Juvenile Delinquency - Essay Example

Juvenile Delinquency Outline Juvenile delinquency is defined either socially or legally. The legal definition of juvenile delinquencyis juvenile delinquency that it is a behavior that is an infringement of the criminal code of those countries and which is carried out by a youth who is still not an adult-the age of an adult normally being eighteen. The social definition of juvenile delinquency is the huge number of behaviors and acts of young children and adolescents which are condemned by society. The biological risk factors of juvenile delinquency include increased heart rate or disturbed hormonal levels. Family problems and a low economic status are other contributing factors. Mentoring and evaluation programs should be started for the delinquents to overcome this issue. Parents and family members should also be guided to be supportive of these children. Thesis Statement: Juvenile delinquency is a serious societal issue that has many underlying risk factors and thus it should be tackled with the different management strategies to reduce its prevalence Juvenile delinquency Crime is one of the most dangerous factors that affect society today. An even more shocking fact is that it is not only adults who commit this act of violence, but adolescents well under the age of eighteen as well. Such adolescents are generally referred to as juvenile delinquents. There are not one but two definitions of the term ‘juvenile delinquency’ which are the legal definition and the social definition. With the help of these definitions and knowledge of all the risk factors that contribute to violence in youngsters, juvenile delinquency can be predicted well before a crime is committed by a juvenile. Juvenile delinquency is a serious societal issue that has many underlying risk factors and thus it should be tackled with the different management strategies to reduce its prevalence. There are many complexities involved when defining juvenile delinquency. What describes delinquency in a legal sense may vary from how delinquency is described by society. In most countries, juvenile delinquency is described as behavior that is an infringement of the criminal code of those countries and which is carried out by a youth who is still not an adult-the age of an adult normally being eighteen. The specific actions that represent juvenile delinquency vary from country to country. Some countries even have policies stating that juveniles who commit extreme act of violence should be treated as adults-they should not be shown any leniency by the court. For example, youngsters at the age of ten and above are considered as accountable to their actions as a mature adult by the criminal law in England. On the other hand, according to the social definition, juvenile delinquency is defined as the huge number of behaviors and acts of young children and adolescents which are condemned by society. However, in this sense, any disapproving act of a youth will be termed as juvenile delinquency. For instance, a youth who behaves rudely in front of guests may be termed as a delinquent by parents, although the court would ignore the problem as no laws were broken by that youth. A youngster-or juvenile-does not become an official delinquent until labeled as such by the juvenile court (The Guardian 2012; Regoli et al 2008). A risk factor is a term that applies to incidents that occur prior to-and predict-a later consequence. There are various risk factors involved in juvenile delinquency. The biological factor implies that violent youths or delinquents tend to have low resting heart rates, which indicate low autonomic arousal, like boredom and/or fearlessness. Such youths have the urge to seek excitement and take risks in order to increase their levels of stimulation. Furthermore, studies show that boys with a high level of the hormone, testosterone, after gaining puberty, are more likely to be violent. These biological factors are difficult to quantify accurately and may occur chiefly in interaction with psychological and social factors. Some of the major psychological or personality factors such as impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and weak behavioral restraint and attention problems are important predictors of later juvenile delinquency (Loeber 1990; Farrington 1998). Several family factors also forecast violence. For instance, fathers who were convicted for acts of violence tended to have sons who would later become delinquents. Other family factors include poor supervision and affection by parents, experiencing fights between parents and parental hostility such as drastic disciplines. Moreover, severe physical punishments given to children at a young age also resulted in delinquency. Socioeconomic, peer and neighborhood factors are also very important. Bonding with peer delinquents’ leads to delinquency and vice versa. Those youngsters who prevail from a low socioeconomic status, such as poor housing conditions and low family income, were more likely to commit delinquency. The same can be said for those children residing in high-crime neighborhoods, which usually have high rates of poverty and unemployment. All these factors play an important role in the development of a child’s potential to commit crimes and thus become a juvenile delinquent. However, situational factors are a bit different from the factors mentioned above. Rather than explaining why some youngsters are more likely that others-provided the same situational circumstances-to commit delinquency, situational factors explain why a youngster is more likely to commit delinquency in some situations than in others. For instance, the least possible necessity for a crime to occur would be the coincidence in time and place and a suitable target, in the nonattendance of an able guardian (Loeber 1990; Farrington 1998). There are many ways in which a society can reduce these risk factors. Ten to fourteen year old adolescents who have a low academic standard, exhibit behavioral problems such as low self-confidence, lack parental backing and participation in activities, should be identified and appointed mentors; these mentors should guide and teach them academic skills and encourage and participate with them in fun-filled and community-service activities. Monthly events involving youngsters, their parents and their mentors should be organized in order to strengthen bonds within the family. Self-evaluation of such a program, which was implemented by the Cooperative Extension Service in Carbon and Weber Counties, UT, showed that self-confidence and respect for their parents increased, along with an improvement in family relationships. Furthermore, the youngsters taking part in this program exhibited positive attitudes toward school, exhibited better performance in academics and became involved in less violence in school. Evaluation studies of other programs that taught parents and guardians how to manage adolescent behavior and stressed on good decision-making showed that the number of juvenile delinquency cases decreased by thirty three percent and the number of youngsters on probation decreased by more than thirty percent, proving that communities can truly decrease juvenile delinquency (Chibnall & Abbruzzese 2004). True, complexities can arise when trying to find the accurate definition for juvenile delinquency, as there is a considerable difference between the legal and social definition. However, both can be taken into consideration when deciding on the risk factors in juveniles that lead to violence and crimes. These risk factors are important to be aware of as they can predict potential juvenile delinquents. Once potential delinquents are identified, various programs can be carried out by society to reduce these risk factors to some extent and improve troubled youngsters’ situations, thus reducing juvenile delinquency. Annotated Bibliography Chibnall, S. H., Abbruzzese, K. (2004). A Community Approach to Reducing Risk Factors. Juvenile Justice - Causes and Correlates: Findings and Implications.9, 1. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/203555/jj4.html The author states and explores different programs that are undertaken by communities in Utah and how successful these programs have been in reducing risk and protective factors concerning juvenile delinquency and related issues. Statistics and studies of evaluations of these programs are also given to prove their success. Farrington, D. P. (1998). Predictors, Causes, and Correlates of Male Youth Violence. Crime and Justice, 24, 421. The author shows the trend in youth violence and discusses and measures the risk and protective factors as predictors of violence in boys using new longitudinal surveys. These surveys can also observe the types of offenders and offenses and study careers in violence using self-report. Loeber, R. (January 01, 1990). Development and risk factors of juvenile antisocial behavior and delinquency. Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 1, 1-41. The author discusses the development and risk factors of anti-social and delinquent behavior in juveniles and their interaction with one another using various methods. A review of how risk factors affect treatment and prevention of such behavior and a list of areas of importance for future studies and surveys is also given. Regoli, Robert M., John D. Hewitt, and Matt DeLisi. 2008. Delinquency in society. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. The author explores the primary theories behind the causes and sociological effects of juvenile delinquency and its influence on families, peer groups and school. Also, basic information of delinquency and programs that prevent delinquencies and in relation to the criminal justice program is also given. The Guardian. (December 5, 2012). “Age of criminal responsibility must be raised to protect childrens rights.” The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/05/age-criminal-responsibility-childrens-rights This article states the minimum age of children, at which they would be termed as responsible as an adult for any offenses they commit, as announced by the government of England. Reasons as to why such a decision is unacceptable are also given. Read More