Juvenile Delinquency Has Long Plagued

Juvenile delinquency has long plagued the American society. From the country's earliest days, individuals and groups of troubled youths were tried by the court systems and placed in correctional institutions. Now, with the problem continuing to escalate across the nation with increasingly more violent gangs, researchers are placing greater emphasis on new forms of treatment and prevention. This literature review provides three examples of the methods and programs that different communities and organizations are implementing to reduce juvenile crime.

Throughout the United States, young black males are at high risk of becoming involved with illegal activities to earn a living. In the past, many concerted efforts have been made to help this population find lawful and valuable ways to participate in society. However, few of these efforts have been conducted by schools of higher education, where professors are more likely to support those students who have a greater likelihood of a successful future and are in the mainstream of society. However, anecdotal evidence has suggested, contrary to previous research, those people who begin their careers in illegal activities can successfully redirect their careers into viable and legal enterprises (Edwards, 2002). Ironically, evidence of running a successful drug trade advocates that these male youths may have some business-relevant skills. As these men get older, they may be able make use of their experiences to operate successful businesses (Edmondson, 2009). A growing number of colleges and universities, therefore, are finding that educators who teach courses on how to operate successful businesses have a unique opportunity to get involved in the lives of these adolescents who have been involved in illegal pursuits. Instead of ignoring these individuals, efforts can be made to assist them in making educational and occupational choices to redirect their careers. Not only educators offer sound advice regarding the consequences of engaging in illegal activities, but also direct students to services and activities to transfer their skills and entrepreneurism to legitimate business opportunities.

An increasing amount of U.S. communities have also instituted youth courts as a positive alternative to the juvenile justice system, with significant and surprising positive outcomes. In these grass-root programs, first started in the U.S. In 1994 and now numbering about 1,200, volunteer youth sentence their peers. These youth courts, which have reduced recidivism and enhanced a healthier attitude toward regulations and authority by young offenders, offer communities a way to provide immediate consequences for first-time offenders and a peer-operated sentencing mechanism (Peterson, 2009).

Such youth courts are being found to be positive for everyone involved. Offenders are more apt to listen to and abide by the decisions of their peers, and youth volunteers see this as an excellent way of getting valuable experience for future careers. In addition, nearly all local court staff members encourage and specially request the sentenced youth to return and volunteer after they have completed their peer-imposed sentence, which a large number have been found to do (Peterson, 2009).

Lastly, although the point-and-level system of discipline has been shown time and time again to be ineffective with juveniles in rehabilitation centers, it has continued to be a prevalent form of control. In this form of punishment, authorities find infractions, encourage compliance and reward or punish and take away rights depending on the individual's response. In 1957, Fritz Redl and David Wineman (as cited in Vander Ven, 2009) wrote about another approach in their book, the Aggressive Child, which proved to be much more successful at their juvenile residence Pioneer House. However, for various reasons, their methodology never received much of a following (Vander Ven, 2009).

Now, residential institutions are revisiting Redl and Wineman's approach, which has greater credibility due to insights in the behavioral sciences over the past several decades. The distinction between typical youth and those who hate and are filled with anger, say Redl and Wineman, is that while neither always behave perfectly, typical children will respond to interventions that remind them of what is good behavior. However, even these "normal" children under certain types of stress may not respond positively and need support from sympathetic others. It is not surprising, therefore, that juvenile delinquents, who are frequently facing a great number of additional stresses, can be particularly difficult. Redl and Wineman emphasize the problem with traditional institutions has been that "treatment" is normally provided by unsympathetic individuals with rigid and structured responses rather than flexible and open to change.