Risk of Violence in Juveniles

Juveniles and the Legal Process

Juvenile crime is a problem that affects every society. In 2010, around 500,000 juveniles were arrested for drug abuse violations in the U.S. Some of the crimes committed by juveniles are robbery, vandalism, assault, and homicide. Some organizations have tried to help the teenagers to stop the vice because it is an issue affecting the entire community. In most states, the Juvenile Law determines the upper age-old eligibility. However, in some cases like violations or abuse, most states extend jurisdiction through 20 years. There are many reasons why juveniles engage in crimes. It has been shown that dangerous juvenile behaviors originate from domestic violence, family breakdown, and lack of parental moral supervision and guidance. One of the vital causes of juvenile delinquency is broken families. In fact, the separation of parents affects the behavior and psychology of children starting from early infancy. It is true that break-up of parents is a challenging experience for any young children (Carmen and Chad 15).

Additionally, being brought up by a single mother also implies that children are not taken care of as quickly and fully as other kids. It may result in physical and emotional stress that later enhances the risk of an emotionally distant parent-child relationship. Eventually, adverse effects like a kid's disorientation, disappointment, criminal delinquency, and stubbornness may follow it. Domestic violence is another cause of teenage delinquency. It is true that parental conflicts can create a hurtful feeling of children. The more intense and frequent conflicts are, and the more children are hurt emotionally. As a result, they become depressed and withdrawn. Gradually, these children develop hostility, mental disorder, and aggression towards outsiders. All these factors are against virtuous action and behavior. They mark the beginning of criminal delinquency (Elrod and Ryder 28).

Schools are among the safest areas for young people. Therefore, school administrators must take action improve potentially violent situations. Establishing a safe school demands various preventive measures for emotional and mental problems, including identification of warning signs for these conditions. Before recommending some interventions or treatments for risky behaviors, students requiring the help should be identified and referred appropriately. There are emotional and behavioral warning signs that can indicate a troubled child. Identification of these warning signs offers a tool to address the child's needs (Leverich 56). When the following signs are evident, safety will be the first and foremost consideration.

Severe property destruction

Serious physical fights with family members and peers

Serious rage for minor reasons

Threats of suicide or self-injurious behavior

Threats of lethal violence and Use or possession of firearms and other weapons (Welsh and Siegel 23)

These warning signs could be used to help design intervention strategies. Intervention strategies for students who are at risk of violence include positive reinforcement and implementation of a social support system:

Offering comprehensive services

Teaching positive skill of interaction

Referring the student for exceptional education evaluation

Offering rigorous, individualized intervention for children with severe behavioral issues

Giving a foundation to reduce and prevent violent behavior

A gang is a minority composed of various youth who share similar minority status, economic background, and family situations. Juveniles may join gangs for some or all of the following reasons:

Their family members or friends belong to a gang

Forced to join

Presence of gangs in the neighborhood

Desire for status, recognition and power

New experiences and excitement

To generate income and increase their material possession

Rebellion against parents

An opportunity to belong and be accepted

The most prevalent approach of managing gangs is gang intervention programs. The aim of intervention programs id to rehabilitate, reform, and divert gang members away from gang into more acceptable activities. Basic intervention programs use street outreach, community mobilization, and provision of opportunities. Community programs empower residents, both politically and socially. Once empowered and active members of the community, they bond and become attached to social institutions within the surrounding, like church or schools (Hoge and Andrews 11).

Teenagers are reaping the benefits of outreach programs. The aim of these programs is to build the highest character ideals and promote healthy and positive growth of the youth. However, some of the government-funded programs consume a significant amount of money and time without achieving the intended results. A perfect example is DARE program for the youth. Therefore, the money that is used to fund this program should be used to expand services of other projects like the Boys and Girls Club. The DARE program offers class lessons on a weekly basis. The program integrates science, health, language arts, and social studies into one lesson. Hence, the education of a child is supposedly uninterrupted. Police officers lead the lessons and demonstrate positive alternatives to harmful behaviors (Elrod and Ryder 36).

Binge drinking has become a serious issue that affects health, social life, and education of students. Students engaged in binge drinking do not recognize the health risks involved in such habits. Moreover, lack the knowledge of the harmful effects of alcohol because they do not pay attention to information given to them. Schools must emphasize a complete saturation of messages expressing how binge drinking in not socially accepted nor attractive. Educational institutions are battling with alcohol abuse, as one of the greatest problem. Students end up having unprotected sex, missing lessons, being injured and damaging property because of alcohol abuse. In addition, the health risks involved in binge drinking is risky for any student who decides to use alcohol (Leverich 44).

The Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2000 enables the government the right to prosecute and investigate instances of child abuse in the society. It authorizes government funds to enhance the ability of the criminal justice system to offer accurate, timely, and complete history of criminal records to agencies dealing with child welfare. This enables law enforcement institutions to use government funds to implement child abuse laws and support prevention programs in child abuse cases (Hoge and Andrews 19).