Juveniles and Crime essay

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It seems that there are a lot of juveniles committing crimes more now than in earlier generations. In numerous communities, there is a lack of parenting and not enough programs for children to get involved in. Because of this, children are often persuaded by their peers to commit crimes. This research paper will examine (1) the background issues with juveniles committing crimes, (2) what programs are offered for juveniles with convictions, and (3) how to keep a juvenile from repeating crimes and becoming an adult criminal. In 2008, there were 2.11 million arrests of juveniles in the United States. 1 There are several risk factors that may cause juveniles to commit crimes. The risk factors are: Drug use by one or both parents, low income from parents; which may cause guilt and embarrassment amongst themselves and other children, lack of support and involvement from parents and/or several relatives with criminal records. To a juvenile, family is very important. They look to their families for unconditional love and support. When children have a great relationship with their parents, it is less likely that they will get involved in criminal activities. Juveniles that commit crimes often are raised in low-income, single parent homes in poor neighborhoods. A lot of juveniles feel that if the city or state doesn’t care about their neighborhood, why should they? When the parents are not involved in their children’s lives, children become idle. There is a quote that says: “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.” 2 That type of environment can create negative behavior in juveniles that are easily influenced by their peers who are in the same situation as they are and there is a lack of positive activities. Where

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Charles Puzzanchera, “Juvenile Arrests 2008” (2009) http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/228479.pdf. H.G. Bohn, “Hand Book of Proverbs” (1855).

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there are high areas of poverty and easy access to drugs and alcohol, this creates juvenile delinquents. What also encourages juveniles to commit crimes is things are that shown and heard in the media. Even though movies, television shows and video games are now given ratings to help distinguish what a child can and should be able to watch and play. There are a lot of television shows and video games that are so explicit that they show how to shoot a gun, steal a car or how to rob a person or a business. There is the belief that everything starts at home. If the parent(s) don’t allow watching of the programs or the purchase of violent games, I think that there could be a big influence on what a juvenile see as wrong. Education plays a large part of a juvenile’s development. In school, a child learns several social skills, competitiveness for academics, commitment to friends and engaging in physical activities. If there is success, a child will flourish in all areas. If there is a lack of eagerness for education due to outside influences, involvement in school will decrease and eventually the child will look elsewhere for fulfillment of personal desires. 3 Education gives a child a brighter outlook on his or her life. Schools in our communities should have proper programs for children at risk of future issues or children that display negative behavior towards other children, adults or themselves. There are several programs for juveniles who are currently involved in the criminal justice system and there are preventive programs to teach juveniles how to avoid negative
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Michelle Calderon, “The Future of Juvenile Justice.” 4 September 2006,

http://www.anairhoads.org/calderon/juvcrime2.shtml

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situations and keep focused on education and family. Some of the programs listed have great success while other programs have limited success and have had to restructure their focus on particular aspects of a juvenile and how to get him or her to not commit more crimes. In the state of Florida, there is a program called Scared Straight. This program was made popular by a program that was shown on television in the late 1970’s. The program gives tours of jail and allows the juveniles to talk to adult prisoners in the hope that it will deter juveniles that have not been in the justice system from committing crimes or for those juveniles who have been or are in the system to keep them from committing more crimes. 4 Even though this program has had small success with juveniles, it allows the adult prisoners the chance to be open about their challenges inside of the prison. Teen court or youth court is a program, which started in the 1960’s, where a juvenile who, for the first time, has been charged with a crime is being judged, sentenced and held responsible for their crime by their peers. 5 If a juvenile choose to go to youth court, depending on the outcome, the juvenile will not have to go to juvenile court, be sentenced by a judge of the court and have a permanent record. In some teen courts, a fellow teen could be the judge and make the decisions on how to sentence the juvenile. Teen courts allow the juvenile to have a respect for the law and the legal system. There are youth courts throughout the United States.
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Anthony J. Schembri, “Scared Straight Programs: Jail and Detention Tours.” 1 August 2006,

http://www.djj.state.fl.us/Research/Scared_Straight_Booklet_Version.pdf
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“Federal Youth Court Program”

http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/programs/ProgSummary.asp?pi=23&ti=&si=&kw=&PreviousPage=ProgResults

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Shock incarceration or otherwise known as boot camps are military style programs that gives the juvenile a shorter time of incarceration, but the days are filled with military drills, the barking of order from officers, strenuous exercise and education. Even though there are numerous people and groups who are against it, this program creates self discipline and instills a fear of authority in juveniles. This program can be found in several states throughout the United States. 6 There are certain principles that should be in place in order for a program to be successful and allow juveniles to have a positive outlook on life. There should be high expectations, supportive adults, allow parents to participate in all areas of the program, preparing them for responsibility of themselves and family, and support before, during and after incarceration. If these things are in place, plus support from parents or other family members, a juvenile could be successful in their future lives. I think in order to keep a juvenile from committing further crimes is to make them pay restitution to the person or company that was affected or do community service. If the restitution is monetary, the parents will have to come up with the money to pay for damages. If monetary repayment is not necessary, allow the juvenile to do hard labor by having them pick up trash in their communities, paint walls where there is graffiti, learn a trade while making home repairs for the elderly. In several of the fore mentioned programs, there are people who have a genuine interest in the troubled youth. These youth will be able to have a positive role
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C.L. Clark, D.W. Aziz and D.L. MacKenzie, “Shock Incarceration in New York: Focus on Treatment.” August 1994,

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/shockny.pdf

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models and positive influences and not made to feel as they are worthless and labeled as a criminal. Another way to stop a juvenile from committing more crimes is giving them tougher punishments. That will show and let the juveniles know that whatever crime that is committed; there will be no slap on the wrist. There should be some strict guidelines in order for them to see how serious the crimes were and not to take the justice system lightly. Even though a juvenile cannot be handled as an adult because a juvenile’s thought process is much different than an adult, that person should know that the crime is not something to be taken lightly. Once a juvenile is in the system, there needs to be accountability of their actions and a sincere guilt of the crime that they committed. If there is a lack of accountability, crimes will be repeated and may even get larger in the type of crime and become an adult criminal. There should be some type of family involvement from the beginning of the juvenile’s experience of the justice system. A child should not look at the justice system as something evil but as a place of personal change and growth. Proper programs should be and are in place for those children who have the lack of parental support or may have had some trouble within the school with other children. In order for these programs to be successful, they need to have acceptable administrators and teachers who can be willing to go the extra mile and not allow children to settle for less and accept things for how they are, but continue to strive for excellence despite their circumstances. Juveniles should not be judged on what happened in the past, but be seen as productive citizens who have made a change for the better.

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