The 2010 Census showed that over 74 million children (or one-fourth of the total population) reside in the United States—with almost one-fourth being children under the age of 12 and one-fourth being youth ages 12-17 (Federal Interagency on Child and Family Statistics, 2011). Many of the decisions a young person makes can affect the rest of his or her life—and juvenile crime is just one of the bad decisions a young person can make. This essay covers the issue of juvenile crime, social work’s involvement, and my reflections on this issue.
The Issue of Juvenile Crime
According to the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, in 2009 youth ages 12-17 committed more than 275,000 serious violent crimes (2011). Many factors are known to contribute to youth crime, including a lack of parental involvement their child’s life; maltreatment; failure to adhere to social norms; and untreated health/mental issues.
The old “Boys will be boys” adage by a parent is not an acceptable excuse for juvenile misbehavior (Segal, Gerdes, and Steiner, 2010). Youth need positive role models in their lives. If a young person’s parents are not positive role models, the child may turn to a life of crime.
Sometimes, however, maltreatment by a parent is a contributing factor to juvenile crime. Those suffering from maltreatment tend to internalize their feelings, causing them to exhibit symptoms of “anxiety, depression, or suicidal behavior” (Maschi, Morgen, Hatcher, Rosata, and Violette, 2009). Internalization of feelings can lead to the externalization of unacceptable behaviors. Maltreated youth can become aggressive and rebellious (Maschi, et al, 2009).
Untreated health or mental issues can also contribute to juveniles’ involvement in cri...
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Thus, the shifting perceptions of the justice system has transformed what it means to be a child and an adult due to their pervasive, and punitive approaches to crime and delinquency. Although adolescents today enjoy many new freedoms and greater time to experiment, those that don’t conform to “normative behaviors” and engage in socially constructed definitions of delinquency, often end up under the firm hands of the juvenile justice system. Despite the creation of this phase in an adolescent’s life, the injustices within the adult justice system have breached into the juvenile system, thus, blurring the lines of what it means to be an adolescent in modern times. Thereby, the adolescent stage is constantly being manipulated to conform and match the social construction of crime and delinquency, and the rise in the practice of trying juveniles as adults within the court system and mandating life sentences is evidence of this
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Recently, there has been a rise in criminal activity amongst the youth in Columbus Georgia. The percentage of juvenile criminals increased by almost 9.5% in the year 2012-2013(Chattahoochee Valley Struggles with Black on Black Crime). Many of the crimes committed involved adolescents as young as fifteen, and have become increasingly more violent. In 2012 a sixteen year old woman was shot and killed by her eighteen year old boyfriend, a few months later a nineteen year old boy was shot while walking to his home. (Chattahoochee Valley Struggles with Black on Black Crime). Due to the overwhelmin...
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As minors commit violent crimes without being held accountable, they can grow up to be real criminals and they can be very dangerous. Without a solid foundation of what is right and wrong, these minors will grow up believing that their actions are the norm. For this reason, minors need to be held accountable. They need to be taught that they cannot get away with their crimes. In 2007, courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1.7 million delinquency cases. Delinquency cases include vandalism, shoplifting, robbery, and murder. These are just some of the crimes minors can commit. This was up by forty-four percent from 1985. If a minor grows up believing that crime is acceptable, they will repeat the pattern. Without interrupting the pattern and making them accountable, these minors will always have a twisted sense of right and wrong. A sense of what is right and wrong is important and can be learned at any age. Minors learn very young, what...
Youths who have entered the justice system have often been diagnosed with mental disorders or diseases. “A majority of adolescents formally involved in juvenile court have at least one, if not more than one, significant emotional or learning impairment, or maltreatment experience” (Mallet, 2013). The existence of these diseases often effect the juvenile’s stability and ability to make rational decisions. Which may result in them engaging in criminal activities The prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders among youths in juvenile justice systems is reported to be between 30 percent and 50 percent (The mental health needs of juvenile offenders). The difficulties of these disorders are often
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A primary shaper of the juvenile and their actions is the environment in which they grow up in. Family environment has the potential to have a major effect on the outcome and behaviors of the juvenile (Myers 430). Family has such a huge effect because it is the earliest source of interaction the juvenile experiences. According to Louise Gerdes, “72 percent of jailed juveniles
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