Difference between revisions of "Juvenile delinquency" - New World Encyclopedia

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*Overrepresentation of minority youths: States must systematically try to reduce confinement of minority youths to the proportion of those groups in the population. This policy rests on the belief that justice can be dispensed by racial category or "quota." Affirmative action for young criminals makes even less sense than race-conscious remedies for other social ills.
 
*Overrepresentation of minority youths: States must systematically try to reduce confinement of minority youths to the proportion of those groups in the population. This policy rests on the belief that justice can be dispensed by racial category or "quota." Affirmative action for young criminals makes even less sense than race-conscious remedies for other social ills.
  
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== Nature and causes ==
+
==Theoretical Perspectives==
 
Juvenile delinquency may refer to either violent or non-violent crime committed by persons who are (usually) under the age of eighteen. There is much debate about whether or not such a child should be held criminally responsible for his or her actions. There are many different inside influences that are believed to affect the way a child acts both negatively and positively, some of which include abandonment, social institutions, and peer pressure. Children abandoned by one or both parents often have no positive role models and lack the emotional and financial support necessary to succeed in society, making them lash out at their surroundings. Some are raised in dangerous or inappropriate social institutions such as failing schools or are encouraged by membership in [[gang]]s. Related, but often separate from gangs, is the issue of peer pressue. The awkward stage of adolescence often sees children perform actions in an attempt to fit in with their peer group. These actions are often illegal and ill-judged.
 
Juvenile delinquency may refer to either violent or non-violent crime committed by persons who are (usually) under the age of eighteen. There is much debate about whether or not such a child should be held criminally responsible for his or her actions. There are many different inside influences that are believed to affect the way a child acts both negatively and positively, some of which include abandonment, social institutions, and peer pressure. Children abandoned by one or both parents often have no positive role models and lack the emotional and financial support necessary to succeed in society, making them lash out at their surroundings. Some are raised in dangerous or inappropriate social institutions such as failing schools or are encouraged by membership in [[gang]]s. Related, but often separate from gangs, is the issue of peer pressue. The awkward stage of adolescence often sees children perform actions in an attempt to fit in with their peer group. These actions are often illegal and ill-judged.
  
−
==Theoretical Perspectives==
+
One of the most notable causes of juvenile delinquency is [[Fiat (policy debate)|fiat]], i.e. the declaration that a juvenile is delinquent by the [[Juvenile court|juvenile court]] system without any trial, and upon finding only [[probable cause]]. Many states have laws that presuppose the less harsh treatment of juvenile delinquents than adult counterparts’ treatment. In return, the juvenile surrenders certain [[constitutional rights]], such as a right to trial by jury, the right to cross-examine, and even the right to a speedy trial. Notable writings by reformers such as Jerome G. Miller<ref name="LastOneOverTheWall">{{cite book|title=''Last One Over the Wall''|first=Jerome G.|last=Miller|id=ISBN 0-8142-0758-8|date=1991|publisher=Ohio State University Press}}</ref> show that very few juvenile delinquents actually broke any law. Most were simply rounded up by the police after some event that possibly involved criminal action. They were brought before juvenile court judges who made findings of delinquency, simply because the police action established probable cause.
 +
 
 +
Many argue that juveniles should be treated differently than adults because they are often not in control of their environmeny. They have no control over the families into which they were born, the neighborhoods into which they were thrust, the schools they attended, the persons they meet and associated with in the schools and community, nor the things that they learned<ref name="Johnson">{{cite web|url=http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/Reform.html|title=Reform Schools|accessdate=2006-12-12}}</ref>. However, many states continue to consider juveniles second-class citizens even though conditions have improved to where juveniles are no longer considered simply property to be disposed of at will.
 +
 
 
===Travis Hirschi===
 
===Travis Hirschi===
 
Hirschi developed [[social control theory]], which states that illegal [[behavior]] occurs spontaneously as a result of social interaction. In addition, self control theory, which states that any fraudulent or violent behavior is in pursuit of self-interest. Both are similar theories that can help explain juvenile delinquency. They also make a commentary on Hirschi's pessimistic views of humanity. Hirschi believes that youth in particular who use drugs and commit crime do it because they lack self-control. Hirschi believes that poor [[parenting]] and [[families]] that are unable or unwilling to monitor their child's behaviors lack self control. For these theories to play out in an effective manner, self-control would need to work before social control can work. Hirschi believes that whoever is the most conformist in society, not necessarily the smartest, will have the most self-control. Travis Hirschi is saying that too much autonomy is undesirable when dealing with [[interpersonal relationship]]s among children.
 
Hirschi developed [[social control theory]], which states that illegal [[behavior]] occurs spontaneously as a result of social interaction. In addition, self control theory, which states that any fraudulent or violent behavior is in pursuit of self-interest. Both are similar theories that can help explain juvenile delinquency. They also make a commentary on Hirschi's pessimistic views of humanity. Hirschi believes that youth in particular who use drugs and commit crime do it because they lack self-control. Hirschi believes that poor [[parenting]] and [[families]] that are unable or unwilling to monitor their child's behaviors lack self control. For these theories to play out in an effective manner, self-control would need to work before social control can work. Hirschi believes that whoever is the most conformist in society, not necessarily the smartest, will have the most self-control. Travis Hirschi is saying that too much autonomy is undesirable when dealing with [[interpersonal relationship]]s among children.
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Because the development of delinquent behavior in youth is influenced by numerous factors, so should prevention efforts be comprehensive in scope.  Prevention services include activities such as substance abuse education and treatment; family counseling; youth mentoring; parenting education; educational support; and youth sheltering.  Although those who provide prevention services are often well educated, well trained, and dedicated, they are frequently underpaid, and under recognized for their work.
 
Because the development of delinquent behavior in youth is influenced by numerous factors, so should prevention efforts be comprehensive in scope.  Prevention services include activities such as substance abuse education and treatment; family counseling; youth mentoring; parenting education; educational support; and youth sheltering.  Although those who provide prevention services are often well educated, well trained, and dedicated, they are frequently underpaid, and under recognized for their work.
  
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==Ongoing debate==
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==Delinquency Treatment==
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One of the most notable causes of juvenile delinquency is [[Fiat (policy debate)|fiat]], i.e. the declaration that a juvenile is delinquent by the [[Juvenile court|juvenile court]] system without any trial, and upon finding only [[probable cause]]. Many states have laws that presuppose the less harsh treatment of juvenile delinquents than adult counterparts’ treatment. In return, the juvenile surrenders certain [[constitutional rights]], such as a right to trial by jury, the right to cross-examine, and even the right to a speedy trial. Notable writings by reformers such as Jerome G. Miller<ref name="LastOneOverTheWall">{{cite book|title=''Last One Over the Wall''|first=Jerome G.|last=Miller|id=ISBN 0-8142-0758-8|date=1991|publisher=Ohio State University Press}}</ref> show that very few juvenile delinquents actually broke any law. Most were simply rounded up by the police after some event that possibly involved criminal action. They were brought before juvenile court judges who made findings of delinquency, simply because the police action established probable cause.
+
State and communal efforts to prevent delinquency are not always successful, creating the need for treatment programs. These take the form of juvenile detention centers, reform schools, and other methods also used for adults such as probation and therapy.
−
 
 
−
Many argue that juveniles should be treated differently than adults because they are often not in control of their environmeny. They have no control over the families into which they were born, the neighborhoods into which they were thrust, the schools they attended, the persons they meet and associated with in the schools and community, nor the things that they learned<ref name="Johnson">{{cite web|url=http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/Reform.html|title=Reform Schools|accessdate=2006-12-12}}</ref>. However, many states continue to consider juveniles second-class citizens even though conditions have improved to where juveniles are no longer considered simply property to be disposed of at will.
 
−
 
 
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==Youth detention centers==
 
  
 +
===Youth detention centers===
 
A '''youth detention center''', also known as '''juvenile hall''', is a [[prison]] for people from the [[Defense of infancy|age of responsibility]], which varies by jurisdiction, to the [[age of majority]], which also varies by jurisdiction. An offender residing in a center is [[colloquially]] referred to as a '''juvie''', and the center is often referred to colloquially by the same name by the general public.
 
A '''youth detention center''', also known as '''juvenile hall''', is a [[prison]] for people from the [[Defense of infancy|age of responsibility]], which varies by jurisdiction, to the [[age of majority]], which also varies by jurisdiction. An offender residing in a center is [[colloquially]] referred to as a '''juvie''', and the center is often referred to colloquially by the same name by the general public.
  
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A '''reform school''' in the [[United States]] was a term used to define, often somewhat [[euphemism|euphemistically]], what was often essentially a [[Prison|penal institution]] for [[boy]]s, generally [[teenager]]s.
 
A '''reform school''' in the [[United States]] was a term used to define, often somewhat [[euphemism|euphemistically]], what was often essentially a [[Prison|penal institution]] for [[boy]]s, generally [[teenager]]s.
  
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===History===
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===Therapy===
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[[Therapy]] for juvenile delinquents is a key part of reintegration to society following delinquent actions. Therapists can often discover the reasons juveniles have for acting out such as [[child abuse|abuse]] at home. Following these discoveries, the delinquent can either be removed from a harmful home life permanently or can be helped to cope with past abuse. Therapy can also teach the delinquents the moral lessons they often lack at home due to a poor upbringing. Participation in this therapy hopefully leads to better adjusted people able to go back to school or assume employment.
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Social reformers in America in the late [[19th century|19th]] and early [[20th century|20th centuries]] almost invariably found fault with the then-usual practice of treating [[juvenile delinquency|juvenile]] offenders essentially the same as [[adult]] [[criminal]]s. It was recognized that the juveniles were often [[sex]]ually and otherwise exploited by the older inmates and that they were often receiving instruction in more advanced and hardened ways of crime by hardened criminals with little regard for [[law]], [[society]]'s mores, or even [[human]] [[life]].  As a result, rather than their sentences serving as a deterrent to future crimes, many juvenile offenders emerged from incarceration far worse than when they were first sentenced.
 
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The reforms, which were adopted far more readily in some states than others, consisted of a two-pronged approach: a separate [[Minor (law)|juvenile code]] and [[juvenile court]]s for offenders who had not reached the [[age of majority]], and the building of separate institutions for juvenile "delinquents" (the [[social stigma|stigmatizing]] term "criminal" not being used). Because the primary purpose of these institutions was to be [[Rehabilitation (penology)|rehabilitative]] rather than [[punitive]], they were styled "reform schools."  For the most part, these institutions were custodial.
 
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In the 1950s and 1960s, many of the same problems that had occurred with the former system of incarcerating juveniles along with adults began to be noticed in reform school—older juveniles exploiting the younger ones, sexually and otherwise, and the younger ones taking the more hardened, usually older offenders as role models and mentors.  Also, the term "reform school" itself, originally intended as destigmatizing, had developed its own stigma, much as the way "welfare payments" were intended to be the destigmatizing corrective term for "relief" or "the dole," but developed a stigma of its own.
 
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===Modern view===
 
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Today, no state openly or officially refers to its [[Youth detention center|juvenile correctional institutions]] as "reform schools," although such institutions still exist. The attempt has also been made to reduce the population of such institutions to the maximum extent possible, and to leave all but the most incorrigible youths in a home setting. Also, in an attempt to make the situation more socially normal, and in response to the rising number of young female offenders, many such institutions have been made coeducational.
 
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The current approach involves minimizing the use of custodial institutions and the maximization of the use of less-restrictive settings which allow the youths to remain in their own homes, usually while attending during the daytime an institution called an [[alternative school]] or something similar, which is usually a more-structured version of a [[public school]].  There may be court-monitored [[probation]] or other restrictions, such as a strict [[curfew]] applied to the clientele of the "Department of Youth Services" or whatever the state terms it, than for other youths the same age.
 
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In the [[United States]], the most well-known facilities meeting the general criteria for being colloquially labelled "reform schools" include the Lincoln Hills School near [[Merrill, Wisconsin]] (mentioned in episodes of the once-popular [[TV]] series ''[[Picket Fences]]'') and the [[Preston School of Industry]] in [[Ione, California]]. The first reform school in the United states was the [[Lyman School for Boys]] in [[Westborough, Massachusetts]]. It opened in 1846.
 
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===Probation===
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Youths who have committed crimes are often released on [[probation]] for a number of reasons. Detention in a youth center is not seen as an optimal option for everyone who commits delinquent acts as detention centers can have corrupting influences on those imprisoned there. Also, parental care is often seen as a bulwark against future crimes. As a result, juvenile offenders can be released on probation under the supervision of their parents or other caregivers. Juvenile probation carries the same caveats as probation for adults in that offenders sentenced to probation will immediately be sent to prison should they commit another offense.
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==

Revision as of 01:22, 17 October 2007


Juvenile delinquency refers to criminal acts performed by juveniles. It is an important social issue because juveniles are capable of committing serious crimes, but most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles.

Definition and specifications

In the United States, a juvenile delinquent is a person who has not yet reached the age of majority, and whose behavior has been labeled delinquent by a court. The specific requirements vary from state to state. In the United States, the federal government enacted legislation to unify the handling of juvenile deliquents, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act of 1974[1].

The act created the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Justice Department to administer grants for juvenile crime-combatting programs (currently about $100 million a year), gather national statistics on juvenile crime, fund research on youth crime and administer four anticonfinement mandates regarding juvenile custody. Specifically, the act orders:

  • Deinstitutionalization: Youths charged with "status" offenses that would not be crimes if committed by adults, such as truancy, running away and being caught with alcohol or tobacco, must be "deinstitutionalized," which in this case really means that, with certain exceptions (e.g., minor in possession of a handgun), status offenders may not be detained by police or confined. Alleged problems with this mandate are that it overrides state and local law, limits the discretion of law enforcement officers and prevents the authorities' ability to reunify an offender with his family.
  • Segregation: Arrested youths must be strictly segregated from adults in custody. Under this "out of sight and sound" mandate, juveniles cannot be served food by anyone who serves jailed adults nor can a juvenile walk down a corridor past a room where an adult is being interrogated. This requirement forces local authorities to either free juveniles or maintain expensive duplicate facilities and personnel. Small cities, towns and rural areas are especially hard hit, drastically raising those taxpayers' criminal justice costs.
  • Jail and Lockup Removal: As a general rule, youths subject to the original jurisdiction of juvenile courts cannot be held in jails and lockups in which adults may be detained. The act provides for a six-hour exception for identification, processing, interrogation and transfer to juvenile facilities, court or detention pending release to parents. The act also provides an exception of 24 hours for rural areas only.
  • Overrepresentation of minority youths: States must systematically try to reduce confinement of minority youths to the proportion of those groups in the population. This policy rests on the belief that justice can be dispensed by racial category or "quota." Affirmative action for young criminals makes even less sense than race-conscious remedies for other social ills.

Theoretical Perspectives

Juvenile delinquency may refer to either violent or non-violent crime committed by persons who are (usually) under the age of eighteen. There is much debate about whether or not such a child should be held criminally responsible for his or her actions. There are many different inside influences that are believed to affect the way a child acts both negatively and positively, some of which include abandonment, social institutions, and peer pressure. Children abandoned by one or both parents often have no positive role models and lack the emotional and financial support necessary to succeed in society, making them lash out at their surroundings. Some are raised in dangerous or inappropriate social institutions such as failing schools or are encouraged by membership in gangs. Related, but often separate from gangs, is the issue of peer pressue. The awkward stage of adolescence often sees children perform actions in an attempt to fit in with their peer group. These actions are often illegal and ill-judged.

One of the most notable causes of juvenile delinquency is fiat, i.e. the declaration that a juvenile is delinquent by the juvenile court system without any trial, and upon finding only probable cause. Many states have laws that presuppose the less harsh treatment of juvenile delinquents than adult counterparts’ treatment. In return, the juvenile surrenders certain constitutional rights, such as a right to trial by jury, the right to cross-examine, and even the right to a speedy trial. Notable writings by reformers such as Jerome G. Miller[2] show that very few juvenile delinquents actually broke any law. Most were simply rounded up by the police after some event that possibly involved criminal action. They were brought before juvenile court judges who made findings of delinquency, simply because the police action established probable cause.

Many argue that juveniles should be treated differently than adults because they are often not in control of their environmeny. They have no control over the families into which they were born, the neighborhoods into which they were thrust, the schools they attended, the persons they meet and associated with in the schools and community, nor the things that they learned[3]. However, many states continue to consider juveniles second-class citizens even though conditions have improved to where juveniles are no longer considered simply property to be disposed of at will.

Travis Hirschi

Hirschi developed social control theory, which states that illegal behavior occurs spontaneously as a result of social interaction. In addition, self control theory, which states that any fraudulent or violent behavior is in pursuit of self-interest. Both are similar theories that can help explain juvenile delinquency. They also make a commentary on Hirschi's pessimistic views of humanity. Hirschi believes that youth in particular who use drugs and commit crime do it because they lack self-control. Hirschi believes that poor parenting and families that are unable or unwilling to monitor their child's behaviors lack self control. For these theories to play out in an effective manner, self-control would need to work before social control can work. Hirschi believes that whoever is the most conformist in society, not necessarily the smartest, will have the most self-control. Travis Hirschi is saying that too much autonomy is undesirable when dealing with interpersonal relationships among children.

Robert K. Merton

Merton believes that there is a serious relationship between poverty and crime. He feels that there are institutionalized paths to happiness in our society. He believes in a society of equilibrium where goals = means. A society of disequilibrium would be adaptation. Merton's Strain Theory suggests five attributes.

  1. Innovation: individuals who accept socially approved goals, but not necessarily the socially approved means.
  2. Retreatism: those who reject socially approved goals and the means for acquiring them.
  3. Ritualism: those who buy into a system of socially approved means, but lose sight of the goals. Merton believed that drug users are in this category.
  4. Conformity: those who conform to the system's means and goals.
  5. Rebellion: people who negate socially approved goals and means by creating a new system of acceptable goals and means.

Delinquency Prevention

Delinquency Prevention is the broad term for all efforts aimed at preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal, or other antisocial, activity. Increasingly, local, state, and federal governments are recognizing the importance of allocating resources for the prevention of delinquency. Organizations such as the Center for Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development[4] are working toward unifying delinquency prevention efforts. Because it is often difficult for states to provide the fiscal resources necessary for good prevention, organizations, communities, and governments are working more in collaboration with each other to prevent juvenile delinquency.

Because the development of delinquent behavior in youth is influenced by numerous factors, so should prevention efforts be comprehensive in scope. Prevention services include activities such as substance abuse education and treatment; family counseling; youth mentoring; parenting education; educational support; and youth sheltering. Although those who provide prevention services are often well educated, well trained, and dedicated, they are frequently underpaid, and under recognized for their work.

Delinquency Treatment

State and communal efforts to prevent delinquency are not always successful, creating the need for treatment programs. These take the form of juvenile detention centers, reform schools, and other methods also used for adults such as probation and therapy.

Youth detention centers

A youth detention center, also known as juvenile hall, is a prison for people from the age of responsibility, which varies by jurisdiction, to the age of majority, which also varies by jurisdiction. An offender residing in a center is colloquially referred to as a juvie, and the center is often referred to colloquially by the same name by the general public.

Its intended purpose is to protect the public from the delinquent acts of minors by granting those minors secure detention and temporary care with intent, in most cases, to make those who serve time functioning adults in society.

While juvenile hall is technically a prison, it differs from a penal institution because education is usually provided to compensate for the offender's removal from a public school, and the center is designed to be like an offender's home as much as possible.

Additionally, not all of the residents are necessarily juvenile delinquents. Some children or incompetents may be held in juvenile halls temporarily upon the deaths of their parents or guardians, upon the discovery of criminal neglect or abuse by their parents or guardians. This is not as a method of punishment for the child or ward, but rather a method of care because the juvenile hall contains the superior facilities for their needs where no alternative exists. Such children and wards are usually separated from juvenile delinquents and found more permanent care as soon as possible.

A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.

Therapy

Therapy for juvenile delinquents is a key part of reintegration to society following delinquent actions. Therapists can often discover the reasons juveniles have for acting out such as abuse at home. Following these discoveries, the delinquent can either be removed from a harmful home life permanently or can be helped to cope with past abuse. Therapy can also teach the delinquents the moral lessons they often lack at home due to a poor upbringing. Participation in this therapy hopefully leads to better adjusted people able to go back to school or assume employment.

Probation

Youths who have committed crimes are often released on probation for a number of reasons. Detention in a youth center is not seen as an optimal option for everyone who commits delinquent acts as detention centers can have corrupting influences on those imprisoned there. Also, parental care is often seen as a bulwark against future crimes. As a result, juvenile offenders can be released on probation under the supervision of their parents or other caregivers. Juvenile probation carries the same caveats as probation for adults in that offenders sentenced to probation will immediately be sent to prison should they commit another offense.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Long Arm of Federal Juvenile Crime Law Shortened. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  2. ↑ Miller, Jerome G. (1991). Last One Over the Wall. Ohio State University Press. ISBN 0-8142-0758-8. 
  3. ↑ Reform Schools. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  4. ↑ Center for Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development. Retrieved 2006-12-12.

Bibliography

External links

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