...Abstract Many factors contribute to juvenile delinquency and research has recognized that there is not one single pathway to delinquency. Studies have shown that the more risk factors the juvenile faces the probability of offending increases. The major factors contributing to juvenile delinquency are individual factors, social factors, and community factors. Many people have tried to figure out and understand the factors that lead our youths to commit crimes and what can we do to prevent and rehabilitate them to keep them from committing these crimes again. Juvenile delinquency is one of the most important issues around the world today. Despite the social awareness surrounding the topic, juvenile delinquency is on the rise and needs to be addressed in order to stop our youth from becoming criminals instead of important members of society. There have been many efforts to understand and analyze the reasons that juveniles commit crimes however there is no set reason, but rather several reasons that can lead a youth to commit crimes. Recent research shows that violence among juveniles is rising rapidly and shows that more than 60% of youths will have either been a victim or will have committed a crime sometime during their youth years (Garza, 2011). Research has also stated that the crime rate among juveniles has increases rapidly since the 1980’s and in 2009 youths were responsible for more than 2 million violent crimes in the United States (Garza, 2011). At the same time...
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...Juvenile Shoplifting Jean Powell Wayland Baptist University Abstract Juvenile shoplifting is becoming a serious crime. Juveniles commit this crime for many different reasons. Social influence plays a big part in why most juvenile commit the crime of shoplifting or also knows as stealing. Influence from peers can become overwhelming to where a person feels as if they have to steal to feel accepted. Economic reasons can also cause a juvenile to shoplift. Families today are struggling and juveniles don’t understand that their parents just don’t have the money for the certain things that they want. This often leads them to shoplift so that they can have the items like their peers have. There are also psychological influences that play a part in juvenile shoplifting. There is a disorder called Kleptomania, which causes the juvenile to shoplift. Shoplifting can become an addiction and this causes the person to commit the crime more often so that they can receive the rush. There are many factors why juveniles commit the crime of shoplifting. Juvenile Shoplifting Juveniles today are under more pressure than ever. The pressure to fit in and to be accepted among their peers is very important. This causes many juveniles to commit the crime of shoplifting. What are the common reasons that juveniles shoplift? Social influence can cause a juvenile to shoplift so that they feel accepted or to get attention from their family and friends. Negative influence from...
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...Crime and Punishment Currently punishment for crimes committed is different for a juvenile than it is for an adult. Why would it be a different punishment for the same crime between juveniles and adults? Can juveniles really learn from their crime? What if the juveniles make the court believe that they learned from their mistake and they got out of jail and commit the same crime but worse. Is it really cruel and unusual to sentence life without parole to juveniles? Juveniles that commit extremely bad crimes should not be punished; who in their right mind thinks they should not be punished? Is life in prison with or without parole a better option for juveniles? It all comes down to what the juvenile did, and if the juvenile and the adult made the same mistake, they should get the same punishment. It should always be fair between adults and juveniles; there is no difference because they made the same mistake, a crime is a crime. To begin with, can juveniles really learn from their mistakes? Some juveniles can and others can't. Well how will the court make the right decision? For example a juvenile gains trust from the court and gets out of jail early but when they exactly get out of jail they go to a party and kill someone. It is the juveniles responsibility to not get in trouble because they have to be role models for the next generation of juveniles and be the adults. Juveniles can learn from their mistakes but there are always the juveniles that lose the opportunity...
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...Juvenile Justice; Don’t Send The Future Away The day I got locked up was a bad day. When I got out i thought it was over not knowing it’s a whole court system I had to go through. I was 16 at the time so I got tried as an adult. I sign my plea for two weeks of probation later. Is the question “are juveniles getting a fair justice?” According to Nicole Scialabba during a single year, an estimated 2.1 million youth under the age of 18 are arrested in the United States. Since the 1980s there has been growing concern about crimes committed by young people. Juveniles should not be tried as adults because young offenders are at risk sent to adult prisons, they are more likely to commit crimes and they lack understanding of the crime they committed. Juveniles should not be tried as adults because they will be sent to an adult prison. An adult prison will have an extremely destructive effect on the juveniles. “Young prisoners are also at a disadvantage because they are not as mature (mentally and physically) as older prisoners (Scott). It is saying that automatically going in a adult prison they are already not safe. Compared to adults they are small. The adult prisoners are physically bigger than juveniles so...
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...criminals escape the punishment they are supposed to serve. Juvenile rights advocates argue that juveniles can learn the mistakes of their ways if given the opportunity. They believe that if they are able to rehabilitate these juveniles than they can decrease future crimes. Although this aspect of rehabilitation can be effective in fighting crime it has not been. Instead of this program decreasing future crime, it has in fact risen over the past decade. In the book “Statistics and Trends in Juvenile Justice and Forensic Psychology” it states that the number of juveniles in jail...
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...Introduction Many people have argued that crimes committed by juveniles should not be tried in adult court. Such arguments have been made on the perception that during the time of the crime, the juvenile was not in a position to clearly understand what the crime entailed. Nonetheless, while this might be true according to those that argue in favor of juveniles being tried in juvenile courts, a hidden reality exists that the social issue behind certain crimes are much more complicated than the allegations made pertaining to juvenile courts and certain crimes. When allegations such as “the juvenile was raised knowing that his behavior was acceptable” are being employed to reason for the juvenile being tried in a juvenile court (even when crimes of homicide are committed) then those who commit capital crimes ought to be penalized by the law as written by the law. Under this presumption alone, anyone who commits capital crime is subject to the penalties of the law. This creates the reasons as to why juveniles should be treated as adults in homicide cases. Research findings by Fox, J....
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...About Juveniles & Crime” UNIT 1 By: Michelle Lee Class: Juvenile Delinquency What is Juvenile Delinquency? In my opinion, juvenile delinquency is basically young children committing crimes illegally. Also – individuals who are pretty much under the statutory age of majority. Why do you think these children are committing these crimes? I believe these children are committing these crimes because of the following: 1. they may have family problems, example: there is no food to eat in the home, 2. they may not be getting enough attention at home, example: from the parents, 3. bullying from school mates example – not fitting in or getting along with any students. What types of crimes do Juveniles usually commit? These can range from status offenses such as young smoking, to property crimes and violent crimes. What would the percentage rate for young juveniles be? The percentage would rather be high, maybe because of the crime rate, and how many teens are actually committing the crime or crimes. What exactly are the types of offenders that do this? There are two altered types of offenders that arise in puberty. One is the repeat offender, and also as the life-course-persistent offender, who begins offending or showing antisocial/aggressive behavior in youth or even childhood and continues therefore adulthood. What are some risk factors that Juvenile parents should be aware of? Most juvenile parents should have a good idea of the two largest predictors of juvenile delinquency...
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...October 21, 2015 Adult Crime Doesn’t Mean Adult Time In “Adult Crime, Adult Time” published in the Washington Post on March 29, 1998, Linda J. Collier argues that there should be a less lenient juvenile system. She reasons that as of 1998, since 1965 the number of 12-14 year olds arrested for committing violent crimes has tripled and that the juvenile system was “developed with truants, vandals, and petty thieves in mind, but not appropriate for the violent juvenile offenders of today”(qtd. Collier). She proceeds to argue that detaining a rapist or murderer in a juvenile facility until the age of 18 or 21 isn’t at all enough of a severe punishment. Collier demands that children under the age...
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...Pros and Cons of the Juvenile Justice System Under most state laws, juvenile offenders do not commit "crimes", they commit delinquent acts, and some of these acts would constitute as crimes if committed by an adult. The trial phase of a juvenile case is called an adjudication hearing. This is when the judge hears the evidence and makes a determination whether the child is delinquent or not. The court may then take whatever action it deems necessary to be in the child's best interest. The purpose of the juvenile court is to rehabilitate, not to punish. However, the clash point in this debate is whether juveniles are mature enough to handle the consequences of their actions and as well be punished more severely in adult courts, if they commit more serious crimes. One of the basic problems and source of this debate is determining where to draw the line. A crime is still considered a crime, no matter who commits it. That is the attitude of many in this country that leads to the question of whether or not the whole juvenile system should be discarded and allow the judicial system of criminal courts to try both children and adults under the same law, with the same rules. Here are a few points that will help elaborate on why eradicating the juvenile system might be considered a bad idea. On most occasions, we'll find that the kids who have committed a crime are as young as 9 and 10. It is an understood and even proven in facts that a child at an age like this, dose not have the...
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...Asharian Moore Individual Theories In today’s society, we have two types of juveniles that re being brought up in this world, the ones who make wise decisions and the others who have and I do not care attitude. The ones who make wise decisions want to be successful and an up right citizen of society while the other ones are complete opposite and would rather spend his or her time planning crimes. There are many reasons why juveniles make the decisions they do and it varies from boredom, their upbringing, and the groups they have chosen to hang out among, these groups may peer pressure one into committing a crime, while other groups are busy studying and getting ready for their futures. We as society have to figure out why these groups of juveniles decide to make the wrong decision and become involved in petty crimes. We need to gather information on why juveniles choose to involve themselves in criminal activities; there are many theories to this question. One of these theories is Biochemical; this can govern an individual’s behavior and personality, “including levels of aggression and depression” (Siegel and Welsh, 2009, p. 81). Biochemical can happen from the time the individual is conceived if their mother has taken harmful substances while being pregnant. While the mother has been using harmful substances she has also damaged her baby, this can lead to antisocial behavior in juveniles. An individual may even have certain chemical imbalances such as: sodium, mercury...
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...prison for juveniles who commit serious degree murder. Now these are reasons why I agree with abolishing this system of juveniles life sentences without parole. I believe these youngadolescents commit crimes because of their environment, the tech/media and the brain not being fully developed. Totally agree with the majority of supreme Court to abolish mandatory life in prison for juveniles who commit murder. The reason why is because many of these young adolescents struggle with life while growing up through their early teenage years. Their actions are what clearly signifies the consequences they commit....
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...The juvenile court was created in the early 20th century when it was recognized that children and adults are different, and the rehabilitation process for them should be different as well. Until the late 19th century children and adults where tried alike in criminal courts. When a juvenile offender commits a crime it is the responsibility of the state to rehabilitate the juvenile offenders, as well as protect them. Youth crime rates have actually declined over the past twenty years, despite the public’s perception that it has increased. This has led to an overwhelming support that the juvenile court system be restructured to include tougher crime punishment, such as being able to try children as adults. This belief is that children are able to commit the same crimes as adults, and why should they be treated any different. Take for instance that if an adult commits a murder they will likely be in prison for the rest of their life, whereas a child or youth offender would likely be out by the time they are twenty one. Juvenile and criminal courts have many differences but the most outstanding is that juvenile courts tend to focus on the offender rather than the crime itself. Juvenile court is long believed to focus on the rehabilitation of the offender, as opposed to the focus of the crime as in criminal court. With rehabilitation in mind this gives the court much more leniency and flexibility, with options as far as punishment goes to the judge. The main concern in the public’s...
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...are Juveniles who commit heinous murder as well. It becomes even more challenging when deciding what consequences the Juvenile will face. It is crucial to understand that there can be many factors that play into a role which might influence the murder the Juvenile has committed. In other words, Juveniles should not be treated as adults and thus possibly given a life sentence . Many elements of the juvenile should be taken into context. Not necessarily age, or gender, but deeper aspects that will determine their consequence . Aside from taking those deeper aspects into...
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...Juveniles convicted as adults: Unconstitutional How does placing a child in an adult prison, where they risk sexual abuse that eventually leads to suicide, teach them a lesson? Juveniles, who commit serious crimes, are usually seen as convicts or criminals who should pay the price of what they committed even if that means sentenced as an adult and occasionally with no parole. Some of these juveniles who are being tried as adults suffered from psychological traumas caused at home by their parents or own family members. People need to know what can be done to prevent these crimes. Placing a juvenile in an adult trial is unconstitutional and is abusing their rights. Many of the juveniles prosecuted as adults are placed in adult jails pretrial, where they are at risk of harm, abuse and suicide. People need to understand the importance and dangers of incarcerating a child in an adult correctional facility. The administration of justice should implement meaningful juvenile justice reforms such as, rehabilitation centers, counseling, and they should correspondingly perform psychological test before being prosecuted in an adult trial so the U.S can uphold the dignity and human rights of our children and ensure that no child in our nation is considered a throwaway person. Juvenile crime rates soared in the mid- 1990s, and that is why every state initiated strict laws against juveniles and began incarcerating minors as adults. That high rates of juvenile delinquency dropped quickly...
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...Juvenile Delinquency and Recidivism TaShara Smith A00338366 Master of Science in Criminal Justice General Walden University August 20, 2012 Criminal justice is a broad category; there are many issues within criminal justice that can definitely use adjustments just as with any other subject in society. The increasing amount of crime in the United States has become unbearable for those who are living within the country. Juvenile delinquency and juvenile recidivism is at an all-time high; there is a vast amount of society that participates in juvenile crime prevention while others pretend like it is not their job. In order for anything to be successful everyone involved must put forth a joint effort. This paper will focus on a targeted population of juveniles African Americans and those of low economic status along with delinquency and recidivism, who commits juvenile crimes, why do juveniles reoffend. Juvenile delinquency is of great importance; and juvenile recidivism is even more important everyone should take the time to participate in some way in order to prevent it. Often time’s society questions why there is so much juvenile crime and recidivism that exist, but reality is until everyone works as a team instead of in separation juvenile crime and recidivism will stand just as it did the first day it started. The best research methods to use to retrieve credible and somewhat accurate information would definitely have to be both quantitative and qualitative research...
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