History of Juvenile Delinquency - Term Paper Example

Introduction Juvenile delinquency refers to the act of engaging in aberrant conduct by a minor who has not attained the majority age as stated by laws of different states. In every society, there are standards, rules, beliefs and values governing how the behaviour of every individual and the way these people interact. The formulated laws aim at maintaining law and order and enhancing cohesiveness among the members of the community. Anyone who acts on the contrary to these guiding principles may face punishment as stipulated in the cord of conduct of that particular community. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of juvenile delinquency and crime theories that aim at predisposing the idea of juvenile crime and how it develops. This paper further addresses the problem of juvenile crime in detail. History of Juvenile Delinquency The history of juvenile dates back to the 19th century and it remains dynamic to have a clear understanding and the statistics associated with the vice. Adolescents go through various social problems as they grow. According to Zimmerman, Ramirez-Valles, & Maton (1999), 31% of adolescents are faced by drug abuse, 14% face other social problems, and 14% face crime related problems while 7% suffer the repercussions of sexual abuse. So intense are these problems that the survival and growth of affected adolescents depend on how efficiently they tackle the problems. Counseling is one of the practices that can help adolescents cope with whatever problems that they face from time to time. Adolescents between the age of 9 and 13 are the most vulnerable to these problems due to their high anxiety and excitement coupled with their newness to the adolescent stages (Siegel & Welsh, 2012). To this group, however, counseling is the most important thing in making them control themselves. This counseling must be administered by the right person and at the right time if positive results need to be realized. Juvenile Justice It is noteworthy that the adolescent stage is one of the most challenging stages for individuals as it is full of difficulty in making decisions, thus indulgence in risky behavior. According to Miller (2010), youths have always failed to make safe and healthy choices that would effectively support them avoid risky behaviors such as drug abuse, poor school attendance record, criminal gangs, and sexual activity. This kind of trend is certainly observable in environments characterized by increased poverty level, high crime rate, as well as violence. It is no doubt that black urban males in single parenting setting living in subsidized public housing environments fall under the category of children faced with the challenge of making safe choices that would guard them against delinquent habits (Miller, 2010). Mentoring programs at different levels of the society assist children whose ages range between 9 and 13 from falling into the trap of delinquent behaviors. In other words, mentoring is applied at different levels of the community to deal with a number of youth problems, which include but not limited to alcohol and drug abuse, poor school attendance and performance, sexual activity, school dropout, youth violence as well as teenage pregnancies (Miller, 2010). Mentoring program for the juveniles is a noble idea that has to be given much attention to ensure that the society breeds a bunch of responsible and forthright youths that would see the effective growth and development. School Attendance and Academics Standing Mentoring program is indeed proved to be a life changing strategy that is significant for addressing different youth problems particularly poor school performance, in addition to unacceptable school attendance records. Children involved in mentoring programs have proved to be better performers compared to their peers without mentor counseling services. This is a perfect sign that there is a high resiliency among the black urban male adolescents aged between 9 and 13 involved in mentoring programs. For example, studies have revealed that 53 percent of juveniles in mentoring program are less likely to skip school (Miller, 2010). Moreover, these children depict increased commitment to school work apart from gaining improved grade point averages, which is evident by 60 percent better performance compared to students not involved in mentor counseling services (Miller, 2010). The mentoring program should take a minimum of 50 weeks. Level of Juvenile Delinquency Traditionally, mentoring programs for at risk children were designed with the main idea of addressing juvenile crime ranging from drug abuse to youth gangs. Studies have revealed that mentoring programs reduce the juveniles’ likelihood for engaging in the illegal use of substances by 46 percent besides reducing the likelihood of hitting an individual by 33 percent compared to non-attendance of mentor counseling services (Cox et al., 2010). Juvenile crime includes issues such as poor academic performance, school dropout among the youths among others. This is seen to be a big problem in the society that has to be dealt with efficiently to increase future success. Any form of anti-social behavior by an individual under the age of eighteen that does not go well with the generally accepted welfare of the entire community is referred to as juvenile crime. Over a long period, children have been engaging themselves in criminal activities, which are unwelcomed by a lot of individuals in the community (Siegel & Welsh, 2012). Theories of Juvenile Delinquency Social learning theory is a major theory of juvenile crime. It states that crime is a conception that is made and driven socially in the larger society by using the modelling process. A child tries to be like superior individuals in the society. This makes them to reveal their actions which are mainly discouraged by punishing them. Furthermore, a teenager may involve his/herself in child may engage in bad or unexpected behaviour because of peer pressure and conformism. The teenager follows his peers so that he may fit among them. The second theory is the social bond theory that highlights on the views regarding the beliefs, norms, values and the urge of individuals to commit a crime in the society (Siegel & Welsh, 2012). If a member of a specific society understands the moral codes, it becomes easy to prevent criminal acts. Youths are also capable of avoiding deviant behaviours, thus, instilling discipline in all members of the society. Criminality in the society is usually prevented through stringent laws. This theory highlights on the importance of maintaining the bonds at the lower societal level. This ensures that people relate positively and are willing to help each other (Siegel & Welsh, 2012). The third theory is known as the social disorganization theory that mainly centres on the means whereby different organizations in the society function together to maintain the whole system. If there is no effective communication and cooperation in the system’s element, the societal members will have a destabilized social bond among themselves, therefore, enhancing occurrence of crime in the society. The fourth theory is known as the general crime theory. While social learning theory highlights on different behaviour, it also addresses the issues of individuals pushing others to participate in criminal acts (Cox et al., 2010). When members of the society are not treated equally, they tend to lack social conditions, which in most cases favour people from wealthy families in expense of poor people. This disparity in turn encourages criminal activities in the society (Siegel & Welsh, 2012). The final theory is the interaction or social developmental theory. This theory mainly focuses on how crime is socially coordinated among individuals and how it is organized. The family institution plays an integral part in deterring of escalating juvenile crime in the society. Those families that inculcate good moral in their children help the children to obey the laws of the land hence preventing crime. An external environment such as the things held valuable by the community will influence the occurrence of juvenile crime. Social interaction asserts the positive association that emerges after integrating all the other theories. Both theories tend to complement each other but in different dimensions (Cox et al., 2010). Conclusion It is evident that counseling the adolescents has an effect on the expected results, with most of the results shifting to the positive side. Additionally, voluntary mentoring programs are the best solutions to the challenges faced by the black urban male adolescent in single parent households especially the delinquent behavior and poor academic performance. Voluntary mentor programs can be conducted both at school and the community level considering that a juvenile spends considerable time both at school and home. The voluntary mentoring program may be conducted using techniques such as individual discussions, cultural awareness programs, leisure programs, and lectures. Various studies have revealed that mentoring programs play a challenging role in promoting acceptable behavior among the youths, which include improved academic achievement as well as social well-being. Finally, schools and the community are a central hub for information among a large community that constitutes of the corporate world, volunteers, and other learning institutions. The same case applies to the community based mentor counseling programs. References Cox, S. et al. (2010). Juvenile Justice: A Guide to Theory, Policy, and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Miller, G. (2010). Reforming the juvenile justice system to improve children’s lives and public safety. Washington DC: Committee of Education and Labor. Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. (2012). Juvenile delinquency: Theory, practice, and law. Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Zimmerman, A., Ramirez-Valles, J & Maton, K. (1999). Resilience among Urban African American Male Adolescents: A Study of the Protective Effects of Sociopolitical Control on Their Mental Health1. 2. American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 27, No. 6. Read More