Juvenile Delinquency in the States Essays - 1781 Words

Juvenile Delinquency in the States Presently, juvenile justice is widely acknowledged as being in a state of flux in the United States. The early 1990s saw the most substantial rise in violent crime committed by juveniles ever experienced in this country. On the heels of decades of skepticism about the effectiveness of parens patriae (the state as parent), this rise was the proof for many experts who believe that the juvenile justice system should be abolished. These skeptics reason that one criminal court could still have some latitude when sentencing younger offenders, but that kids are now committing adult crimes, so it is time to treat them as adults. Fortunately, this is not the prevailing view. While it is a force in the†¦show more content†¦What I did not anticipate, and in hindsight, I believe I could not have anticipated, was the difficulty I encountered in obtaining juvenile justice statistics on the state level. My first juvenile justice paper was a descriptive one; that was, it was subjective and opinionated. Political Science 402 required a more objective approach backed by empirical data. Researching juvenile justice is difficult for a number of reasons. First and foremost, juvenile court records are sealed. While this did not present a direct imposition on my research, agencies that compile juvenile justice statistics have a difficult task in obtaining data comparable to that which is available on adult criminal justice. Juveniles only become truly media-accessible when they are transferred to adult criminal court, which may be why we hear so much about the rise in violent juvenile crime today. Generally speaking, the American public does not take an interest in crime until it becomes a viable threat. Murderers, particularly young ones who are stereotyped as naive and innocent, are often newsworthy because they feed the paranoia which prevails in our society. For these reasons, I wanted to see if juvenile crime truly is as prevalent and heinous as it is generally portrayed by the media. Crime statistics are divided into many different categories, whichShow MoreRelatedJuvenile Delinquency in the United States1585 Words   |  6 PagesJuvenile Crime Statistics Wendy R Swartz Keiser University Abstract: In this document, the topic of juvenile delinquency in the United States is thoroughly examined. Approximately 1.5 million minors (those are citizens who are under the age of 18) are arrested for criminal activity each year in the US. These juveniles are arrested for a variety of crimes; everything from petty vandalism and loitering to prostitution, drug dealing, and even murder. Of these, 70% of offenders will be tried andRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency : The United States1458 Words   |  6 Pages Juvenile Delinquency in the United States We live in a world where there is a great deal of investment allotted to our children and our culture tend to be overprotective of our youth. Rightfully so, our younger citizens are considered the building blocks of our nation and the carriers of our legacy in the future. But in spite of stringent laws that seem to protect our youth, other factors such as race, poverty, and environment are catalysts for delinquent youth behavior. Juvenile crime isRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency And The Law Of The United States Essay976 Words   |  4 PagesDefinitions of juvenile delinquency vary everywhere you go in the world. The laws change from country to country and even from state to state. The United States Justice Department defines a juvenile as â€Å"a person who has not attained his eighteenth birthday†, and juvenile delinquency â€Å"as the violation of a law of the United States committed by a person prior to his eighteenth birthday, which would have been a crime if committed by an adult† (Office). The Justice Department also says, â€Å"A personRead MoreUnderstanding Juvenile Delinquency in the United States2225 Words   |  9 Pagesin the United States, there were more than 4,000 arrests â€Å"for every 100,000 youths† between the ages of 10 and 17 in 2011 (USDOJJDP, 2011a). Juvenile delinquency is defined by Webster’s dictionary as â€Å"conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial behavior that is beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal action† (â€Å"Juvenile delinquency,† n.d.). A number of jurisdictions have been exerting effort to prevent minor offenders from involvement in the juvenile delinquency system (USDOJJDPRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency Is An Increasing Problem Within The United States995 Words   |  4 Pages Juvenile delinquency has become an increasing problem within the United States. According to Siegel and Welsh (2012), more than 1.1 million youth are being arrested each year fo r various crimes ranging from loitering to murder. There are numerous reasons why there should be programs to help deter delinquency. One of which, Greenwood (2008), states that juvenile delinquency has started to take it’s toll on tax payers. The cost of arresting, incarcerating, prosecuting, and treating offenders has beganRead MoreThe Impact of Gender and Family on Juvenile Delinquency in the United States888 Words   |  4 PagesJuvenile delinquency is of great concern in the United States. In 2007 over 2 million arrests were juveniles. There are two types of juvenile delinquency. The first type of offense is a behavior that would be a criminal violation for an adult. The other offense is called a â€Å"status† offense. Status offenses are delinquent actions that do not apply to adults, like running away and truancy. This paper will discuss the impact of gender and family on delinquency and the treatment by gender in the juvenileRead MoreJuvenile Delinquency Is An Integral Part Of Criminology1559 Words   |  7 Pagescurb delinquency in juveniles. Children are expected to be obedient, respectful and imbibe virtues and good quality in them. Due to various reasons children do not follow settled social and legal dictum. Juvenile delinquency, as a legal concept is of recent origin. Juvenile delinquency is an integral part of criminology. The two cannot be separated since one of the reasons for crime and its continuance into adult life is the ineffective control and treatment of juveniles. Juvenile delinquency is aRead More Preventing Juvenile Delinquency Essay1386 Words   |  6 PagesPreventing Juvenile Delinquency The saying is that history often repeats itself. If this is true then society will have to deal with the complex burden of juvenile who eventually become adult criminals. However, if this saying is not true then the community in which juvenile delinquency exist must have the tool necessary to divert the youth in the community. If one is to change delinquent youth’s behavior, they need to variegate the justice system in order to prevent juvenile delinquent recidivismsRead MoreJuvenile Crime Paper1080 Words   |  5 PagesJuvenile Crime Paper Malina Wiese CJS/200 December 9,2012 Juvenile Crime Paper Juvenile Court is a tribunal having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of maturity, generally defined as persons under the age of 18 and above the age of 10. Adult Court is a court of law where adults can be tried, and if convicted, face adult punishment such as probation, adult prison, or even the death penalty. Juvenile casesRead MoreJuvenile Justice And Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act1577 Words   |  7 Pagespaper is to research the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act. The paper will focus on the purpose of this legislation, as well as the values that are expressed by this policy. This paper will not only address why this piece of legislation is important it will discuss the effects this act has had on the communities as well as the youths themselves. This paper, will also address the potential for change about the public attitudes towards the juvenile justice system and the