Thesis Statement On Juvenile Delinquency

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. References Day, S. (2014). Runaway Man: A Journey Back to Hope.

This program promotes a positive collaboration between offending youths, the justice system, and the community through the acceptance of responsibility, compliance with the disposition, and the completion of sanctions without a formal juvenile record. The intended outcome of this program is to reduce court backlogs, improve timeliness of case adjudication, cost savings, and accountability for first time, in some cases, second chances for misdemeanor offenders within the local community. Social learning theory proposes that youths learn deviance through imitation, cognitive definitions, differential reinforcement and association (Akers & Lee, 1996). Social influence theory contains conceptual elements of peer pressure, normative influence, and modeling (Maxwell, 2002).

Initially, peer and family influences can greatly contribute to children committing juvenile acts. Mandel states “there are parents who give

This can be seen in the growing number of court-involved status offenders who were being detained and placed outside of their homes for noncriminal behavior (Shubik & Kendall, 2007). Following multiple studies and research, the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that the juvenile court be the agency of last resort and that community-based organizations, not penal institutions, should be responsible for these youths (Shubik & Kendall, 2007; Farrington,

Analyzing the juvenile delinquency, this can be perceived from different mindsets. Merriam-Webster defines juvenile delinquency as conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial behavior that is beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal action and a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment. Also, a crimes committed by a person is only name a juvenile if the individual is under the age of eighteen In today’s society majority of kids are not born to be criminals or defined as above as delinquents. Children usually develop these habits or lifestyles choices due to poverty, circumstances and culture.

The violent crime rate among juveniles has grown at twice the rate compared to adults in the last two decades (Levitt, 1998). This fact shows that juveniles are constantly being given a slap on the wrist for the crimes adults get sent away for and the violent crime rate would not be inclining at the rate it is if they were processed as adults. Juveniles being processed as adults would decrease the rate due to the deterrence effect. There has been a rise in juvenile arrest rates for violent crimes due to the change in law and policies for juveniles that are less harsh when compared to adults (National Research Council, 2001). Juveniles know that the punishment they will receive for a crime is not harsh which leads them to commit more violent crimes.

Family members and peers play a significant role in future criminal behavior of a child. A child in an impoverished household is at greater risk in engaging in criminality than their counterparts. Furthermore, families with a weak structure have shown a correlation of higher risk of a child becoming criminal. This goes to show that if a child is brought up in a positive and financially stable environment the risk of a childs involvement in criminal behavior is lessened. Incidentally, children who have a difficult time socializing or become aggressive with other children in early school years are more likely to become criminal in the future.

I. Thesis For generations, the argument whether juveniles should be waived to adult courts or not has been a prevalent one in our society. Some agree that waiving the juveniles to adult courts will reduce their recidivism rate, due to the harsh sentences and a lifelong record next to their name. However, in light of the argument these individuals fail to consider that the level of maturity of the juvenile is not the same as an adult. The cognitive development of the juvenile is still in process when they are underage, causing them to act impulsively without thinking about the consequences of their actions.

Annotated bibliography Childress, S. (2016, June 2). More States Consider Raising the Age for Juvenile Crime. Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/more-states-consider-raising-the-age-for-juvenile-crime/ More states are considering to raising the age for juvenile crimes before being tried as adult because young offender's mental capacity. The idea is to cut the cost of incarcerate young offender in adult prison and ensure offenders to receive proper education and specialized care to change their behavior. Putting children in adult prison does not deter crime.

We have seen today in society of how crime rates have been rampant and how statistics show that most of the crimes were being made by minors. I believe that when most of them look at the bottom of these young offenders come disproportionately from impoverished single-parent homes that are located in the neighbourhoods desinvertido and have high rates of learning disabilities, mental health, and substance abuse and problems with the help of the system of juvenile justice that can make a great return on a successful transition to adulthood. Their ages ranged from 20 and under, most are under fifteen years of age. Juveniles tried as adults must assume the same consequences as any other criminal and are subject to state prisons with inmates much higher and that have probably committed crimes much more tortuous then you could ever have. These minors between the ages of nine to twenty according to the offence committed or of the number of times that are prosecuted and believe that it is immutable.

Many people complain about how juveniles lack brain development and this should be an excuse. It makes others uncertain about trying them as adults since they lack decision-making and impulse control. Despite the lack of development, it’s ideal to recognize that for certain violent crimes, “there have to be consequences to actions” (Ford). Allowing juveniles to simply avoid adult punishment doesn’t help to promote public safety or give adolescents the responsibility they need in the future. But most people believe that juveniles still have room for rehabilitation and change.

The juvenile justice system has made numerous of ethical issues when managing juvenile offenders. The issue with the juvenile justice system is the laws and rules that govern it. It has led to years of controversial debate over the ethical dilemmas of the juvenile corrections system, and how they work with youth offenders. The number of minors entering the juvenile justice system is increasing every month. The reasons why the juvenile justice system faces ethical dilemmas is important and needs to be addressed: (1) a vast proportion of juveniles are being tried and prosecuted as adults; (2) the psychological maturation of the juvenile to fully comprehend the justice system; and (3) the factors that contribute to minorities being adjudicated in the juvenile justice system are more likely than White offenders.

They also wanted to emphasize on the “risk and protective factors” that led to recidivism. They were able to test their research by using 43 male offenders and 33 female offenders between the ages of 11-17 (Carr & Vandiver 2001). The youths group of friend’s, history of offence, their IQ, their family situation and role models were also some of the factors they tested when looking for recidivism. Furthermore, each person was given a form that tested for stressors, risk and protective factors. To test the stressors, they looked at two specific stressors, which was low SES scores and if there was separation with the family.

Understanding the risk and protective factors of child delinquency is imperative in order to create and implement treatment and intervention programs. Because children’s behavior develops during the first five years, it is important to know what risk and protective factors could increase the likelihood of a child becoming a child offender (Wasserman et al., 2003). Moreover, overcoming the risk factors would help prevent the child offender from becoming a juvenile, and later, adult offender. As Wasserman et al (2003) stated, “risk factors for child delinquency operate in several domains: the individual child, the child’s family, the child’s peer group, the child’s school, the child’s neighborhood, and the media” (pg.1). As one can see, children are exposed to risk in partially every aspect of their lives.

Thus, family strains strongly affect their violent and delinquent behaviors. This study tends to suggest that policy makers may give importance to prevent delinquency in the society. We firmly believe that our findings are a great help as our guide in understanding deviance and delinquency of adolescence. Suggesting that, they may establish programs to help parents and adolescents control strains and improve their lives.