JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

By: The Second Group (hold applause till after,

please)

BASIC OVERVIEW

Describe the general terms for Juvenile Delinquency (JD),

including common definitions describing the types of

offenses and classification.

Studies describing the development and parental

influences of JD, along with the main causes.

Gang influence.

Prevention.

Studies and Facts.

WHAT IS JD?!?

Juvenile delinquency refers to criminal acts

performed by juveniles, or young criminal; a young

person who habitually breaks the law, especially

somebody repeatedly charged with vandalism or

other antisocial behavior.

BROKEN DOWN

Antisocial behaviors are disruptive acts characterized

by covert and overt hostility and intentional aggression

toward others. Antisocial behaviors exist along a severity

continuum and include repeated violations of social

rules, defiance of authority and of the rights of others,

deceitfulness, theft, and reckless disregard for self

and others.

HISTORY

Delinquency as legal status concern with misbehavior by children is at

least as old as recorded history. The earliest known code of laws (the Code

of Hammurabi) took specific note of the duties of children to parents and

prescribed punishments for violations.

As legal systems were elaborated, the age of offenders continued to be

important in defining responsibility for criminal behavior. Ancient Roman

law and English common law, for example, held that children under the age

of seven were incapable of criminal intent and, therefore, of responsibility

for crime; between age seven and the time of puberty (approximately),

criminal responsibility was a matter for determination by the courts.

CONTINUED…

The establishment of the first juvenile court in Cook County,

Illinois, in 1899 climaxed many years of legal and

humanitarian concerns for the welfare of children held to be

in violation of the law and concerns with the criteria by which

they might be so adjudged (Van Waters 1932).

This legislation created a new kind of machinery, outside

the criminal law, for handling juvenile offenders.

Each state has special legal procedures for handling minors.

TODAY

Almost 2.3 million juveniles are arrested annually.

Over one billion dollars per year is required to maintain the

juvenile justice system (Swenson & Kennedy, 1995).

Adolescents under 18 years of age account for 16% of arrests for

violent crimes, and 34% of property crime arrests (Snyder, 1992).

Between 1988 and 1992 arrests for violent crimes committed by

juveniles increased 47%, while violent crime arrests for adults only

increased 19% (Allen-Hagen, Sickmund, & Snyder, 1994).

As one can see, JD is a growing problem….

SIGNS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Children will often test boundaries and test their parents

or authorities limits, especially during the adolescent

years. Certain rebelliousness during the teen years is

normal and should not provoke parents to take drastic

measures, however it should not be taken lightly. If a

parent begins to notice this behavior affects the family,

scholastic achievements, and or social interaction of the

child, then a closer look may be needed.

RELATED ELEMENTS

Juvenile delinquency is associated with adult

unemployment, alcoholism, and involvement in welfare.

Minorities and disadvantaged youth are more likely to

be arrested, but when self-report methods are used,

race and class differences disappear.

Males are more likely to be delinquent than females;

delinquent behavior increases with age.

CAUSES: TRAUMA

Intense fear caused by emotional and/or physical events within

one’s life (Medicinenet.com).

Examples of trauma:

Accidents

Kidnapping, Rape, Robbery, Assault

War

Natural disasters

Any type of inflicted and endured abuse

EFFECTS OF PERSONAL TRAUMA

Long-term or short-term problems

Mental and Emotional distress

Increase use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and

other types of substance abuse

How long will one suffer depends on the individual

as well as the support one has.

F R I E N D S H I P A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y: S E L E C T I O N A N D I N F L U E N C E P R O C E S S E S I N E A R LY

A D O L E S C E N C E

•A positive association maybe caused by the selection of

similar others as friends, but also by influence processes

where friends adjust their behavior to each other.

•Social control theory argues that adolescents select each

other as friends based on delinquency

•Differential association theory on the other hand argues

that friends influence each other’s delinquency levels

•When analyzed 544 students in secondary schools, results

indicate that adolescents select others as friends who have a

similar level of delinquency compared with their own level

THE IMPACT OF FAMILY V IOLENCE ON SHAPING DEL INQUENT BEHAVIOR

•Many professionals agree that family violence can have lasting

effects on an individual, ranging from general insecurity to severe

criminal disorders

•Family violence comes in many forms of violence between adults in

the household, adults’ physical or sexual abuse toward children

and even children’s abuse of adults.

•Causal relationship between adult to child violence later cause

juvenile delinquency

•Cycles of family violence to juvenile delinquency has been the

subject of much empirical research especially over the last decade

SUPPORT VS NO SUPPORT

Support gives individual a system of emotional and mental

support

Ex of support:

Family , Friends, Support Groups, Churches

No support system isolates the individual and leaves him/her with

a sense of hopelessness, guilt, mental and emotional instability

Specifically in children and teens, untreated trauma will have

negative effects on the social, emotional, and cognitive (hinder the

ability to learn) development on the child’s well-being.

SAMSam was 21yo male. He was brutally raped at age 5.

Surgery to repair damage

Fear accompanied with no help or support from family

Abandoned by father, mother developed paranoid schizophrenia

Violent Outbursts, Fights, Drug Use and Overdose, Multiple Arrests

Drugs are an escape from his own personal storm

Domestic violence gives Sam an inner persona of a “manly masculinity.”

Dates multiple women and known as “MackDaddy”

After overdose, rehab was next, but it and many others visited never addressed the root cause of his

problem-the rape.

Sam told 1 person, a girlfriend-he threatened her life.

One fight ended w/1death, 1 near death, and 2 critical

Arrested for capital murder-committed suicide

(Craig and Ouida Forsyth. Criminal Justice and Behavior: Journal of Offender Rehabilitation:2007.)

JUVENILE CRIME

Each year The Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention(OJJDP) complies a series of

statistical information, along with teen arrest, to

provide information on the juvenile delinquency

across the nation. The OJJDP uses this information to

create reports and compare trends from the past to

see how effective our efforts are currently.

JUVENILE VS. ADULT

Status offenses- running away, drinking, sexual

acts. Etc.

Index acts- robbery, rape, aggravated assault or

homicide.

Approx. ¾ of these states use 18 as a maximum as

defining a person as a juvenile.

JUVENILE CRIME

Unlike adult crime, juvenile crime is focused on

rehabilitation not punishment.

The teens are sent to receive treatment and are

integrated back into the community.

Limitations are placed on the juveniles record in

order to avoid stigmatization.

TEEN GANGS

There is an estimated 750,000 gang members

The average age for a gang is 17 and the starting

age is 12

The gangs target low income adolescents, offering

loyalty and identity

They are used to commit most severe crimes, since

their punishments are lower.

FISCAL YEAR(FY 2011) AWARDS

In FY 2011, OJJDP awarded over 393 million

dollars to prevent and respond to juvenile

delinquency. This includes more than 287 million in

discretionary alone.

IS IT PREVENTABLE?

Parental discipline is a key factor, which overrides the effect of family

structure, or SES. Clear, consistent discipline, and knowing where your

children are and who they are with are major deterrents against

delinquent behavior.

Strong, supportive relationships with parents are also associated with

lower levels of delinquent behavior.

Strong punitive methods of discipline are associated with higher levels of

delinquent behavior.

Adolescents who spend more time away from home are more likely to

commit delinquent acts.

A R E W E T A K I N G P R O P E R S T E P S T O W A R D S P R E V E N T I O N ?

We are taking some steps towards prevention with the generous

grants that were awarded this past Fiscal Year. That money alone

gives us the opportunity to open many centers, such as after

school programs, that can facilitate in preventing juvenile

delinquency. Another easy prevention strategy is to merely know

and recognize the risk factors for these youths. Parent should pay

attention to who their children are hanging out with, what they

are doing, and pay close attention to school work or related

activities.