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Study of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency refers to criminal acts committed by minors. It is a complex social issue with many potential causes, such as family disruption, lack of parental supervision, poverty, substance abuse, and school failure. Researchers study juvenile delinquency to better understand its causes and develop effective prevention and rehabilitation strategies. The rise of industrialization, urbanization, and income inequality may indirectly contribute to higher juvenile crime rates in modern times.

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Jeffrey Arrocena
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91 views

Study of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency refers to criminal acts committed by minors. It is a complex social issue with many potential causes, such as family disruption, lack of parental supervision, poverty, substance abuse, and school failure. Researchers study juvenile delinquency to better understand its causes and develop effective prevention and rehabilitation strategies. The rise of industrialization, urbanization, and income inequality may indirectly contribute to higher juvenile crime rates in modern times.

Uploaded by

Jeffrey Arrocena
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction

Juvenile crime denotes various offenses committed by children or youth. Such acts are
sometimes reffered to as juvenile delinquency. Children’s offenses typically include acts
considered crimes if committed by adults, and status offenses, which are less serious
misbehavior, such as truancy and paental disobedience. Both are within the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court and must be subjected to prison sentences.
Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as
juvenile detention centers. The specific requirements vary from country to country. A child or
adolescent who is capable being friendly, obedient, and caring—who would follow the rules
and act morally and ethically under normal circumstances—can be driven to juvenile
delinquency if neglected, abandoned, or abused.

Study of Juvenile Delinquency


The problems of yout in modern society are both a major national concern and an
important subject for academic study. One area of particular concern is juvenile delinquency or
criminal behavior committed by minors. The study of juvenile delinquency is important because
of the damage sufferred by the victims, and problems faced by the perptrators.
Given the diversity and gravity of the problem, there is an urgent need for strategies to
combat such a complex social phenomenon. But formulating effective strategies demands a
solid understanding of deliquency’s causes and prevention. Is deiquency a function of
psychological abnormality? Is it a collective reaction by youth against destructive social
conditions? Or is it the product of disturbed home life and disrupted socialization? Does serious
delinquent behavior occur only in large urban areas among lower class youth? Or is it spread
throughout the entire social structure? What impact do family life, substance abuse, school
experiences, and peer relations have on youth and their law-abiding behavior?
We know that most youthful law violators do not go on to become adult criminals. Yet
we do not know why some youth become chronic deliquents whose careers begin early and
persist into their adulthood. Why does the onset of delinquency begin early in some children?
Why does the severity of their offenses escalate?
What factors predict the persistence or continuation of delinqency and, conversely,
what are the factors associated with it’s desistance or termination? Unless the factors that
control the onset and termination of a delinquent career are studied in an orderly and scientific
manner, developing effective prevention and control efforts will be difficult.
The study of delinquency also involves analysis of law enforcement, prosecution, court,
correctional agencies, and the community as well. These are designed to treat youthful
offenders who fall into the arms of the law—known collectively as juvenile justice system. How
should police deal with minors who violate the law? What are the legal rights of children?
Should minors who commit murder receive the death penalty?
What kind of correctional programs are most effective with delinquent youth? How
useful are educational, community, counseling, and vocational development programs? Is it
true, as some critics claim, that most efforts to rehabilitate young offenders are doomed to
failure? Should we adopt a punishment or treatment orientation to combat juvenile
delinquency, or something in between?

Causes of Juvenile Delinquency


Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile crime focus either on the individual or
on society as the major contributing influence. Theories centering on the individual suggest that
children engage in criminal behavior because they were not sufficiently penalized for previous
delinquent acts or that they had learned criminal behavior through interaction with others.
A person who becomes socially alienated may be more inclined to commit a crminal act.
Theories focusing on the role of society in juvenile delinquency suggest that children commit
crimes in response to their failure to rise above their socioeconomic status, or as a repudiation
of middle-class values.
Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from disadvantaged
families, ignoring the fact that children from affluent homes also commit crimes. The latter may
commit crimes because of the lack of adequate parental control, delays in achieving adult
status, and hedonistic tendencies. All theories, however, are tentative and are subject to
criticism.
Changes in the social structure may indirectly affect juvenile crime rates. For example,
changes in the economy that lead to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising
unemployment in general make gainful employment increasingly difficult for young people to
obtain. The resulting discontent may in turn lead more youth into criminal behavior.
Families have also experienced changes within the last 25 years. More families consist of
one-parent households or two working parents; consequently, children are likely to have less
supervision at home than was common in the traditional family structure. This lack of parental
supervision is thought to be an influence on juvenile crime rates.
Other identifiable causes of delinquent acts include frustration or failure in school, the
increased availability of drugs and alcoho, and the growing incidence of child abuse and child
neglect. All these conditions tend to increase the probability of a child committing a criminal
act, although a direct causal relationship has not yet been established.

Juvenile Delinquency in Modern Times


Industrializaton has set into motion the processes conductive to modern juvenile
delinquency. The country has gone from agriculture to machine-based labor-intensive
production. Subsistence farming has quickly turned into profit-making. People displaced from
their farm work because of machinery have migrated to the city to find work. This has led to
urbanization, which in turn has caused the cities to burst at the seams.
There has been a huge increase in the amount of movable goods produced. These
movable goods are easy to steal. The stealing of these goods has made property crime rise
tremendously in the urban centers. The wealth of the upper-class has increaed, and stealing
from the members become a way of life.

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