakness of this theory is that it does not explain why everyone commits crime. It also shifts the blame from the individual who committed the crime to the factors that may have caused the crime to take place. An example would be instead of the person who steals being blamed for the crime, the blame is then on the environment because it is a low

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.