Pros And Cons Of Juvenile Delinquency And Adult Crimes

Juvenile Delinquency and Adult Crimes

Not long ago, juveniles were expected to behave and act as any adult would. This extended to obeying laws where juveniles were viewed as adults and were subject to the same rules and regulations as adults. There was no separation of juvenile crime and adult crime and the law made no distinction based on the age of the offender. Whoever committed a crime, regardless of age, were given a certain consequence for their actions. It wasn’t until the 1900’s when the courts sought fit to protect juveniles. This undertaking would try to keep juveniles out of adult jails and prisons and keep them out of the criminal justice system giving them the chance to have a normal life without the background of a criminal (Merz, T. 1998, p. 1). The separation of juvenile and adult crimes has sparked different theories as to why people commit crimes. There are many positive outcomes because of the separation and some cons associated with the separation of crimes.
Juvenile delinquency refers to crimes committed by a person under the age of 18.
Juvenile delinquency can be broken into two different categories; status offenses and delinquent offenses (Banks, 1979, p222). Status offenses are behaviors that are considered inappropriate or unhealthy for juveniles because of their age. These behaviors, if committed by an adult, would not be considered illegal. Examples of status offenses include smoking, drinking, running away from home, truancy, and breaking curfew. Delinquent offenses are violations of laws that also apply to adults. Some examples of delinquent offenses include murder, rape, robbery, arson, property damage, DUI, and so
forth.
There are numerous theories as to what causes juvenile delinquency. Psychological theories and sociological theories are just two areas that have been studied as to why an adolescent would commit a crime. A well known Psychological theory came from psychologist B. F. Skinner (Skinner, 1953). He proposed that behavior reflects people’s interactions with others throughout their lifetime and that children learn conformity and deviance from the punishments and reinforcements that they receive in response to their behavior. He believed the environment shapes behavior and that children identify those aspects of their environment they find pleasing and which ones are painful; their behavior is the result of the consequences it produces. He concluded that children repeat rewarded behavior and terminate punished behavior. Sociological theories of juvenile delinquency point to societal factors and social processes that affect human behavior. Sociological theories emphasize that certain negative aspects of neighborhoods and society, “in general serve as structural inducements for young people to resort to juvenile delinquency. (Banks, 1979, p 234).
Once a person reaches the age of 18 he or she is considered an adult and criminal behavior is simply known as crime. There is an abundant amount of examples of crime that is committed each and every day. Crime can range from not following the rules of the road all the way to murder. As discussed with juvenile delinquency, there are also many theories as to why adults commit crimes. One theory in particular is the strain theory. It states that, “certain strains or stressors increase the likelihood of crime” (Agnew, R. 2007). These strains can involve the failure to achieve one’s goals either monetary or status, the loss of something positive like the death of a friend, the loss of valued possessions, or even the presentation of negative stimuli like verbal and physical abuse. Some who experience these strains become upset, and they may turn to crime in an effort to cope and a way to escape from strain. One other theory is