Causes And Effects Of Juvenile Delinquency

The most startling rate of criminal involvement among many adolescents and young juveniles (young adults) is a major cause of concerns in Canada and the world at large. On the contrary, it is not accidental that the vast majority of youth who have enact these vicious crimes are incarcerated or place in juvenile detention centres. With the onset of mental health issues are currently on the rise scientific research are intended to comprehend this episode of juvenile offenders has prompted an investigation of the many contributing risk factors associated with these types of behavioural problems. In relation to this stigma what

There are indication that most criminals have a juvenile records in the US, indicating that crime manifests from a tender age. Therefore, to reverse the incidence of crime, it follows that the best strategy is to reduce the criminal orientation in the juvenile offenders as opposed to hardening them and preparing them for criminal careers. The case of the Crossroads Juvenile Center demonstrates the willingness of the juvenile justice systems to make these changes on the children.

Juvenile Incarceration is an epidemic in America that has no chance of slowing down without the support and changes from the government. One problem contributing to this issue is that the justice system focuses mainly on punishing the juvenile offender through prison time, instead of taking preventative measures and supporting rehabilitation. Imprisoning juveniles is not only ineffective, as evidenced by the high recidivism rates, but it is also extremely expensive. The average annual cost of housing one juvenile in jail is $88,000. That number multiplied by the number of incarcerated juveniles, equates to an end cost to the government of approximately 21 billion dollars. Rather than trying to sustain these growing costs for incarceration,

The Boys & Girls Club Organization follows the Youth Development Strategy. This strategy describes how the impact of youth development professionals and volunteers interact with young people. All programs that are implemented purposes are to maximize opportunities and assist with the young people attaining the five basic senses; a sense of competence, a sense of usefulness, a sense of belonging, a sense of power and influence.

57). Research shows that delinquency and youth violence have been on the rise over the decade growing in epidemic proportions since 1993 (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998). Delinquency means for one to break the law and does not have to involve any form of criminal activity in one doing so. However, it is known that antisocial behavior, delinquency, and violence share common roots and similar consequences according to Mcwhirter et al. (2013). Violent crimes committed by youth has escalated by youth victimized by youth violence doubling the in juvenile arrests for violent crime by 2010, and fueled anxieties about future crime wave as the juvenile delinquents mature into adults (Hoyt & Scherer, 1998) with female delinquency making its mark up the ladder according to research. Usually when a youth is classified as a delinquent it is associated with antisocial behaviors within the family and in the community such as aggression and can lead to related problems such as vandalism, substance usage and running away, theft, robbery, and larceny, gang memberships and school shootings. Juveniles are typically not charged like adults unless the crime is serious. Delinquency in the United States is examined with the emphasis on its relation to local communities and the groups and institutions that form the social world of children and adolescents (Cavan &

Society has become a place filled with so much tragedy, from natural disasters to bomb threats, to school shootings and a massive amount of murders, resulting in an increase in deaths and paranoia. The first thing in such event, is an official should try to figure out the cause of the incident. Such example, could be the Orlando Night Club Shooting where a man named Omar Mateen killed innocent people due to his hatred towards homosexuals. In most cases, those found guilty have tended to be an adult and have had a “reason” for provoking the crime, but, now what if the person convicted of such crime were a child? Questions then arise as to, if a child should be convicted as an adult for committing crimes like homicide and if their logic of doing

Childhood is generally associated with an age of innocence and a time without serious problems or worries. However, for thousands of children in America, this innocence has been taken away from them. Instead of having time to learn from their mistakes and develop naturally, they are placed in an environment that is harmful to their growth. Currently, in the United States around 60,000 children and teenagers under 18 are incarcerated and around 10,000 are in adult jails (“America’s Addiction to Juvenile Incarceration: State by State”)(Lahey). These children go through very different experiences than their peers outside jail walls, face many challenges during their time in jail, and have difficulty adapting upon release. Placing children and teenagers in jail results in negative effects rather than rehabilitation.

Research has shown that transferring adolescents from juvenile court to criminal court increases the recidivism rate. Thus, exposing minors to adult treatment increases crime. Generally, juvenile detention facilities are equip for rehabilitation, offering programs to aid reformation. Society does not hold youth to the same maturity level of an adult. Furthermore, juveniles are not afforded the same rights as adults (e.g. smoking, drinking, voting) because we understand their inability to make responsible decisions. The developmental differences are what set an adult apart from a child. In Judging Juveniles, Aaron Kupchik argues that if we understand the psychological needs of adolescents, why do we transfer them to criminal court? In his study

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) protect children and help to prevent and control the juvenile delinquency. Not only does it improve the juvenile justice system but also they want to make sure that kids are healthy and free from violence. OJJDP promote things they can do for the youth justice system and the safety they can provide for them. They make it their mission to promote what they do to let the youth out there know that there are people that care for them and are willing to help. OJJDP was established through the Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention (JDP) by congress, amended in the public law 93-415, act of 1974.

Chapter 1 Definition, Measurements and Process introduces the history of the juvenile justice system and discusses the issues surrounding the transitioning of a child to an adult. The chapter also covers challenges the juvenile system faces, how delinquency and crime are measured based on the Uniform Crime Reports, self-report studies, and victimization surveys. The measure of youths as delinquents and victims is also discussed, as is a typology of juvenile delinquents.

The juvenile justice system is used to deal with youth (primarily under 18) who have committed a crime, this is handled through police, courts, and correctional involvement. The main goal is rehabilitation vs punishment and involves many systems such as probation officers, social workers, the police, and the courts. It had been found that juveniles with involvement in the juvenile courts often suffer from mental health problems and is often the source of their delinquency. “Approximately 50–70 % of youth involved in the juvenile justice system (JJS; about 1.4 of 2.4 million adolescents annually; have a diagnosable mental health condition and rates of psychiatric disorder tend to be higher among residential or detention facilities than at probation

The set of the structural-functional theories are among the most widespread perspectives on the juvenile delinquency. The group of the theories regards that the behavior of the underage delinquent is caused by the breakdown of the social process that consequently results in the increase of conformity (Thompson & Bynum, 2016). The group of theories presumably blame institutions that are responsible for the socialization of the young delinquents for the way the socialize the individuals by causing them to conform to the values of the society.

Juvenile Delinquency is a phenomenon that affects communities worldwide according to media reports, both print and electronic, where worrying images of youths involved in behavior outside societal norm has been highlighted. This issue has been studied by researchers locally, regionally and internationally where results has shown that delinquency has been influenced by a number of factors such as age, gender, race, family circle, environment, socioeconomic status et cetera.

Juvenile delinquency is a growing social problem in the world today, as worldwide, about 200,000 murders occur among youth 10–29 years of age each year (more than 500 deaths a day), which is 43% of the total number of murders globally each year (WHO, 2016). It is defined as major or minor law breaking (e.g. murder, rape, robbery, and theft) by youth (Berger, 2000) and the United Nations defines ‘youth’, as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. Consequently, juvenile delinquency is a critical problem in the society, which could lead to social instability by violence and insecurity perpetrated by and against young people. These problems are caused by various influential factors ranging from peer and parental influences, environmental, and strain. It also affected by family process variables (e.g. parent-child involvement, communication, parental monitoring), indeed parenting is one of the important factors among them.

Siegel, L. &. (1988). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice and Law (3rd ed.). United States of America: West Publishing Company.