Juvenile crimes are the various offenses that children under the age of eight-teen commit. The acts involved in these crimes are called juvenile delinquency. The issue of juvenile delinquency has been a rising issue in the American society for decades. As we take a look into the factors behind this problem we will also look into what changes have been made to the juvenile justice system to combat this. Factors behind juvenile delinquency is said to be mental illness and substance abuse which are the main contributors. It is said to be that roughly thirty to ninety percent of detained and incarcerated juveniles have been found to have some sort of mental illness. In the past, there were times when these…
When a child starts forming an identity, a sense of self, it will develop by exploring the world around them. This child shapes himself or herself based on the very strong influences of family, society, and sometimes media influences. People rely on the news media for accurate information. Youths rarely appear in the news, but when they do, they are unduly connected to violence or crime. Images of youth crimes tend to be distorted or blown out of proportion. The roles of the media, social media, video games, music, movies, etc. can have an influence on juvenile delinquency.…
These children who do change their life normally never have a problem with the law again. But others argue that some children are just “hopelessly defective”. In the article On Punishment and Teen Killers written by Jennifer jenkins she states that “The offender in our case was a serial killer in the making.He came from privilege.Whenever he got in trouble his parents fixed it.And after a series of other crimes he planned the murders for months” What she is trying to convey is that the children who commit these crimes are meticulous and evil and i'm not disagreeing with her because some children are like that but not all of them are. And for those individuals who are not like that they should be given the opportunity to redeem themselves and…
There are several reasons why juveniles commit crimes and act up. Some of these can be explained by theories or in other words educated guesses. Although theories are only educated guesses they can be used to decide why juvenile delinquents come through the court systems. Theories can be helpful in determining why children or teenagers become a criminal. It also helps to determine what can help deter crimes by juveniles. In this essay theories will be explained that could fit some of the children in the following case studies.…
A child learns when they are young from those around them. They don't automatically know what the right actions to take when facing a problem. If someone is growing up just seeing nothing but violence around them, they grow up to see that as something normal. They end up viewing it as something okay to do in their life. Many idolize and look up to those around there life. If a delinquent is nice and looks after a kid, then that kid will want to grow up and become that way. To their eyes it's the best person ever and they wish to become like them.…
People see juveniles as being clueless and not having enough experience in knowing between their rights or wrongs. In the article "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" by Scott Anderson, it states that "he told his interrogator. “They don’t seem to understand me.”(Scott Anderson 11) It seems like some juveniles feel like their parents do not care or even try to help them. Juveniles need support and love from their parents because that will shape them as a person, and show them how to treat others. If the juveniles are not raised right, then it's not their fault on how they act towards others. In the article "Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences" by Gail Garinger, it states that "Young people are biologically different from adults. Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and emotions are not fully developed." Juveniles are still young and they are still learning through experiences so people can not really blame them 100 percent of the time. There are a lot of things that influence them too become evil with dangerous thoughts. Some things that influence them are like video games, how they see their parents act, violent movies and, what neighborhood they were raised…
It is important to treat juveniles as delinquents because that's what they are. I am currently taking a course in Psychology of Adolescents, and I have learned so far kids make mistakes. Do not get me wrong if they murder someone that is an offense to be tried as an adult. Other offenses for example, destruction of property the kid hasn’t fully developed their brain. Kids are going to do idiotic things in their youth.…
Juvenile delinquency has become a very predominant occurrence in today’s society. In 2010, there were 6,531 arrest for every 100,000 youths age 10 to 17(Knoll, C, 2010). While it may be that youth are being processed through the criminal justice system more today than ever, rather than actually committing more forms of crime and delinquency (Puzzanchera, Adams, & Sickmund, 2010). Youth are however experiencing increased participation with the criminal justice system are creating problems for parents, schools, communities, and other children who are in the presence of juvenile delinquents. Two of the biggest aspects influencing juvenile delinquency are the family structure that the child is exposed to and the relationship they have with their…
Children are not just born delinquents; by law, a juvenile delinquent is a person under the age of eighteen who is found guilty in a court of law for committing some sort of crime. Juveniles are normally products of circumstances, chance, and their surroundings. Juveniles who are in an area of violence and crime learn to disagree with authority and their superiors, also leading them to participate in crime because it is the acceptable thing to do.…
Juveniles are considered juveniles and should be given juvenile punishment unless it's for something inhumane, such as murder. The United States of America has the highest teen murder rate out of every country. The reason is due to guns being easy to get, the amount of violence they see today, and the T.V. programs shown. The 2012 Supreme Court decision to abolish mandatory life in prison for juveniles who commit murder was not a just decision, because teens should know better. They're old enough to know murder is wrong. Our country should give teens the punishment they deserve for the crime they commit. Murder deserves a life sentence whether a juvenile or grown adult.…
Associations between drug and alcohol use and juvenile criminal activities have been a well-known fact, that’s often thought of as a correlation. “The estimated prevalence of substance abuse disorder and juvenile offending approaches 67% across studies in justice settings” (Liddle, 2014). Whether the alcohol and other drug (AOD) use led them to the criminal activity or AOD will be an issue for the juvenile offender once they are out of the justice system. Questions form at this transition stage for the adolescent on whether or not that offender will return to their AOD use, as well as recidivate back into the juvenile justice system. Recidivism meaning a relapse into their previous behavior, especially criminal behavior.…
The crimes they commit are choices they make no one can change a juveniles mind when they have it set on something. After a crime committed some teens don’t show any remorse to what they did at all. Like this guy named Robert Acuna he killed two elderly neighbors execution style. At his trial they said “He laughed at inappropriate things. He still didn’t quite get the magnitude of everything he did.” Him laughing at what he did was uncalled for and maybe in their eyes they seen that if he was laughing at something cruel that he did he might do it again.…
Over the past years, scholars and courts have studied the recidivism of young offenders whom have been convicted as adults. As prosecutions of young offenders continue to increase within the adult court system, many argue whether programs are being used properly to reintroduce repeat offenders back into society. Loughran, put the juvenile process in perspective with his statement, “theoretical intent of broader transfer provisions was clear (sufficient retribution for serious criminal behavior, deterrence through strengthened sanctioning and penalties), there has been only limited definitive empirical evidence regarding the effects of the transfer on the future…
There are teens out there that commit heinous crimes because of what they have been through growing up and their house environment. But don’t take my word for it, let’s take a look at Jose. Jose is a fifteen year old who had a difficult childhood with his father being a heroin addict and his mother abandoning him. Instead of punishing him and sending him to life in prison, we should send him to a juvenile system instead to help him out. Paul Thompson argues that “Given this delicate-and-drastic-reshaping of the brain, teens need all the help they can get to steer their development onto the right path”. In prison, it is more likely they will become worse out there in the world because of all the mental and physical pain that they endured. Kids like Jose, need all the help that they can get.…
When a child commits a crime, they are considered as a juvenile delinquent and are placed in a detention center for punishment. Most juveniles commit crimes because of the environment in which they live. An unhealthy environment can be associated with living in poverty, the demise of family, and child abuse. Although, others commit crimes because of bad decision making. Juvenile delinquents deserve better rehabilitation than they are already receiving because the current use of punishment is failing and they need education to make better life decisions.…