Juvenile delinquency
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Transcript of Juvenile delinquency
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
By: The Second Group (hold applause till after,
please)
BASIC OVERVIEW
Describe the general terms for Juvenile Delinquency (JD),
including common definitions describing the types of
offenses and classification.
Studies describing the development and parental
influences of JD, along with the main causes.
Gang influence.
Prevention.
Studies and Facts.
WHAT IS JD?!?
Juvenile delinquency refers to criminal acts
performed by juveniles, or young criminal; a young
person who habitually breaks the law, especially
somebody repeatedly charged with vandalism or
other antisocial behavior.
BROKEN DOWN
Antisocial behaviors are disruptive acts characterized
by covert and overt hostility and intentional aggression
toward others. Antisocial behaviors exist along a severity
continuum and include repeated violations of social
rules, defiance of authority and of the rights of others,
deceitfulness, theft, and reckless disregard for self
and others.
HISTORY
Delinquency as legal status concern with misbehavior by children is at
least as old as recorded history. The earliest known code of laws (the Code
of Hammurabi) took specific note of the duties of children to parents and
prescribed punishments for violations.
As legal systems were elaborated, the age of offenders continued to be
important in defining responsibility for criminal behavior. Ancient Roman
law and English common law, for example, held that children under the age
of seven were incapable of criminal intent and, therefore, of responsibility
for crime; between age seven and the time of puberty (approximately),
criminal responsibility was a matter for determination by the courts.
CONTINUED…
The establishment of the first juvenile court in Cook County,
Illinois, in 1899 climaxed many years of legal and
humanitarian concerns for the welfare of children held to be
in violation of the law and concerns with the criteria by which
they might be so adjudged (Van Waters 1932).
This legislation created a new kind of machinery, outside
the criminal law, for handling juvenile offenders.
Each state has special legal procedures for handling minors.
TODAY
Almost 2.3 million juveniles are arrested annually.
Over one billion dollars per year is required to maintain the
juvenile justice system (Swenson & Kennedy, 1995).
Adolescents under 18 years of age account for 16% of arrests for
violent crimes, and 34% of property crime arrests (Snyder, 1992).
Between 1988 and 1992 arrests for violent crimes committed by
juveniles increased 47%, while violent crime arrests for adults only
increased 19% (Allen-Hagen, Sickmund, & Snyder, 1994).
As one can see, JD is a growing problem….
SIGNS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
Children will often test boundaries and test their parents
or authorities limits, especially during the adolescent
years. Certain rebelliousness during the teen years is
normal and should not provoke parents to take drastic
measures, however it should not be taken lightly. If a
parent begins to notice this behavior affects the family,
scholastic achievements, and or social interaction of the
child, then a closer look may be needed.
RELATED ELEMENTS
Juvenile delinquency is associated with adult
unemployment, alcoholism, and involvement in welfare.
Minorities and disadvantaged youth are more likely to
be arrested, but when self-report methods are used,
race and class differences disappear.
Males are more likely to be delinquent than females;
delinquent behavior increases with age.
CAUSES: TRAUMA
Intense fear caused by emotional and/or physical events within
one’s life (Medicinenet.com).
Examples of trauma:
Accidents
Kidnapping, Rape, Robbery, Assault
War
Natural disasters
Any type of inflicted and endured abuse
EFFECTS OF PERSONAL TRAUMA
Long-term or short-term problems
Mental and Emotional distress
Increase use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and
other types of substance abuse
How long will one suffer depends on the individual
as well as the support one has.
F R I E N D S H I P A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y: S E L E C T I O N A N D I N F L U E N C E P R O C E S S E S I N E A R LY
A D O L E S C E N C E
•A positive association maybe caused by the selection of
similar others as friends, but also by influence processes
where friends adjust their behavior to each other.
•Social control theory argues that adolescents select each
other as friends based on delinquency
•Differential association theory on the other hand argues
that friends influence each other’s delinquency levels
•When analyzed 544 students in secondary schools, results
indicate that adolescents select others as friends who have a
similar level of delinquency compared with their own level
THE IMPACT OF FAMILY V IOLENCE ON SHAPING DEL INQUENT BEHAVIOR
•Many professionals agree that family violence can have lasting
effects on an individual, ranging from general insecurity to severe
criminal disorders
•Family violence comes in many forms of violence between adults in
the household, adults’ physical or sexual abuse toward children
and even children’s abuse of adults.
•Causal relationship between adult to child violence later cause
juvenile delinquency
•Cycles of family violence to juvenile delinquency has been the
subject of much empirical research especially over the last decade
SUPPORT VS NO SUPPORT
Support gives individual a system of emotional and mental
support
Ex of support:
Family , Friends, Support Groups, Churches
No support system isolates the individual and leaves him/her with
a sense of hopelessness, guilt, mental and emotional instability
Specifically in children and teens, untreated trauma will have
negative effects on the social, emotional, and cognitive (hinder the
ability to learn) development on the child’s well-being.
SAMSam was 21yo male. He was brutally raped at age 5.
Surgery to repair damage
Fear accompanied with no help or support from family
Abandoned by father, mother developed paranoid schizophrenia
Violent Outbursts, Fights, Drug Use and Overdose, Multiple Arrests
Drugs are an escape from his own personal storm
Domestic violence gives Sam an inner persona of a “manly masculinity.”
Dates multiple women and known as “MackDaddy”
After overdose, rehab was next, but it and many others visited never addressed the root cause of his
problem-the rape.
Sam told 1 person, a girlfriend-he threatened her life.
One fight ended w/1death, 1 near death, and 2 critical
Arrested for capital murder-committed suicide
(Craig and Ouida Forsyth. Criminal Justice and Behavior: Journal of Offender Rehabilitation:2007.)
JUVENILE CRIME
Each year The Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention(OJJDP) complies a series of
statistical information, along with teen arrest, to
provide information on the juvenile delinquency
across the nation. The OJJDP uses this information to
create reports and compare trends from the past to
see how effective our efforts are currently.
JUVENILE VS. ADULT
Status offenses- running away, drinking, sexual
acts. Etc.
Index acts- robbery, rape, aggravated assault or
homicide.
Approx. ¾ of these states use 18 as a maximum as
defining a person as a juvenile.
JUVENILE CRIME
Unlike adult crime, juvenile crime is focused on
rehabilitation not punishment.
The teens are sent to receive treatment and are
integrated back into the community.
Limitations are placed on the juveniles record in
order to avoid stigmatization.
TEEN GANGS
There is an estimated 750,000 gang members
The average age for a gang is 17 and the starting
age is 12
The gangs target low income adolescents, offering
loyalty and identity
They are used to commit most severe crimes, since
their punishments are lower.
FISCAL YEAR(FY 2011) AWARDS
In FY 2011, OJJDP awarded over 393 million
dollars to prevent and respond to juvenile
delinquency. This includes more than 287 million in
discretionary alone.
IS IT PREVENTABLE?
Parental discipline is a key factor, which overrides the effect of family
structure, or SES. Clear, consistent discipline, and knowing where your
children are and who they are with are major deterrents against
delinquent behavior.
Strong, supportive relationships with parents are also associated with
lower levels of delinquent behavior.
Strong punitive methods of discipline are associated with higher levels of
delinquent behavior.
Adolescents who spend more time away from home are more likely to
commit delinquent acts.
A R E W E T A K I N G P R O P E R S T E P S T O W A R D S P R E V E N T I O N ?
We are taking some steps towards prevention with the generous
grants that were awarded this past Fiscal Year. That money alone
gives us the opportunity to open many centers, such as after
school programs, that can facilitate in preventing juvenile
delinquency. Another easy prevention strategy is to merely know
and recognize the risk factors for these youths. Parent should pay
attention to who their children are hanging out with, what they
are doing, and pay close attention to school work or related
activities.