Reducing Juvenile delinquency - Research Paper Example

To reduce juvenile delinquency, considerable attention should be accorded to the adolescents in order to create a suitable environment for their influence. This paper seeks to illustrate various aspects associated with juvenile delinquency and measures taken to reduce incidences. Juvenile delinquency illustrates a violation of the law committed by a child under the legal age, which surpasses parental control, and thus is subject to legal action. Such violations of the law are not punishable by death or life imprisonment, but dwell on rehabilitating the offenders to become law-abiding citizens.

Institutions such as juvenile detention centers and courts assist in dispensation of legal interventions based on specified procedures in the legal system. Furthermore, a juvenile delinquent is an under aged person who has been found guilty of a crime, and is protected by the law as a minor; hence cannot bears no responsibility for the crime (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006). However, based on the nature and seriousness of a crime, the age of criminal responsibility is reduced according to state laws, in this regard, the person cannot be tried as an adult.

Negative behaviors among children and young adults contribute juvenile delinquency, which is known to cause widespread problems in society. In recent years, it is estimated that a high percentage of children and adolescents engage activities that are in violation of the law, this has contributed to drop in the average age of first arrests made among young people. This can be attributed to the common notion that juvenile offences are normative adolescent behaviors. However, repeated or chronic offenders are most likely to carry on with the trend away from adolescence and become more and more violent.

At a tender age, delinquent behavior involves minor theft, but can evolve to violent acts involving the use of weapons as an individual nears the statutory age. Other delinquent behaviors include bullying, truancy, vandalism, assault, gangs, and sexual offences. It is for this reason that persons under the statutory age can be charged as adults depending on the severity of the crime. National statistics indicate an increase in the number of juvenile delinquency cases owing to numerous social factors within the society.

Juvenile delinquency has its impacts on the victims as well as the society; damages incurred by the victim may be in the form of injury or loss of property, which results in loss productivity during that period. The victim may also incur medical expenses resulting from inflicted injuries during an attack. Psychological trauma is also common among victims and the society. Agnew suggests that when an individual is blocked from attaining a positive goal, it causes strain, which forces one to seek alternative modes of compensation (Agnew, 2005).

Similarly, perpetrators of juvenile acts may experience low self-esteem and thus increase their activities to compensate for their loss. There are a number of factors contributing to the heightened rates of delinquency in the society. Among the contributing factors are substance abuse, physical abuse and poverty. At a tender age, most adolescents have monetary access through allowance accorded to them as well as jobs from surrounding business premises. In this regard, drugs and alcohol can be procured with ease given the opportunity.

Substance abuse impairs judgment, which may result in further violation of the