The main three I will focus on are family functioning, economic status and a two-parent versus a single-parent household. All of these factors hold a key role in the juveniles’ upbringing and the role they play in society as well. These factors also lead to delinquency if the family is not a properly functioning family. A theoretical view of social disorganization will explain why and how family structure impacts juvenile delinquency. This paper will also look at possible racial, gender, and other variations in the family structure-delinquency relationship.
Juvenile Crime Statistics Paper Joseph Merritt CJA/374 October 3,2011 Tim Tyler Juvenile Crime Statistics Paper This paper will focus on juvenile crimes and juvenile statistics which will show us that our children are continuing to commit crimes at an alarming rate. Although these statistics are rather old, as we review them they will show that juvenile crime will continue to climb. Juvenile crime, is different crimes committed by children that are considered by law to be minors and are not of the legal age of 18 to be tried as an adult. Their offenses include misdemeanor style acts that is considered crimes if an adult were to commit them. Some of our juveniles today are very misguided and are often following the wrong crowd.
The risk factors that may cause a child’s behavior to deter are “family functioning, peer behavior, school performance, and neighborhood characteristics that precede and potentially lead to delinquency” (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2004). Researchers’ studies have also noticed that child maltreatment such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, or even neglect is a risk factor of delinquency in juveniles. “While prior studies have made important contributions to the literature, they do not explicitly take adolescent maltreatment into account” (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2004).
The purpose of the classification matrix is to suggest the presumptive sanction(s) for youth entering the juvenile justice system based on the seriousness of the present offense and the risk of continued delinquent behavior. Furthermore because of incomplete information in criminal history, social behavior, attitude behavior indicators, incomplete school data, medical history, and families background along with criminal history, this is assessment cannot properly assess these two juveniles. Additionally, the assessment cannot match the sanction with the level of control necessary to manage the risk, and offer the advantages of the matrix approach for a more accurate measure of recidivism than the use of a risk assessment only (Missouri Juvenile Offender Risk Assessment, 2003). In assessing the current information with an understanding the risk assessment is incomplete and pending further investigations the correctional strategy are assessed
The fact that some crimes are committed by individuals who are not yet mature enough to vote, drive, or even drink should not be ignored. Punishment for an adult can be unfair when applied to a child in some cases, especially when they don’t understand the consequences of their actions. When it comes to judgment of these crimes it should vary on a case to case basis. It should be taken into account whether the defendant’s crime was malicious, accidental or they could not understand the magnitude of their actions. Juvenile offenders should be tried and punished as adults do to the nature of the crime.
Liberty University Psych 210 Case Study : What is the Age of Accountability? Tracey M. Harrell Liberty University Online Liberty University Psych 210 Case Study: What is the Age of Accountability? When a young child commits a crime, especially a violent crime, against another person, The tragedy is twofold. The devastation of the crime committed is only superseded by the incomprehensible truth that the crime has been committed by a child, 7 years old or under. Typically, there is a search for the answers to “why” when crime of any nature has been committed, but when the perpetrator is a young child; the world is drawn to, another, most disturbing, question.
From the Cradle to the Courthouse In “Should Juvenile Offenders be tried as Adults,” Laurence Steinberg argues that juveniles think, act, and comprehend mentally on different level than adults. In “Adult Crime, Adult Time,” Linda Collier argues that juveniles are treated well by the American judicial system despite the very violent crimes that some of them commit. Some states believe that criminal acts committed by society’s youth should not be the only factor considered when deciding the punishment for the crime. Recent policy changes have shifted the view of many people. The changes in policies are the laws that govern the treatment of juveniles.
Family Dynamics of Delinquency Angela James-Flemister Liberty University Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Method 4 Results 4 Discussion 4 References 5 Abstract The Juvenile Justice System in the United States is based on the philosophy that the special status of children requires that they be protected and corrected, not necessarily punished. (Inciardi, Criminal Justice, pg 554). Given this special status, juveniles come to the courts as juvenile delinquents who have in some way violated the laws and/or acted out in such a way that is behaviorally unacceptable as a child. The juveniles are introduced to the system by way of parens patriae, parental neglect, abuse and abandonment will be the
Evaluate upbringing as an explanation of criminal behaviour. Upbringing can be defined as the background to an individual’s life where a study by Farrington can explain criminality where he focuses on youth’s backgrounds because we need to look into someone’s past experience whether offender/non-offender which might influence his/hers behaviour later on in life. Theories that use upbringing suggests that what happens during early childhood experiences which can greatly impact on a person’s susceptibility to turn to crime in the future. Farrington had come up with some other predicting factors of crime which include parental divorce and lack of supervision from parents. The study by Farrington et al.
A Problem With The Court System: Should We Lower The Age Of Conviction For Minors? Jessie L. Blair Flagler College SOC 260 R. Parker Abstract: The Juvenile Justice System is a specific branch of the court system that deals with the prosecution and imprisonment of minors, or people below the legal age of eighteen who have committed crimes. These individuals are dealt with by the juvenile courts, their sentence is determined by them, and they are dealt with entirely by the juvenile facilities. However, some believe that the age in which children are finally considered “adults” is not accurate and that the Juvenile court system is too lenient when it comes to “children” committing serious crimes. This paper will address the idea of lowering the legal age, so that those individuals in the proper age range who commit certain serious crimes will be tried as adults, thus receiving the proper