Juvenile Crime Essays (Examples)

The juvenile diversion system was established with funding from the iverside County Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act of 2000, approved by the California Board of Corrections. This was a multi-year evaluation research project and was divided into five distinct areas to evaluate programs approved by the Board of Corrections, these being the Community-Based Probation Diversion, Youth Accountability Teams, the Gang Prevention-Project BIDGE, and the Family Violence Prevention Program-P.A.C.T., Youth Accountability Boards, and Youth Courts. The evaluation was meant to collect baseline data and follow-up data to measure the success of each program, with the data including juvenile arrest rates per 100,000; arrest rates for program participants; incarceration rats; rate of completion of probation; probation violation rate; rate of completion of restitution; rate of completion of community service; and rates of truancy and family violence for those to which these apply. Performance benchmarks were to be developed for each program (iverside…

References

Johnson, J.E. (1979, April 6). "The Impact of Juvenile Diversion: An Assessment Using Multiple Archival Perspectives."

Retrieved May 24, 2007 at  http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED177411&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED177411 .

Nadell-Hayes, S. & Macallair, D. (1995) Restructuring Juvenile Corrections in California: A Report to the Legislature. Retrieved May 24, 2007 at  http://www.cjcj.org/pdf/restructuring.pdf .

Riverside County Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (a.B. 1913) Projects (2007). Retrieved May 25, 2007 at  http://ccjr.csusb.edu/ProgEvalRiversideProjects.htm .

Crime

Juvenile Offender in Hong Kong

Juvenile Offenders

Juvenile Offender in Hong Kong

The increase in juvenile delinquency has become a world-wide phenomenon, especially in many developed countries. This trend is also evident in cities like Hong Kong and can be seen in a recent report which asserts that the age of juvenile offenders in Kong is getting younger. This study by Pang (2008) states that, "Some juvenile delinquents are now as young as 10 and 11..." (Pang, 2008).

According to the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, another disturbing indication of the increase in youth crime was the number of crimes committed by young females, which increased in 2006. "The young girls, mostly aged 13 to 14, usually like to commit crimes with their friends, like stealing accessories or cosmetics"..." ( Pang, 2008). Furthermore, this study notes that there was a thirteen percent increase in crimes committed by children…

References

Broadhurst R. ( 2000). Crime Trends in Hong Kong. Retrieved from  http://www.crime.hku.hk/rb-crimetrends.htm 

Cagape E. ( 2008). Why I think juvenile offenders are getting younger. Retrieved from  http://asiancorrespondent.com/17054/why-i-think-juvenile-offenders-are-getting-younger/ 

Edwin H. Sutherland: Differential Association Theory. Florida State University.

Retrieved from http://criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/sutherland.html

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile delinquents

Shifting to a restorative model, acknowledging the needs of victims

Juvenile justice:

Shifting to a restorative model, acknowledging the needs of victims

The adult justice system in America has long focused upon retribution and community restoration as well as rehabilitation of offenders. Victims must be 'made whole,' not just offenders within the adult system. However, the juvenile justice system has had a far less clear focus upon the restoration of justice to the community than that of its adult counterpart. This is partially due to the oft-expressed view that juveniles are less morally responsible than adults. Juvenile records are usually 'wiped clean' after the adolescents have served their time in probation or prison. The focus of the juvenile justice system is always on the improvement of the life of the juvenile and to reduce the likelihood of recidivism, rather than outright punishment.

On the other hand,…

References

Balanced and restorative justice. (2010). OJJDP report: Guide for implementing the balanced and restorative justice model. Retrieved July 4, 2010. http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/pubs/implementing/balanced.html

Giacomazzi, Andrew L. (2005, February). Review of Restorative justice by Ruth Ann

Strickland. (New York, NY: Peter Lang, 2004). LPBR. 15.2: 139-142. Retrieved July 4,

2010.  http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/strickland205.htm

According to Lawlor, Connecticut has "developed a flexible approach geared toward immediate intervention and proven results" (Lawlor). He explains that not every teenaged car thief with a record of several arrests should be sent to prison, just as not every 10-year-old first time truant needs to be simply sent home to his parents (Lawlor).

The state of Connecticut has sole responsibility for all probation, adult and juvenile, and all graduated sanctions programs are operated by the state or by private, non-profit organizations funded by the state (Lawlor). For more than twenty years, the term 'juvenile' in the state of Connecticut refers to only youths under the age of sixteen; youths who are sixteen years and older are treated as adults for all crimes (Lawlor). In 1995, before the graduated sanctions were implemented, the most serious violent juveniles were the focus of the juvenile court, and all other cases were for…

Works Cited

Bilchik, Shay. "Sentencing juveniles to adult facilities fails youths and society."

Corrections Today. April 1, 2003. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Feld, Barry C. "Abolish the juvenile court: youthfulness, criminal responsibility, and sentencing policy. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. September 22, 1997. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Grisso, Thomas. "The evolution of adolescence: a developmental perspective on juvenile justice reform. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. September 22, 1997. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Juvenile Delincency in Urban Areas

Juvenile delinquency is a contemporary term for an old problem. One of the oldest relevant studies of the phenomenon was 'social disorganization' theory, which was developed by the Chicago school of sociology in the 1920's. This theory posits that there exist areas in a city in which traditional institutions have little or no control. This was studied in Chicago using a system of 'Concentric Zones' which demonstrated that most of the crime in the city occurs within certain areas that are typically associated with poverty. According to studies conducted by Shaw and McKay in the 1940's, "a preponderance of the delinquent boys lived either in areas adjacent to the central business and industrial district or along the two forks of the Chicago River, ack of the Yards, or in South Chicago, with relatively few in other outlying areas." (Jacoby, 13)

Shaw and McKay discovered a…

Bibliography

Carlin Wong. Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. McKay: The Social Disorganization Theory. Center for Spacially Oriented Social Science. 2002.

Terence Morris. The Criminal Area: A Study in Social Ecology Routledge & Paul, 1966

Robert C. Trojanowicz, Merry Morash, and Pamela Schram. Juvenile Delinquency Concepts and Control, 6th Edition. Prentice Hall: 2000.

Walter B. Miller. The Growth of Youth Gang Problems in the United States: 1970-98. U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. April, 2001.

Juvenile Gangs

Gangs have been thorns on the flesh of the citizens of the United States no wonder they have occupied a prominent position in American criminological literature. Gang wars between the Crips and the Bloods in Los Angeles are testament to the gang culture among certain communities in the United States. As opposed to the Dutch youth who are interested in music and romance of the West Side Story, especially the video clips and compact disc with gangster rap, the Americans juveniles appear to have negative associations (Klein, 2001). The language of the youngsters perceived to be engaging in juvenile gang activities is characterized by hyperbole and contains refers to competition and violence. The youth style personified by rappers like Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. who appeared to talk about the hard life in their neighborhoods referred to juvenile gangs. This research paper seeks to review literature on criminal…

References List

Defleur, L.B. (1967). Delinquent Gangs in Cross-Cultural Perspective: the Case of Cordoba.

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 4(1), 132-141.

Flores, J.R. (2006). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report. Retrieved from  http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED495786.pdf 

Klein, M. (2001). The Eurogang Paradox: Street Gangs and Youth Groups in the U.S. And Europe. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Juvenile facilities provide intensive and specialized therapeutic programs with brilliant results. The juvenile placed in juveniles' corrections enjoy an education-centered curriculum and trained staff that functions exclusively with the juvenile offenders' population. On the contrary, those juvenile held in adult jails and prisons do not enjoy these services (Siegel 2009, 671). Understanding that juveniles hold different emotional, safety, social and physical requirements from adult offenders, guidelines requiring certified juveniles to get placements in divergent setting other than adult prisons and jails is paramount. More than sixteen states in America hold certified juveniles in juvenile corrections and not in adult prison until these offenders reach eighteen years.

Six states hold juvenile in juvenile facilities until they attain the age of 21. Pennsylvania and Virginia passed the laws requiring that juveniles, regardless of their crime, get placement in juvenile correction facilities and not in adult jails (Dietch 2011, p.11). This is because…

Reference List

Deitch, M 2011. Juveniles in the adult criminal justice system in Texas. The University of Texas at Austin, school of Public Affairs.pp.1-44.

Elrod, P., Ryder, C 2011. Juvenile justice: A social, historical and legal perspective. Michigan: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Roberts, a., Springer, D 2007. Social work in juvenile and criminal justice settings. Texas: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.

Siegel, L 2009. Introduction to criminal justice. New York: Cengage Learning.

Juveniles

Since biblical times, children have been mentioned and admonished about social transgressions. The first man and woman, according to the Christian Holy Bible suggest that Adam and Eve, both children of God, were in trouble from the outset; the consequences were dire with no "out" such as rehabilitation. Today, of course, we see that rehabilitation is the primary focus for children's behaviors. Further, social attitudes toward children differ around the world in various cultures. These attitudes have changed over time, of course. The purpose of this paper is to detail differences in perception of children throughout history, with a particular emphasis in the periods between 1824-1960 and, in contrast the "modern" period after 1960.

The age at which children are considered responsible for their own actions (e.g., marriage, voting, etc.) has also changed over time, and this is reflected in the way they are treated in courts of law.…

References:

 http://law.jrank.org/pages/12069/Juvenile-Justice-Changing-social-attitudes-toward-children.html 

Melchiorre, A. (2004) At What Age?...are school-children employed, married and taken to court? Retrieved from:  http://www.right-to-education.org/node/53 

Rachel K. Jones and April Brayfield, Life's greatest joy?: European attitudes toward the centrality of children. Social Forces, Vol. 75, No. 4, Jun 1997. 1,239-69 pp. Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Akers, R.L. (1973). Law and Control in Society. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

In addition, the threat of being placed in an adult facility not only doesn't lower crime rates among juveniles, but increases their chances of recidivism and violent behavior (Elikann, 1999). As one critic of the current laws stated: "This country's laws recognize that juveniles are too young to drink alcohol, vote, engage in legal contracts and enter into marriage, all because they are still developing mentally and emotionally" (Bilchik, 2003). Yet today, approximately 200,000 young offenders are funneled directly into the adult court system, "the majority for property crimes and drug-related offenses" (Bilchik, 2003). Sadly, while there are situations in which even an adolescent is a "lost cause" and must be kept locked away, the great majority of cases in which juveniles are tried as adults are unnecessary and unwise (Elikann, 1999). Granted, the juvenile justice system is overloaded and needs to change, but channeling children into the adult system…

References

Biden, J. (2). Attacking Youth Violence. Criminal Justice Ethics, 17 (1), 1998.

Bilchik, S. (2003). Sentencing Juveniles to Adult Facilities Fails Youths and Society. Corrections Today, 65 (2), 21.

Elikann, P. (1999). Superpredators: The Demonization of Our Children by the Law. Reading, MA: Perseus.

Feld, B. (1997). Abolish the Juvenile Court: Youthfulness, Criminal Responsibility, and Sentencing Policy. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 88 (1), 68-136.

Economic conditions that have forced both parents to work and have caused teenaged unemployment have also been associated with delinquency, as children are not only unsupervised, but also unoccupied. In addition to this, children who face undue hardships, such as physical and sexual abuse, as well as failure to perform academically, also often turn to delinquency (oberts, 2005). Like Kim and Kim (2008) point out for South Korean children, stress is a likely culprit for the fact that dealing with difficult situations turns into delinquency in youth. This problem is further compounded if the youth has not had instruction in making good choices from parents and teachers (oberts, 2005).

Thus, although they are on separate sides of the world, the United States and South Korea face many of the same problems when it comes to juvenile delinquents. In both countries, the lack of a definite role for criminal justice personnel…

References

Kim, H. & Kim, H. (2006). Discriminative Factor Analysis of Juvenile Delinquency in South Korea. Taehan Kanho Hakhoe chi, 36(8), 1315-1323.

Kim, H. & Kim, H. (2008). Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime. New York: Nova.

Library of Congress (2009). A Country Study: South Korea. Retrieved August 18, 2009,

from the Library of Congress Web Site:  http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/krtoc.html

The actual court proceedings in a juvenile court consist of the arrest procedure, search and seizure, and custodial interrogation (Calderon 2006). The concept has been that the delinquent is a child rather than a criminal. Hence, rehabilitation rather than punishment is the court and the system's goal. ut the major aspects of the juvenile justice system continue to hound its supporters. One is the cause of serious juvenile crime. Another is that young offenders need to be rehabilitated under a surrogate entity of the parens patriae concept. Another is a recent redefinition of young violent offenders as adults and their transfer to adult courts and the criminal or adult justice system. There has been increasing belief that they pose a serious and genuine threat to the safety of other young people and the community as a whole. An increase in serious juvenile crimes warrants more severe punishment. ut moving them…

Bibliography

Calderon, M (2006). A reflective comparison of the juvenile criminal justice system vs. The adult criminal justice system. 23 web pages. Anai Rhoads. Retrieved on April 29, 2008 at  http://www.anairhoads.org/calderon/juvadult.shtml 

Colquitt, J. (2002). American Criminal Justice System. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 from  http://www.law.ua.edu/conquitt/crimmain/crimmisc/crime.htm 

Hopson, R. K and Obidah, J.E. (2002). When getting tough means getting tougher.

21 pages. The Journal of Negro Education: Howard University

Juvenile delinquency is one of the most serious social concerns facing the American society today. In 2010, for instance, juvenile offenders accounted for approximately 8% of all reported homicides. For a society that still considers itself conservative, this figure is relatively high. It is these statistics that spur the researcher's interest in investigating the reasons why juveniles engage in crime, particularly juvenile crime. Past studies have shown that most juvenile crimes are committed between 3 p.m and 7 p.m., the period when a child has left school and is primarily under the care of the parent. The current study thus focuses on showing, using the social control and social disorganization theories of crime, that the lack of social support in the home environment…

References

Burfeind, J.W. & Bartusch, D. (2011). Juvenile Delinquency: An Integrated Approach (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Crime Solutions. (n.d.). Juveniles. Crime Solutions. Retrieved 5 February 2015 from  http://www.crimesolutions.gov/TopicDetails.aspx?ID=5 

Heide, K.M. (1999). Young Killers: The Challenge of Juvenile Homicide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Sandra, W. (2007). Understanding Criminology: Current Theoretical Debates (3rd ed.). Berkshire, England: McGraw Hill.

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 edl 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 edl 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 edl 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…

References

Edmondson, V.C. (2009) a new business: redirecting Black youth from the illegal economy

Reclaiming Children and Youth 18(3), 16-21 Hide details

Edwards, D.M. (2002). From illegal to legitimate professions: Alternatives to low-wage employment. UAB McNair Chronicle 3, 42-47.

Peterson, S.B. (2009) Made in America: the Global Youth Justice Movement: with more than 1,200 local youth and teen court programs in America -- Europe, Australia, Asia, and Canada are now implementing this model to harness the positive peer influence of youth volunteers to reduce juvenile crime. Reclaiming Children and Youth 18 (2), 48-53

Juvenile drug courts are among the most recent innovations in the treatment of substance-involved adolescents in the justice system. Their emergence in the 1990s was driven by the rising rates of substance abuse among adolescents -- a 2000 report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, for instance, showed that substance usage among high school students had risen substantially in the 1990s, with almost 9.5% being cocaine users; a third being binge drinkers, and 14.6% being inhalant users (Office of Justice Programs, 2003). In line with these statistics, the rate of juvenile crime rose by a massive 145% during this period compared to the rate reported in the last decade (Office of Justice Programs, 2003). Juvenile drug courts were established after it became apparent that the traditional juvenile court system did not deal effectively with substance abuse, mental illness and other related problems owing to its lack of specialization…

References

Chassin, L. (2008). Juvenile Justice and Substance Use. The Future of Children, 18(2), 165-183.

Cooper, C.S. (2001). Juvenile Drug Court Programs. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved August 10, 2015 from  https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/184744.pdf 

Office of Justice Programs. (2003). Juvenile Drug Courts: Strategies in Practice. Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved August 10, 2015 from  https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/197866.pdf 

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. (2015). BRIDGE Program: Mission Statement and Policies. United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Retrieved August 10, 2015 from  http://www.scp.uscourts.gov/Downloads/BRIDGEProgramMissionPolicies.pdf

However, the prosecutor is not the only person who can seek a transfer. Juvenile court judges can also begin transfer proceedings (Michon, 2012). Furthermore, in some states there are automatic transfer laws, which require that juveniles over a certain age be tried as adults when they commit specific crimes, usually violent crimes like rape or murder. In states without automatic transfer laws, the defendant is entitled to a hearing prior to being transferred. At this hearing, which is known as the waiver hearing, fitness hearing, or certification hearing, the prosecutor has to show probable cause that the defendant committed the crime (Michon, 2012).

Establishing probable cause is only the first step in the waiver process. Once probable cause is established, it becomes the court's duty to determine whether the juvenile is likely to be rehabilitated. This is the most difficult part of the determination because it involves predicting the future…

References

Applegate, B., King Davis, R., & Cullen, F. (2009). Reconsidering child saving: The extent and correlates of public support for excluding youths from the juvenile court. Crime & Delinquency, 55(1), 51-77.

Fristsch, E., Caeti, T., & Hemmens, C. (1996). Spare the needle but not the punishment: The

incarceration of waived youth in Texas prisons. Crime and Delinquency, 42(4), 593-609.

Jordan, K., & Myers, D. (2007). The decertification of transferred youth: Examining the determinants of reverse waiver. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 5(2), 188-206.

Criminal Justice: Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is described as the participation of minors, usually under the legal age of 18, in criminal activities. Cases of juvenile delinquency have increased at an alarming rate in recent years. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, OJJDP (2015), juveniles under the age of 18 are responsible for about 10% of all homicides. In the period between 1990 and 2003, violent crimes by juveniles declined significantly - but after 2003, the previous trend continued and about 30% of murder crimes were attributed to delinquency. Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) incarcerates more than 33000 minors under the age of 18 for different criminal offenses (OJJDP, 2015). The fight against juvenile delinquency is often inconvenienced by recidivism. ecidivism occurs when juvenile offenders relapse back to their criminal ways after they are released from residential care. Majority of juvenile offenders are rearrested…

References

Burfeinf, J.W & Bartusch, D. (2011). Juvenile Delinquency: An Integrated Approach. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC.

National Institute of Justice (2015). Formal System Processing for Juveniles. Crime solutions. Retrieved 6 February 2015 from  https://www.crimesolutions.gov/PracticeDetails.aspx?ID=9 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2015). Juvenile Justice System Structure and Process. Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved 6 February 2015 from  http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/structure_process/index.html 

Welsh, B. C & Siegel, L. J (2015). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Intervening With Juvenile Drug Crimes

Researchers are now focused on developing and evaluating programs designed to break the drug-crime cycle that is common in juvenile delinquents. This paper will summarize existing literature about programs designed to prevent the juvenile drug-crime cycle and, based on that literature, identify interventions that offer the best chances for success. This paper will also provide guidelines and recommendations for developing a comprehensive juvenile justice system that can best address the needs of juvenile offenders involved with drug crimes.

This thesis is expected to make a contribution to the selection of successful interventions and the development of collaborative partnerships in the juvenile justice system, drug treatment programs, and other agencies as they attempt to break the cycle of drugs and crime afflicting U.S. juveniles.

Introduction

With the prevalence of drug crimes among juveniles and the complexity involved in their treatment, which must involve both the child…

Bibliography

Abuse and Dependence. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 5 (1): 201-211.

Allison, M., and Hubbard, R.L. (1985). Drug abuse treatment process: A review of the literature. International Journal of the Addictions 20:13211345.

Anglin, M.D., and Hser, Y. (1990). Treatment of drug abuse. In Drugs and Crime, vol. 13, edited by M. Tonry and J.Q. Wilson. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Ball, J.C., Rosen, J.A., Flueck, J.A., and Nurco, D.N. (1981). The criminality of heroin addicts: When addicted and when off opiates. In The Drugs-Crime Connection, edited by J.A. Inciardi. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Introduction

In the past, there was no such term as “juvenile delinquent” or “juvenile delinquency” within the justice system. As frightening as it is to consider, over a hundred years ago, children who committed crimes were thrown into prisons with adults and some children were even sentenced to corporal punishment or even death (Yale.edu, 2000). Reformers of the justice system were the ones who pushed for a distinct court system for the treatment of juveniles, with the underlying notion being that these young people could potentially be helped and reformed. “Central to the concept of juvenile court was the principle of parens patriae. This meant that instead of lawyers fighting to decide guilt or innocence, the court would act as a parent or guardian interested in protecting and helping the child” (yale.edu, 2000). These reforms were novel at the time, and helped to enact changes such as closed hearings for…

juvenile crime," the United States continues to promote policies that channel adolescent offenders into the adult justice system ("Juvenile Justice," 2014). The PBS production When Kids Get Life examines the ramifications of trying minors as adults for serious crimes, leading to their entire lives being spent in prison with no opportunity for rehabilitation. While the crimes in these cases are severe and do warrant punishment, clearly there are other options that should be made available for juvenile offenders. The majority (87%) of adolescents in custody have been diagnosed with mental illness; a full 73% of youth in custody are diagnosed with more than one mental illness (Indig, et al., 2009, p. 21). Based on the evidence presented in When Kids Get Life and the vast body of literature on adolescent criminality, the juvenile justice system should be oriented more toward rehabilitation and mental health services than to incarceration.

The whole…

References

Bikel, O. (Director). (2007). When kids get life [Documentary]. United States: WGBH Educational Foundation: FRONTLINE.

Indig, D. et al. (2009). 2009 NSW young people in custody health survey: full report. Retrieved online: http://www.juvenile.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/JH_YPICHSRep2009_D10b_00_opening.pdf

"Juvenile Justice," (2014). PBS Frontline. Retrieved online:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/ 

Kent v. United States (1966). Retrieved online:  https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/383/541

Juvenile Delinquency Is Associated With Parenting Factors Through Social Control Theory

Interventions that involve life-course unrelenting offenders should place emphasis on remedial social abilities, for them to have a chance to decrease their frequency of offence in future, and to tackle conduct disorder problems. Interventions involving teenage-onset offenders should, wherever applicable, tackle issues relating to parenting, alcohol/drug misuse, and anti-social friends. Keane, Krull and Phythian (2008) define self-control as the extent to which a person is susceptible to temptation. According to them, lack of self-restraint or self-control is a fairly universal and stable characteristic, accounting for individual discrepancies in deviant, reckless, and criminal conduct. Youngsters' parents are usually blamed for their kids' delinquent behavior. Some courts go as far as penalizing parents for their kids' antisocial actions. It is believed that weak self-control develops during early childhood, when one's family is the most central socializing agent. Therefore, lack of self-restraint…

References

Apel, R., & Kaukinen, C. (2008). On the relationship between family structure and antisocial behavior: Parental cohabitation and blended households. Criminology, 46, 35-70.

Asher, A. J. (2006). Exploring the relationship between parenting style and juvenile delinquency. Department of Social Studies and Family Work. Faculty of Miami University.

Baron, S. W. (2003). Self-control, social consequences, and criminal behavior: Street youth and the general theory of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 40(4), 403.

Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescence competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11, 56-95.

Juvenile Corrections

Juvenile delinquency is a common phenomenon in the globe today. Owing to the severe crimes, committed, different states handle the matter differently. On one hand, some states utilize the "punitive approach" that prioritizes crime control, punishment, and incarceration; on another, the restorative model, which stresses human rights, youth development research, and restoring the community. In the United States, the law does not tolerate juvenile delinquency; this explains the utilization of the "punitive approach" when handling juveniles. In addition, policies in the U.S. are becoming more punitive; therefore, juveniles have found themselves tried in the adult legal system. However, in the recent past, the U.S. has re-considered the death and life without parole sentences for juveniles, which it has termed as unconstitutional. Apparently, the state is gradually applying some human rights principles in relation to juvenile justice policy, a positive move, indeed (Caldwell, 2011).

Background

During the 19th century,…

References

Abrams, L.S., Kim, K., & Anderson-Nathe, B. (2005). Paradoxes of treatment in the juvenile corrections. Child and youth car form, 34(1), 7-25.

Caldwell, B. (2011). Punishment vs. restoration: A comparative analysis of juvenile delinquency law in the United States and Mexico.

Hirth, D. (2001). Early intensive help for high-risk juveniles. Corrections today, 80-83.

Perlin, M. (2013). Collaborative justice. Criminology and Law Enforcement, 1-3.

Crime

On March 9th, 2013, two New York City police officers shot and killed a sixteen-year-old Kimani Gray, and claimed afterward that he had brandished a handgun at them after being told to show his hands (Goodman, 2013). More remarkable than the New York Police Department's killing of a young black male, however, was the outpouring of community grief and anger that followed the shooting. The following Monday, March 11th, saw what started as a nighttime vigil turn into a mob, parts of which ended up looting a ite Aid chain store and a local bodega, and by Wednesday night of that week, forty-six people had been arrested, a bricks had been thrown at both a police officer and a police van (Goodman, 2013). The explosion of disorder and discontentment took some in the media and policing community by surprise, but these evens could only be surprising to someone lacking…

References

Alanezi, F. (2010). Juvenile delinquency in kuwait: Applying social disorganization theory.

Domes, 19(1), 68-81.

Borg, M.J., & Parker, K.F. (2001). Mobilizing law in urban areas: The social structure of homicide clearance rates. Law & Society Review, 35(2), 435-466.

Brisman, A. (2011). Advancing critical criminology through anthropology. Western Criminology

Based on statistics, nearly one million eighth graders admit getting drunk and another 1.2 million twelfth graders are considered binge drinkers. Heroin use by young adults has doubled from 1991 to 1996 and even teenage compulsive gambling is on the rise (http://www.einstein.edu/e3front.dll?durki=8576,2004).

Youth Gangs and Violence - The Starting Point

It should be noted that violence started from the family affecting the whole society. hat an individual has for a family, what can be seen in the society, what is seen in the environment are all clear reflections of the kind of people a certain society is bringing up - whether it is a deviance to the society or not.

Now, pertaining to the crimes and how the government solved it, it must be remembered that the laws are already there, it is already being maintained by the concerned officials and followed the U.S. citizen. But there are still some…

Works Cited

Capital punishment." 2004 [online] Duhaime.org.  http://www.duhaime.org/dictionary/dict-c.htm .

Capital Punishment: Pros." 1998 [online]

http://www.*****/essays/legal/870.shtml

Cerf, Vinton G. Computer Networking: Global Infrastructure for the 21st Century. 1997. February 21, 2004.  http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/lazowska/cra/networks.html

Crime

As Schmalleger explains, the American juvenile-justice system was designed a century ago to reform kids found guilty of minor crimes, but more and more, the system has to cope with more violent crimes committed by younger people. The response on the part of lawmakers has been largely to siphon the worst of these young people out of the juvenile system by lowering the age at which juveniles charged with serious crimes can be tried in adult courts, a trend that seems to increase around election time. The underlying philosophy of early juvenile courts was parens patriae, which means that the courts took the role of parent and protected the rights of the child. Shifting the child to adult court reduces his or her rights rather than increasing them and also bring son harsher punishments. As Daniel P. Mears notes, the creators of the juvenile court system thought it would…

Works Cited

Eskridge, Chris W. Criminal Justice, 4th edition. New York: Roxbury, 1993.

Schmalleger, Frank. Criminal Justice Today 8th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005.

Juveniles may commit crimes on the same level as adults do, but they are of a special case because of their age and relative psychological immaturity. The purpose of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate the minors and help them integrate better into the society. As research shows, police officers come into contact with different kinds of juveniles offenders. They may be mentally ill or handicapped. Some of them come from disorderly families, or are routinely abused physically and sexually by parents or other family members. Others may be simply neglected or have no family support when they are in need (Bartollas & Miller, 2008, pp. 101-2; Cole & Smith, 2007, p. 554). These unique circumstances make juveniles a special case.

As Lawrence and Hemmens (2008) write, police officers need to take special measures in treating juveniles during and after arrest especially because "young persons' views and attitudes toward…

References

Arundel, a. (2010) Arrest and Custody of Juveniles. Retrieved on February 17, 2011, from  http://www.aacounty.org/Police/RulesRegs/Sections17-19/1702JuvArrestCust.pdf 

Bartollas, C., & Miller, S.J. (2008) Juvenile Justice in America (5th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Cole, G.F., & Smith, C.E. (2007) the American System of Criminal Justice (11th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

"Juvenile Arrest and Detention" (n.d.) Criminal Law Free Advice. Retrieved on February 18, 2011, from  http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/juvenile_law/juvenile-detention.htm

Crime Detection and Prevention

It is an unfortunate fact of modern society that crime and criminal activity are part of our world today. This is particularly the case in situations that make an easy target for criminals. ape and robbery, for example, tend to be encouraged in environments that appear to be easy targets. All-night convenience stores, for example, may appear to be easy targets because they have low security features and often have only one employee per shift. The specific crime under discussion in this case is therefore the night-time robbery of all-night convenience stores.

When considering the factors in the Problem Analysis Chart offered by Clarke and Eck (p. 29), the environment provides a significant incentive for criminal activity. A convenience store at a remote location, for example, might appear to be an "easy" target for robbery. The problem analysis triangle, or crime trianble, may therefore offer valuable…

References

Center for Problem Oriented Policing. (n.d.). Twenty Five Techniques of Situational Prevention. Retrieved from:  http://www.popcenter.org/library/25%20techniques%20grid.pdf 

Clarke, R.V. And Eck, J.E. (n.d.) Crime Analysis for Problem Solvers in 60 Small Steps. Center for Problem Oriented Policing. Retrieved from:  http://www.popcenter.org/library/reading/PDFs/60steps.pdf 

Crime in America.net (2011, Feb 22). Top 10 Factors Contributing to Violent Crime. Retrieved from: http://www.crimeinamerica.net/2011/02/22/top-10-factors-contributing-to-violent-crime/

Juvenile Total Institutions

Total Institutions ( prisons/jails) juveniles. A. Discuss history B. Goals C. programming youth held . D. Issues/Problems Present facilities Below Guideline paper. 1. Students expected draw information class material scholarly sources journal articles, government websites, NPO websites.

Bortner and Williams (1997)

define a total institution as a physical location such as a prison or a reformatory where all the total needs of the residents are met. The needs of the individuals are mostly physical such as health, clothing, nutrition, shelter, etc. For juveniles, total institutions must be able to meet their educational and psychological needs as the youth. For an institution to quality as a total institution, the totality of the care that is provided in the institutions must be reflected in the round the clock confinement of the residents including holidays and weekends Shoemaker, 2009.

Goffman (1961)

argues that in many different ways, correctional institutions also…

References

ABA Division for Public Education. The History of Juvenile Justice. In ABA Division for Public Education (Ed.), Dialogue on Youth and Justice (pp. 1-8). Chicago, IL: American bar association.

Austin, J., Johnson, K.D., & Weitzer, R. (2005). Alternatives to the Secure Detention and Confinement of Juvenile Offenders (pp. 41). Rockville, MD: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Dept of Justice.

Bortner, M.A., & Williams, L. (1997). Youth in Prison. New York: Rutledge.

Commonwealth v. Fisher, No. 213 48 (1905).

, 2009). While there are schools in the juvenile system, some of these Hispanic children may come in so behind in their educations that they will requires special services to bring them current in their educations. Therefore, educational and mental health concerns are highlighted for Hispanic youth entering into the juvenile justice system.

Conclusion

The juvenile justice system in the United States is out-of-control. While Fairfax County, Virginia's juvenile justice system is not experiencing the same problems as other areas, it would be erroneous to assume that its system is still the best way of dealing with juvenile offenders. Fairfax County has a large Hispanic population, and Hispanic youth are overrepresented in its juvenile justice system. One must assume that a lack of cultural sensitivity has helped contribute to this problem. Ensuring that Hispanic youth and their families have access to the same quality of non-penal services as other youth…

References

Chambers, B. (2009, June 11). Latino youth in the juvenile justice system -- key facts.

Retrieved October 11, 2011 from Reclaiming Futures website:  http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/node/1028 

County of Fairfax Virginia. (2011). Delinquency (juvenile criminal cases). Retrieved

from  http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/courts/jdr/jdrDelinquency.htm

Once inmates were encouraged to complete an education while in prison and gain skills to get a paying job so they could be self-supporting once they got out, but that is no longer so. The public attitude was, "Why should criminals get a free education? Law abiding citizens have to pay for college." The overcrowded conditions, caused by long mandated sentences for non-violent drug offenses put an end to social programs in the prisons aimed at preparing prisoners to live as law-abiding citizens when they got out.

Privatization of prisons, which makes them cheaper to run, has had negative effects. Some researchers contend that by putting private companies in charge of prisons, we have created a market economy for crime with a market demand for prisoners. More people in prison provide more business for these companies. These companies have strong lobbies that pressure for harsher and longer sentences. For example,…

Bibliography

Beaudoin, Jack. "Does the U.S.Abuse Human Rights," Scholastic Update. 8 Dec. 1997.

Bohm, Robert. "Crime, Criminals, and Crime Control Policy Myths," Justice Quarterly,

Chavez, Linda. "One of the Keys to Reducing Crime is Ridding our Prisons of the Crimes Committed There," Enterprise/Salt Lake City, May 15, Vol 29, Iss. 46,

Green, Bonnie L.; Miranda, Jeanne; Daroowalla, Anahita; and Juned Siddique. "Trauma

Crime

In the beginning the main focus of the drug addiction theory was on the habituated pleasure reinforcement as well as the potential of the drug for the reward. Drug affects the dopamine receptors that are present in the brain and the individual is flooded with the desirable emotions by using dopamine, these desirable emotions are considered to be the reward for using the substance (Pinel, 2009). When the relationship of dopamine to the reward was recognized it was thought to be the major cause of addiction but when further researches were carried out, they showed that there were some other factors involved in the addiction as well.

When initially the psychotropic substance like cocaine or amphetamine is used, some changes take place in the brain and these changes then influence a cycle of addiction. Although different drugs have different probability of addiction but the individual characteristics like cognition, mental…

References

Alberta Health Services -- Addiction and Mental Health. (2009). Challenging assumptions: The association between substance use and criminal behaviour. Edmonton, AB: Author.

Gottfredson, D.C., Kearley, B.W. And Bushway, S.D. (2008). Substance Use, Drug Treatment, and Crime: An Examination of Intra-Individual Variation in a Drug Court Population. Journal of Drug Issues 0022-0426/08/02 601-630.

GSS Codebook. (2010). General Social Survey 2010 Cross-Section and Panel Combined. Accessed from:  http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Codebooks/GSS10PAN_CB.asp 

Idaho State Police. (2010). The Relationship Between Substance Abuse and Crime in Idaho: Estimating the Need for Treatment Alternatives. Idaho State Police, Statistical Analysis Center.

Crime and Its Impact on Youth

Crime impacts children differently than it does adults. This paper examines the differences and the reasons children are affected uniquely by crime. It looks in particularly at the multiple theories that can be used to explain these impacts, such as Strain Theory and Social Control Theory. It also identifies the unique challenges that children and adults face as they struggle to cope both with the environments in which they live and the criminal justice systems that confront them. The paper concludes that children are uniquely impacted by crime because they are still in their developmental stage, wherein their psychology and physicality are still highly susceptible to external influences.

Introduction

Children suffer from the effects of crime in different ways from adults. This is primarily due to the fact that children are still developing, both cognitively and physically, whereas adults are already developed. Crime thus…

References

Agnew, R. (2008). Strain Theory. In V. Parrillo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social problems.

(pp. 904-906). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

Barrett, D., Ju, S., Katsiyannis, A., Zhang, D. (2015). Females in the juvenile justice system: influences on delinquency and recidivism. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24: 427-433.

Benns, W. (2015). American Slavery, Reinvented. The Atlantic. Retrieved from  http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison-labor-in-america/406177/

Crime in urban cities is at least 1.5 times higher than suburban or rural areas. Many factors account for this difference including higher poverty, more densely populated centers, presence of poor minorities, low education, limited resources etc. The paper studies crime in urban cities from the perspective of causes and impact so explain why higher urbanization translates into higher crime rate.

Crime in urban cities

Crime in urban cities of the United States continues to be a major problem for the society. The effect of violent crime against persons and property on general welfare is unmistakable since it takes a serious toll on mental, physical and emotional health of people while it places a huge burden on society's resources and finances. It is important to mention that while crime has a profound impact on welfare of people; it also costs the country almost 0.7% of GDP in variety of ways…

References

GLEASER, EDWARD L. And SACERDOTE, BRUCE. (1996) Why is there more crime in cities? NBER Working Paper # 5430, January.

MASIH, ABUL M.M. And MAS-H RUMI. (1996) Temporal causality and the dynamics of different categories of crime and their socioeconomic determinants: evidence from Australia, Applied Economics, 28, 1093-1104.

Winters, Clyde A. "Learning Disabilities, Crime Delinquency, and Special Education Placement." Adolescence 32.126 (1997): 451.

Juvenile Arrest

List and explain the factors that affect a police officer's decision whether or not to arrest a juvenile.

One of the primary responsibilities of police officers is in the investigation of crime and the arrest of suspects. Taking a person into custody is always a serious matter and that is why officers must make sure that they have the right suspect before taking this drastic step. Even if a person is later found to be not guilty of a crime, the arrest will still impact them psychologically and sociologically, and may even follow them throughout the rest of their lives. Guilt or innocence and the punishment that a person is to receive are determined by the court system. The officer's job is to find the person responsible and to bring them in. From an emotional perspective, the responsibility can be burdensome and so every officer tries to make…

Works Cited:

Davis, S. (1971). Justice for the juvenile: the decision to arrest and due process. Duke Law

Journal. (1971:5). 913-37.

O'Neil, R. (2010). Police policies on arresting juveniles. OLR Research Report.

Patterson, C. & Kaba, M. (2011). Arresting justice: a report about juvenile arrests in Chicago

e. school, religious activities, sports, family involvement)." ("Juvenile detention," 2005, p. 11-12). These negative affects of increased usage not only directly affect juvenile drug abusers with increased occurrence of detention, but also make less effective rehabilitation programs needed for these young offenders.

Prevention Programs:

Over the last two decades, there have been a plethora of clinical trial research that have identified effective adolescent substance use prevention programs.

Sadly, funding for drug use prevention services has decreased over recent years, partly due to the increased need for drug user treatment for young people. As an example, in 2002, Congress reduced funding for community drug prevention studies at the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), by $50 million, in order to increase drug user treatment studies at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. With reduced funding, it is of even greater importance that prevention programs are as effective as possible. Kumpfer,…

References

Bilchik, S. (1997). From the administrator. Retrieved September 21, 2007, at  http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/167251.pdf .

Juvenile detention as a disposition. (2005). Journal of Juvenile Justice Services, 20(2). Retrieved September 21, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database.

Kumpfer, K., Alvarado, R., & Whiteside, H. (Jul 2003). Family-based interventions for substance use and misuse prevention. Substance Use & Misuse, 38(11-13). Retrieved September 21, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database.

Lexcen, F. & Redding, R. (2000). Substance abuse and dependence in juvenile offenders. Retrieved September 21, 2007, at  http://www.ilppp.virginia.edu/Juvenile_Forensic_Fact_Sheets/SubAbuse.html .

In the United States of American court systems, juvenile courts still proposes juvenile delinquents in aspects that are more paternal other than diagnostic. The adult counterparts cannot access such diagnostic processing as juveniles do. Adults are treated separately unlike juveniles within the jury and the constitutional accordance that assures the difference has been assured to the individuals.

The IV Amendment Search and Seizure Clause

The Fourth Amendment is one of the most prolific archives of constitution litigation in the United States of America. The application to the state through the process of Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is unique and comprehensive to the American court systems dealing with juveniles. This amendment is depicted by issuance of connotation that protected individuals from unnecessary seizures and searches while in court proceedings. The amendment has much respect to juveniles and juvenile courts since most juveniles do not have to be apprehended…

References

Bueren, G.V. (1998). The international law on the rights of the child. Dordrecht [u.a.: Nijhoff.

Detrick, S. (1999). A commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Hague [u.a.: Nijhoff Pub.

Kumar, a. (2006). Human rights and sustainable development. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons.

Siegel, L.J., & Welsh, B. (2012). Juvenile delinquency: Theory, practice, and law. Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Every culture may identify some behavior as deviant, but a given behavior will not be defined as deviant in all cultures:

Deviance" refers to conduct which the people of a group consider so dangerous or embarrassing or irritating that they bring special sanctions to bear against the persons who exhibit it. Deviance is not a property inherent in any particular kind of behavior; it is a property conferred upon that behavior by the people who come into direct or indirect contact with it (Erikson, 1966, p. 6).

Erikson suggests that the deviance identified by a community says something about the boundaries that community sets for itself. He notes that both the conformist and the deviant are created by the same forces in the community, for the two complement one another. Indeed, Erikson says that deviance and conformity are much alike, so much so that they appear in a community at…

References

Erikson, K.T. (1966). Wayward Puritans. New York: Macmillan.

Kelly, DH (1979). Deviant behavior. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Kirkpatrick, D.D. (2005, May 12). House bill toughens penalties for gangs. The New York Times.

Schoeman, M.I. (2002). A classification system and interdisciplinary action plan for the prevention and management of recidivism. University of Pretoria.

Finally, for the purposes of this research proposal we will refer to a third study that suggests education could be at the heart of reducing juvenile delinquency statistics but the conditions in which the child is raised impacts their ability to choose between right and wrong (Hindelang, 1981).

Method and design

The goal of this study is to add to the literature that demonstrates that there is a correlation between poverty and juvenile delinquency. This researcher will begin by reviewing the available statistics provided by the state judicial system related specifically to the number of juveniles currently incarcerated at state facilities as well as the youths' offenses. Once this information has been compiled the next step will be to chart the level of income brought in by the adults within each home as well as to determine if the families live rely on welfare or government assistance for their daily…

References

Hindelang, M; Measuring Deliquency. Sage Library of social research; Vol. 123.

Lewis, D; Violent Juvenile Delinquents: Psychiatric, Neurological, Psychological, and Abuse Factors. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. Vol 18, Issue 2

Loeber, R.; Development and risk factors of juvenile antisocial behavior and delinquency. Clinical Psychology Review. Vol. 10, p. 1-41. 1990.

Moreover, if an adolescent who has reached 18 commits sexual offending is considered an adult sex offender, "what does this mean for young adults who engaged in sexually abusive behavior prior to age 18?" (p. 433). ecause of this blurry line, Rich suggests, it is imperative that adolescents of older age must especially be provided with comprehensive treatment programs to prevent them from developing fixed sexualized abusive interests.

ecause of the complicated nature of the problem of juvenile sex offending, Rich offers a holistic treatment for curing juvenile sex offenders. The holistic model, grounded on the principle that the 'whole' of the person needs to be taken into consideration, must look into the nature of the individual "whose emotions, cognitions, behaviors and relationships are driven by multiple factors, many of which are unique to that individual" (p. 444). In other words, the approach should first and foremost focus on learning…

Bibliography of Scholarly References, 1970-1992. Family Relations, 42(2): 222-226.

Rich, P (2009) Understanding the Complexities and Needs of Adolescent Sex Offenders in Beech, a.R., Craig, B.A., & Browne, K.D. (Eds.) Assessment and Treatment of Sex Offenders. West Sussex, UK: Whiley-Blackwell.

Rightland, S., & Welch, C (2001) Juveniles Who Have Sexually Offended: A Review of the Professional Literature. A report to the U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Ryan, G., Leversee, T., & Lane, Sandy (2010) Juvenile Sexual Offending: Causes, Consequences, and Correction. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons.

Smallbone, S., Marshall, W.L., & Wortley, R. (2008) Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Evidence, Policy and Practice. Portland: Willan Publishing.

, 2008). Respondents to the study were 250 persons, aged 19-24, recruited at birth between 1979 and 1984 and pregnant women in four clinics in Cincinnati, Ohio. The pregnant women lived in areas with high concentrations of older-type of lead-contaminated dwellings (Wright et al.). Commendable efforts have been expended to reduce exposures to tobacco and environmental lead at this time. ut millions of young people continue to be exposed to them in levels sufficient to put them at risk of persistent violent and criminal behaviors (raun et al.).

Trauma

Studies conducted with a wide range of age groups, populations and types of trauma showed that traumatized children and adolescents face a high risk of developing different behavioral, psychological and neurobiological problems (Caffo et al., 2005). Early traumatic experiences can have strong and lasting behavioral and psychological consequences in the young. These include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, depression, anxiety…

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bartlett, R., et al. (2007). Problem behaviors in adolescents. 33 (1): 13-18 Pediatric

Nursing: Jannetti Publications, Inc. Retrieved on February 15, 2010 from  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/555209 

Braun, J.M., et al. (2008). Association of environmental toxicants and conduct disorder in U.S. children. 116 (7): 956-962 Environmental Health Perspectives: National Institute

of Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved on February 15, 2009 from  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/577047

ace Juvenile

Family, Community, and acial Trends in U.S. Juvenile Criminal Justice

The subject of race and ethnicity as they relate and correlate to criminality and prison populations in the United States has been the subject of a great deal of study and commentary for many decades. It is unquestionably true that a disproportionate number of people of color are convicted of crimes than are Caucasians both on a national level and at the community level in the majority of the country; this fact is easily supported by a cursory review of criminal justice statistics and is not a matter of debate despite the contentiousness of the issue. What is debated are the reasons behind this skewed prison population/criminal element, and in an effort to address this debate the following paper will study the problem as it appears not amongst adults, but amongst the still-developing youth of the country.

ace,…

References

Dixon, T.L., & Azocar, C.L. (2006). The representation of Juvenile Offenders by Race on Los Angeles Area Television News. The Howard Journal of Communication, 17,

Jordan, K.L., & Freiburger, T.L. (2011). Examining the Impact of Race and Ethnicity on the Sentencing of Juveniles in the Adult Court. Criminal Justice Research Review,

Piquero, A.R. (2008). Disproportionate Minority Contact., 18( 2),

Rodriguez, M. (2007). Juvenile Court Context and Detention Decisions: Reconsidering the Role of Race, Ethnicity, and Community Characteristics in Juvenile Court Process. Justice Quarterly, 24( 4),

Youth Crime

Over the last several years, the issue of juvenile crime has been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because of concerns about how to effectively deal with this problem vs. using traditional approaches (i.e. incarceration). As a result, the rates will vary dramatically when comparing the different decades with each other. This has created periods that will see an increase in juvenile crime (which is followed by sharp declines). In a number of situations, a host of theories have been introduced to help explain why these decreases are occurring. (Butts, 2007, pg. 16)

One of the notable is the quality of education. Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Lochner (2003) who says, "There are a number of reasons to believe that education will affect subsequent crime. First, schooling increases the returns to legitimate work, raising the opportunity costs of illicit behavior. Additionally, punishment for…

References

Brewer, D. (2010). Economics of Education. San Francisco, CA: Academic Press.

Butts, J. (2007). Where Are Juvenile Crime Trends Headed? Juvenile and Family Justice Today, 16 -- 21.

Edwards, H. (2001). Lecturing. New York, NY: Routledge.

Gregory, G. (2007). Differentiated Instructional Strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Children who commit crimes of violence be tried as adults in the criminal justice system?

Juveniles should be treated as adults in the criminal justice system. The paper is an analysis of this view and also deals with an opposing argument.

Most societies seek a sort of "revenge" on the habitual offenders of its norms of behavior and this is termed as retribution. In the case of young offenders, this is sometimes translated into putting them in adult courts instead of juvenile courts. This also reflects the anger of society for their crimes. This is an important question that has to be looked into, especially in the social milieu of the United States. The trial of youth as adults is already accepted in some of the states, when there are incidences of serious crime. At the same time we keep on referring to the children as the greatest available resource…

The authors do not state that public perceptions of severity should be discounted, but merely that these should not be over-emphasized, as was the case in previous literature.

Another existing mode of measuring crime severity is that of economic models. Economic measures of costs may seem more objective, but given that they also involve speculative losses (such as lost productivity), they are not universally agreed upon. One widely-used model to estimate crime severity is the Bradley-Terry continuum which posits that stealing something less than $5 is less severe than stealing "something worth $5 -- $50, which itself is less severe than trying to steal something worth more than $50. Additionally, stealing or trying to steal a car is ranked more severe than the other theft items. Selling marijuana is also ranked less severe than selling harder drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or LSD" (amchand et al. 2009: 143). The authors…

References

Perry, B. (2003). Where do we go from here? Researching hate crimes. Internet Journal of Criminology. Retrieved:  http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Where%20Do%20We%20Go%20From%20Here.%20Researching%20Hate%20Crime.pdf 

Merl, J. (2013). Victims of 1999 hate-crime shooting endorse Mike Feuer. LA Times. Retrieved:

 http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/18/local/la-me-ln-feuer-guns-20130418

The fear of adolescents and young adults is also being driven by the media's choice to sensationalize events that are actually very isolated in their number, and occurrence.

CONCLUSION

As Canada continues to grow and its focus on crime continues to change, it is important to understand the freedom that the media has when it comes to what to cover and how to do it.

Crime is rising in Canada in areas that should be a concern to the general public but part of the seeming significant increase is really only increased media coverage for the purpose of getting ratings.

Across the nation teenagers are performing good deeds, getting good grades, becoming Eagle Scouts and moving on to college and careers, yet the public never hears about those teenagers. The media focuses only on what will bring in ratings and that unfortunately includes violent exciting events.

Fear of crime is…

References

Schissel, Bernard (1997) Youth crime, moral panics, and the news: the conspiracy against the marginalized in Canada. ('moral panic' caused by increased incidence of youth crime in Canada, and young offenders identified as coming from homes led by single mothers and racial minorities)(Reconfiguring Power: Challenges for the 21st Century) Journal of Social Justice

Sprott, Jane B (1996) Understanding public views of youth crime and the youth justice system.(Canada) Canadian Journal of Criminology

Doob, Anthony N. And Julian Roberts 1988 Public punitiveness and public knowledge of the facts: Some Canadian Surveys. In N. Walker and M. Hough (eds.), Public Attitudes to Sentencing. Aldershot: Gower.

Future ole of the Juvenile Justice System in the United States

Young people are naturally prone to experimentation and impulsive behaviors that frequently result in their involvement with the law enforcement community, and police officers today generally enjoy wide latitude in resolving these incidents. In fact, in some if not most cases, police officers can release young offenders into the custody of their parents or guardians without the further involvement of the criminal justice system. Even when young offenders are arrested, though, the juvenile justice system tends to afford them with more leniency than their adult counterparts, due in part to the view that the role of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate rather than punish. These enlightened views of juvenile justice, though, are being replaced with "get-tough-on-crime" approaches in some states, and there remains a paucity of standardized models for states to follow. To gain some fresh insights…

References

Alridge, D.P. (2005, Summer). Introduction: Hip hop in history: Past, present, and future. The Journal of African-American History, 90(3), 190-193.

Black's law dictionary. (1991). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.

Boyd, T. (2002). The new H.N.I.C.: The death of civil rights and the reign of hip hop. New York:

Brookins, G.K. & Hirsch, J.A. (2002, Summer). Innocence lost: Case studies of children in the juvenile justice system. The Journal of Negro Education, 71(3), 205-210.

Future Directions of Juvenile Corrections

he Failing Juvenile Correction System in America

History, Statement of the Problem, and Proposed Solutions

One of society's most difficult problems to solve is that of crime, and juvenile crime is a particularly difficult situation. he current juvenile correction system has many failings, and it is not improving society or curbing crime. Juveniles are being abused emotionally, physically, and sexually in detention facilities. his report introduces readers to the situation, gives a historical overview of how juvenile corrections has evolved in America, and states the problems that currently plague the system. Proposed improvements for the system, as well as examples of current programs and initiatives being taken to improve juvenile corrections, are given as well.

ABLE OF CONENS

ii Abstract iii.able of Contents

iv Introduction

v Historical Perspective

Statement of the Problem vii....Proposed Future Directions viii...Summary and Conclusion

ix.References

IV: INRODUCION

Crime has existed since…

The first juvenile court was established in 1899, but previous to that time children and adolescents were always processed in the adult system. By 1945, every state in America had established a separate juvenile corrections system, most of them based on theories of rehabilitation. "The original goals of the juvenile court were to investigate, diagnose, and prescribe treatment for offenders, not to adjudicate guilt or fix blame." (Smith & Meyers 1998) Judges were given a lot of freedom to choose the best way to handle juvenile offenders, rather than having strict sentencing rules to follow as they do now. In an attempt to rehabilitate and protect youth offenders, they were usually placed in reform schools that were thought to be a more beneficial experience than prison. Unfortunately, these schools became dumping grounds for unwanted children; "Common problems included lack of medical care, rehabilitation programs, and even food. Some poor conditions persist even today." (Smith & Meyers 1998) Some judges turned instead to probation sentences. Between the 1940s and 1960s, some attempts were made at providing healthier alternatives, such as probation camps, but it is difficult to say if they were at all effective because they were not available to the worst juvenile offenders, who were still generally locked up. In the 1970s, more foster care situations were made available, and alternatives such as electronic monitoring of youths on probation became available, which is still available today as a much better alternative to prison time. As people began to question the nonformal structure of the juvenile court proceedings which allowed judges to make their own calls about punishment, the focus of the juvenile corrections system has turned away from rehabilitation and instead embraces scare tactics and punishment. Legislation in the 1980s and 1990s has been targeted at more serious punishment, allowing minors to be tried as adults, and minimum sentencing laws that eliminate discretion based on circumstances. "As a result of many changes, the building of more secure facilities and development of other options, such as juvenile boot camps, house arrest programs, day treatment centers, experimental wilderness camps, and enhanced probation sanctions occurred." (Smith & Meyers 1998)

VI. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The juvenile corrections system originally had a goal to rehabilitate troubled youth, but even from the establishment of the early juvenile programs in America, the system has failed to help deter youth crime. Today, children are being specifically neglected and abused by the system, which is training them to become career criminals; "The U.S. is criminally negligent when it comes to children caught up in the nation's juvenile justice systems." (Califano 2005) One study found that four out of every five children and adolescents that are arrested are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, admit to having an addiction problem, or are arrested for a drug-related crime. However, only 3.6% of juvenile offenders that abuse or are addicted to drugs receive any treatment, and youth that go through the juvenile ...

Juveniles in Court as Adults

Summary of Policy

Many states in the U.S. allowed the prosecution of juveniles in adult courts, in transfer laws, in an expansion program that ran through the 80s and 90s (Griffin, Addie, Adams & Firestine, 2011). Transfer laws for juveniles outline the direction for trying underage defendants as adults in criminal cases. Earlier on, the criminal justice system sought to separate adults from underage offenders. However, the laws were reviewed to allow such youthful suspects to be transferred and be tried in adult courts. The law review was triggered by the notable serious escalation of violent crime by youthful offenders (Burgess-Proctor, Holtrop & Villarruel, 2008). Many attempts were made between 1979 and 2003 to modify the transfer laws in many states. Some of the efforts were geared towards eliminating the minimum age for trial in a criminal court. There were attempts to also expand the…

References

Burgess-Proctor, A., Holtrop, K., & Villarruel, F. A. (2008). Youth transferred to adult court: Racial disparities. Washington, DC, Campaign for Youth Justice.

Champion, D. J. (2001). The juvenile justice system: Delinquency, processing, and the law. Prentice Hall.

Fagan, J. (1996). The Comparative Advantage of Juvenile vs. Criminal Court Sanctions on Recidivism among Adolescent Felony Offenders. Law and Policy 18:77-112.

Forst, M., Fagan, J., & Vivona, T. S. (1989). Youth in Prisons and Training Schools: Perceptions and Consequences of the Treatment-Custody Dichotomy. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 40(1), 1-14.

Victimization: Juvenile Justice

Victimization of juveniles is more widespread and prevalent than is commonly perceived. This view is shared by many experts in the field who study the statistical data relating to victimization. More than 800, 000 children - or 12 per 1, 0000 - were victims of crime, abuse or maltreatment in 2000. Sixty-three percent of maltreated children were neglected, nineteen percent were physically abused, ten percent were sexually abused, and eight percent were emotionally or psychologically maltreated. NCVC)

In a recently released report on teen victims of crime, the National Centre for Victims of Crime urged that the problems of juvenile victimization must be addressed to find solutions. "The victimization of teenagers in America has gone largely unrecognized. Instead, in the context of crime and violence, our nation's young people are more typically characterized as troublemakers, predators, and violent criminals. When victimization has been recognized, public attention has…

(ibid)

Almost 1 in 10 murder victims aged 18 to 21 were black. (Ibid., p. 1) African-American youths were almost twice as likely (92% higher rate) than White youths to be victimized by aggravated assault. Another report breaks down the statistics by race in the following:

"Approximately 885,623 African-Americans were victims of violent crime during 2001. Blacks had the highest rate of violent victimization of any other racial group (31.2 per 1,000). In 2001, approximately 750,400 Hispanics experienced violent crime. Of men, the percentage of Hispanics who reported their violent victimization to the police is higher than for any other racial/ethnic group, while the same holds true for black women." ( ibid) Other reports state that African-American teenagers are twice as likely to report maltreatment and five times more likely to be killed in a shooting incident than white teenagers. American Indian teenagers however are more likely than any other group

2).

The significance here, of course, is that the government will continue seeking ways to streamline care and services, and that if a foster care program is clinically proven to be beneficial in deterring criminal behavior amongst Native American juveniles, there will be an increased tendency to remove youngsters from their homes and Native American families in lieu of enforced foster care. This would be consistent with the liberty the government has exercised in removing Native American children from their homes since the 19th century.

It is, therefore, incumbent upon the Native American communities to exercise their own preventative and interventions aimed at curbing and resolving juvenile criminal behaviors. It is the only alternative to what is today the only way that society can continue to remove Native American children from their family and Native American communities.

eferences

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002100481

Eddy, J.M., Whaley, .B., & Chamberlain, P. (2004). The Prevention of…

References

 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002100481 

Eddy, J.M., Whaley, R.B., & Chamberlain, P. (2004). The Prevention of Violent Behavior by Chronic and Serious Male Juvenile Offenders: A 2-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 12(1), 2+. Retrieved July 13, 2008, from Questia database:

Evidenced-Based Practice in Canadian Policing and Crime Prevention

The objective of this work in writing is to examine evidence-based policing and crime prevention practice in Canada and to report on the same. ccording to the Public Safety Canada document entitled "evidence-based Crime Prevention: Scientific Basis, Trends, Results and Implications" policy on crime prevention and practice "should be based on solid scientific knowledge and evidence. Even though support for and recognition of evidence-based crime prevention (EBCP) is growing, much work still remains to put this knowledge into practice. " (Welsh, 2007, p.1) The report states that the evidence-based approach is such that "…typically refers to programs and practices that are proven to be effective through sound research methodology and have produced consistently positive patterns of results." (Welsh, 2007, p.1) EBCP is reported to ensure that "the best available evidence is considered in the decision to develop and implement a program or…

A program is stated to be "in contrast, focused on an effort to change, restrict or crate a routine practice in a crime prevention setting." (Sherman, Farrington, Welch and MacKenzie, 2002) Programs are stated to overtime change into practices with the original introduction of the program upon which these practices are based long forgotten. Stated to be that which makes the "clearest distinction between programs and practices" are those, which require governmental funding as new programs are required to undergo scientific evaluations in the form of those seeking evidence upon which to base crime prevention programs. There is a trend reported toward 'demanding accountability for public expenditures." (Sherman, Farrington, Welch and MacKenzie, 2002)

Summary and Conclusion

No longer does the flavor of the month in crime prevention efforts and initiatives work to allay the fears of citizens and law enforcement professionals in addressing crime because crime is an ever growing and evolving phenomena in society. Law enforcement has matured in the United States and due to the heavy workload of law enforcement professionals the methods chosen for prevention of crime must necessarily be effective or 'evidence-based' methods. Canada has implemented evidence-based programs for crime prevention and policing control and it has been clearly demonstrated in this study that evidenced-base practices and programs are those based on scientific research study findings rather than pop theory. The evidence-based programs are those with efficacy in terms of success. The importance of evidence-based programs is within the effectiveness of the programs on the receiving end of government funding. The public and those in positions of accountability have demanded that evidence-based practices be used in today's law enforcement initiative because these programs are effective and cost-efficient through successful reduction of crime. This work has reviewed some of the programs and initiatives used that are evidence-based including school-based programs that are evidence-based as well as family- and community-based programs and place-focused programs.

eforming the Juvenile Justice System: In Search of Justice and Accountability

While the overall crime rate has steadily decreased over the last decade throughout the country, there is one segment of crime that has been increasing: criminal offences committed by juveniles (National Criminal Justice eference Service: 2002). In the last 15 years, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the incidence of criminal offences committed by juveniles (under the age of 15) increased 94%. While a number of these juveniles were convicted of committing petty crimes such as vandalism and theft, there has been a significant increase in the number of serious juvenile offences such as robberies, weapons offences, assaults, and murders. However, there is something that is not quantitatively measured in these crime statistics -- the increasing brutality and ruthlessness of the crimes committed by juvenile offenders. Over the last two decades, we have seen an increasing string of…

References

Richard Bonnie, "The Competence of Criminal Defendants: A Theoretical Reformulation," Behavior, Science, & Law 291(10), 1992.

Charlotte Faltermayer, "What Is Justice For A Sixth-Grade Killer?" Time Magazine 151(13): April 6, 1998

Thomas Grisso, "Society's Retributive Response to Juvenile Violence: A Developmental Perspective," Law & Human Behavior 229 (20), 1996.

Thomas Grisso, "The Competence of Adolescents as Trial Defendants, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law," (forthcoming)