How Can Law Enforcement Officers Become More Effective in Dealing with Juvenile Runaways - Research Proposal Example

"How can law enforcement officers become more effective in dealing with juvenile runaways" Juvenile runaways are a problem in law enforcement. Someof them are involved in criminal activities, while others are responsible for unsocial behaviour like drug abuse, unsafe sex, or are prone to exploitation by unsocial elements. It is a complex scenario as it suggests social problems which include child abuse and family dysfunction. 'The homeless adolescents have their "basic training" in coercive/abusive families and will carry this interaction pattern into the street, thereby setting in motion a negative chain of events.'(Xiaojin Chen ; Kimberly A. Tyler ; Les B. Whitbeck ; Dan R. Hoyt, p 1-22) Sometimes police deal with juvenile runaways in cases pertaining to child abduction, child abandonment, child abuse or neglect, underage drinking, child sexual exploitation, prostitution, shoplifting, drug dealing, murder and many such illegal activities. 'According to data compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 4.5 million children "regularly" use tobacco products, and 20 percent use alcohol.'(Daniel Macallair) The example of a thirteen year old girl, Helen who has already killed a man is frightening. She ran away from her aunt's house to stay with a gang. 'I was with my homies and we saw one of the MS scum who had killed my homegirl,' Helen recalls. 'I stuck this knife into his back and he fell. We kicked him and crushed his head with a brick. Then we pushed his body into a ditch. I was covered in blood. Revenge is sweet,' she said. Her friends smiled. (Sandra Jordan, 2002) Another example is of two juvenile runaways who were trying to illegally immigrate to the US along with a kidnapper. 'Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents rescued two juvenile runaways and arrested an alleged kidnapper Monday after they entered the United States without having been inspected at a port of entry.'(Yuma news) These sorts of incidences are not uncommon these days. The term 'runaway' is specially identified with juveniles when they are absent from home or substitute care, for example placements, such as foster care or group homes without permission. Runaways were once believed to be juveniles seeking adventure or rebelling against mainstream values and the authority of their parents. But more recently, runaways have been regarded as victims of dysfunctional families, schools, and social service institutions. Runaways are usually running away from a problem they do not know how to solve, rather than "running to" an environment they imagine being more relaxed and exciting. "There were approximately 1.7 million juvenile runaway episodes in 1999. In 1999, 150,700 juveniles were arrested for running away. Only about one-third of these juveniles were actually "missing," meaning that their parents or caretakers did not know where they were and were concerned about their absence. Only about one-fifth of all runaway episodes were reported to police. Most runaways are older teenagers, ages 15 to 17, with only about one-quarter ages 14 and younger. Juveniles of different races run away at about the same rates and boys and girls run away in equal proportions. Although juveniles from all socioeconomic statuses run away, the majority are from working-class and lower-income homes, possibly because of the additional family stress created by a lack of income and resources. Blended families also experience additional stress, which may explain why juveniles living in these settings are also more likely to run away. Runaway rates are similar for juveniles in urban, suburban, and rural settings." (Kelly Dedel, p1) The law enforcement officers encounter runaways, whether reported missing or not, through a number of activities, for example while patrolling areas where runaways congregate or while investigating missing persons reports, or during criminal investigations in which juveniles were either perpetrators or victims. Despite their interest in protecting children's safety, police often assign a low priority to runaway cases for a number of reasons as few jurisdictions have appropriate facilities for placement once runaways are taken into police custody. Moreover, processing paperwork and transporting juveniles consume significant amounts of time. Runaway cases can be frustrating when juveniles do not want to return or parents do not want the juveniles to return. Juveniles often run away again shortly after police return them home. The question arises that how can law enforcement officers become more effective in dealing with juvenile runaways The law enforcement officers should hear out both the parties, that are juvenile and the guardians before dealing with the issue. If in case they come in contact with a runaway juvenile, they should record it systematically. A complete and detailed record of the contact with the runaway juvenile and the parents is the key to resolving the root of the case. Engaging social service partners in information gathering can help in avoiding any negative responses to police questioning. The law enforcement officers should involve local social service providers and schools in determining the root cause of the case. The schools can exert strong social control and promote responsible behaviour in the juveniles. 'Social control primarily serves to dictate the norms of proper behavior through social support, encouragement, and relationship building. Coercive discipline, though related to social control, is not the key mechanism. Rather, the aim of social control is to bolster social integration into society. With social control and integration, the individual would benefit from mutual support and realize its importance, thus deterring deviant behavior.'(Chan-Kiu Cheung, Suk-Ching Liu, Tak-yan Lee) Involving the community along with legal help can change the current situation of runaway youngsters. Research has been conducted in this field and many have concluded that juvenile runaways mostly fall into the trap of unsocial elements and can take up violence to sustain themselves in the unsafe and lone environments. 'Researchers at Columbia University's Centre for Violence Research and Prevention are conducting a qualitative, multistage study on adolescent violence that draws strategically from theories of cognitive and developmental psychology to construct a situational framework for understanding violent behaviour.'(Jeremy Travis, 1998) The Centre for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV), are also conducting a research program of the Institute of Behavioural Science (IBS) at the University Of Colorado situated in Boulder in understanding and preventing violence, particularly adolescent violence. Research has been conducted to find out the causes behind the "running away". What forces the juveniles to take such a decision Many studies have been carried out to know the effectiveness of current policies and practices to combat the situation. Research on young people missing from home has been distinguished as 'runaways' and 'throwaways', that is, young people thrown out of home. The Safe on the Streets study found that, although the majority of young people going missing under the age of 16 had run away, one fifth had been forced to leave home. Young people who had gone missing repeatedly and those aged 16 or 17 were more likely to have been forced to leave. The 14 and 15 year olds who were forced to leave home were the group most likely to be living in a stepfamily (27%) and the least likely to be living with both birth parents. This group were likely to stay away longer than average, in many cases for a week or more and most stayed with relatives (Safe on the Streets 1999). Both British and American studies have identified physical abuse as an important factor underlying the decision to run away. Physical, sexual or emotional abuse may be underlying reasons for going missing. 'Thirteen youths made a break Sunday from the Cuyahoga County Youth Development Centre in Hudson. Seven took off in one of the centre's vans. Another six made out on foot.'(Michael Sangiacomo) This sort of breaking news is very common these days. Research has been done on juveniles missing from care. Children running away from public and welfare care are not new phenomena. It has been researched in both America and Britain. 'Going Missing' was the first major study in the United Kingdom of young people who run away from residential and foster homes. Conducted over a three-year period and sponsored by the United Kingdom's Department of Health, it sought to understand why young people run away from substitute care and what happens when they do. They convened 14 focus groups with young people, social workers, and residential and foster caregivers, and they conducted in-depth interviews with 36 young people, their social workers, and their caregivers. The researchers mapped patterns, motivations, and responses and examined the effect of going missing on young people (Research on Children Missing from Care). Adolescent Runaway Behaviour in Specialized Foster Care, a study that examined the characteristics and predictors of running away for 147 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 in specialized foster care (SFC) in a managed child welfare agency. SFC provides a more intensive intervention than regular foster care, but adolescents in SFC may be at high risk of running away because of their more troubled histories and previous failures in foster care. More research is required in this field as the study done till date doesn't specify the solution to this persisting problem. Till now, the researchers have been busy trying to find the cause of juvenile runaways but no one has tried to figure out that what can be the effective steps in deterring them from running away. New study should be conducted in the direction of effective ways to tackle juvenile runaways. Previous researches have been generic in nature. More specialized study is required in this field. This research plan to know, how law enforcement officers can become more effective in dealing with juvenile runaways, will enable us to find ways to deal with this problem in a more humane manner. This is a very crucial issue which needs a more sensitive approach. It will not only help us to deal with an insecure psyche of a juvenile but also help to curb the juvenile crime as a whole. This research will answer questions: 1) How many juvenile runaways were traced and where by the law enforcement officers 2) How many juvenile runaways were contacted by the law enforcement officers directly or through a third party like a local social service provider 3) Were these contacts efficiently documented for further reference 4) What preventive measures were taken by law enforcement officers to stop juvenile runaways 5) What support has been extended by the law enforcement officers to social networks and service providers in dealing with the problem of juvenile runaways 6) Have law enforcement officers involved schools and local authority in dealing with this issue 7) Have law enforcement officers ensured that a peace cop is deployed to negotiate non-violent and minor issues 8) What measures have been taken by the law enforcement officers to conduct study in this issue 9) Are runaways held in secure detention policy 10) Other than taking juveniles into custody, how do law enforcement officers respond to juveniles 11) How secure and confident does juvenile feel confiding into law enforcement officers 12) What social services are available to juveniles How effective are law enforcement officers in connecting these services to juveniles and their families Bibliography: 1) Chan-Kiu Cheung, Suk-Ching Liu, Tak-yan Lee, 2005, 'Parents, teachers, and peers and early adolescent runaway in Hong Kong' BNET UK, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_/ai_n14815105 2) Dedel Kelly, 2006, 'The Problem of Juvenile Runaways' Juvenile Runaways Guide no 37, p 1 http://www.popcenter.org/problems/runaways/ 3) Jordan Sandra, 2002, 'El Salvador's teenage beauty queens live and die by gang law' World news, The observer, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/nov/10/sandrajordan.theobserver 4) Macallair Daniel, 1998, Runaway Juvenile Crime : The context of Juvenile Crime Arrest, http://www.cjcj.org/pubs/runaway/runaway.html 5) Research on Children Missing from Care, http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/childmiss02.pdf 6) Safe on the Streets Research Team, 1999, Still Running: Children on the Streets in the UK, The Children Society: London 7) Sangiacomo Michael, 2007, Youth run away from juvenile facility, quickly caught, Metro news, http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/07/youth_run_away_from_juvenile_f.html 8) Travis Jeremy, 1998, 'Adolescent Violence: A View From the Street' U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice, http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/fs000189.txt 9) Xiaojin Chen ; Kimberly A. Tyler ; Les B. Whitbeck ; Dan R. Hoyt, 2004, Early Sexual Abuse, Street Adversity, and Drug Use Among Female Homeless and Runaway Adolescents in the Midwest, p 1-22, http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspxid=205181 10) Yuma news now, 2008, 'Border Patrol Agents Rescue Juvenile Runaways, Arrest Kidnapper' http://imperialvalleynews.com/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=801&Itemid=4 Read More