Solutions to Juvenile Crime

2317 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Growing incidence of drug abuse among youth essay

Solutions to Juvenile Crime

Crime is a plague that has haunted American citizens for centuries. The severity of crime has ranged from running a red light to cold blooded murder. Statistics indicate that crime rates have been on the rise in the previous decades, especially juvenile crime. Statistics show that, ‘the number of youths aged 14 and younger who have been charged with homicide has jumped by 43 percent in the past twenty years’ (Kids With No Hope, No Fear, No Rules, And No Life, 2). This increase in juvenile crime has struck a chord of fear in many people . Motivated by this fear our society has to come up with a solution to this impending problem. While several suggestions have been offered, crime prevention is the most logical, effective and beneficial solution.

Before going into detail about crime prevention, here is a little background information on juvenile crime. ‘Murders by young men between the ages of 14 and 17 jumped 161 percent between 1992 and 1993’ (Juvenile Crime, 1). Aggravated assault arrests have grown 95 percent since 1985. Robbery arrests have grown 57 percent (Juvenile Violence, Drugs, and Weapons, 1). The number of juveniles arrested in 1994 was 94 percent greater than the total number arrested in 1981 (2).

There are several reasons why juvenile crime has been on the rise. The most prominent ones are lack of education, the increased use and availability of firearms and the increase in use and availability of drugs.

The most recent solution proposed to decrease juvenile crime is known in Arizona as Proposition 102. The proposition reads as follows:

Amending Arizona Constitution to mandate adult prosecution at age fifteen for murder, ...

... middle of paper ...

...borah and Michaell Weissman. Deadly Consequences. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1991.

United States. "Arizona Ballot Measures: Proposition 102-- Jurisdiction Over Juveniles." (1996): 1. Arizona.

United States. The Secretary of State's Office. "1996 Ballot Propositions. Your Future... Your Choice. Vote!" (1996): 20-24. Arizona.

"Juvenile Crime, Part III." (1995): 1-4, 7, 9.

"Juvenile Crime: Solving the Youth-Drug Connection." Narconon. 1.

"Juvenile Violence, Drugs and Weapons: Projected Arrests for North Carolina." 1-3, 9. Includes references to: Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention. 1996 (March). Combating Violence and Delinquency: The National Juvenile Justice Action Plan. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. News and World Report. 1996 (March 25).

Show More
Related

  • Robert E. Lee 's Life and Achievements

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lee was born in Stratford, Virginia. Lee was the fourth child of General Henry Lee III, Governor of Virginia, and his mother, Anne Hill Carter, Lee was raised by his mother who taught him about authority, tolerance, and order. Lee was exposed to Christianity at an early age and devoted his life to god. In 1825, Lee was accepted into West Point. There he learned about warfare and how to fight. In 1829, Lee graduated 2nd of 46 in his class, but even more surprising is that he didn’t get a single demerit while attending West Point. Afterward, Lee was appointed as Superintendent of West Point from 1852 to 1855. After he served his term, Lee left West Point to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the 2nd Cavalry of Texas.

    Read More

  • Gun Control is NOT the Answer to Juvenile Crime

    2300 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jenson, Jeffrey and Howard, Matthew. "Youth Crime, Public Policy, and Practice in the Juvenile Justice System: Recent Trends and Needed Reforms." Social Work 43 (1998): 324-32

    Read More

  • Robert E Lee: A True American Hero

    1634 Words  | 4 Pages

    Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the youngest son of Major-General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and his second wife, Ann Hill (Carter) Lee. His siblings from his father’s first wife are Philip Ludwell Lee, Lucy Grymes Lee, Henry Lee, and Nathaniel Greene Lee. His siblings from his father's second wife are Algernon Sidney Lee, Charles Carter Lee, Anne Kinloch Lee, Sydney Smith Lee, and Catherine Mildred Lee.

    Read More

  • Robert E. Lee

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, there have been people whose names and faces have become synonymous with the time periods in which they lived. For example, Julius Caesar is synonymous with the late Roman Republic and George Washington is synonymous with the American Revolution. Just like these two men, the name Robert E. Lee has become synonymous with the American Civil War. Not only did Lee rise to become the most important and recognizable person in the Southern Confederacy, but his honor and virtuous acts during and after the war made him a hero to modern-day Americans. Even though he fought for what many consider the morally erroneous side of the war, the virtues of his character have made him a figure in American history that should be honored and remembered.

    Read More

  • Brown V. Board Of Education Case Study

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    History plays a tremendous role in the present-day. Awareness of one’s history aids in understanding the significance of its effects. The Brown v. Board of Education case is a landmark in the history of the United States society and the judiciary system. It drastically affected education systems, the civil rights movement, and is known as one of the first cases to acknowledge social science results. This Brown v. Board of Education case took place over sixty years ago, and its affects continues to influence many aspects of today’s society, and more specifically today’s education systems. Despite its numerous accolades, it is still argued that Brown v. Board of Education failed to successfully accomplish its goal of desegregating

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence: A Widespread Societal and Public Health Issue

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    Domestic violence and abuse takes place within family-type intimate relationships and forms a pattern of intimidating and controlling behaviors, which overtime escalates (Dennis, T. 2014, p 1). It can also cause physical psychological or sexual harm to these relations as well (Gul & Faiz, 2013). Domestic Violence according to Fairtlough (2006) is “the misuse of power and the exercise of control by one individual over another, generally by men over women, with whom they have been in an intimate relationship. It assumes a wide range of abusive physical, sexual, and psychological behaviors.” Dennis argued that domestic violence has become a serious societal and public health issue and is a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders

    Read More

  • Poverty and Crime in America

    3673 Words  | 8 Pages

    Thompson, W, & Bynum, J. (1991). Juvenile delinquency. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    Read More

  • Juvenile Homicide Can Be Prevented

    2172 Words  | 5 Pages

    Before learning about why juveniles commit homicide, who the juvenile homicide offenders are, and what causes juvenile homicide, it is crucial to understand the basic statistics of juvenile homicide in the United States. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in 1993 there was the largest number of juvenile homicide offenders being 14.4 per 100,000 juvenile United States citizens. Since then, the number of juvenile homicide offenders started to decline until it was the lowest in 2004 where it was 77% less than the 1993 peak (still was at 3.2 per 100,000 citizens) (Stastical Briefing Book, 2010). All of this information shows that juveniles are committing homicide but what we need to find out is how to tell who they are, what they are like, and why they do these things and then we can try to re...

    Read More

  • Juvenile Recidivism

    3195 Words  | 7 Pages

    Introduction: Recidivism or, habitual relapses into crime, has time and time again proven to be an issue among delinquents, which thereby increases the overall juvenile prison population. This issue has become more prevalent than what we realize. Unless a unit for measuring a juvenile’s risk of recidivism is enacted and used to determine a system to promote effective prevention, than the juvenile prison population will continue to increase. Our court system should not only focus on punishing the said juvenile but also enforce a program or policy that will allow for prevention of recidivism. So the question remains, how can recidivism in the juvenile prison population be prevented so that it is no longer the central cause for increased juvenile delinquency? Simply put, we must create a means of measuring juvenile’s level of risk and in turn, form an effective rehabilitation program that will decrease their risk level for future recidivism.

    Read More

  • Juvenile Crime Prevention in America

    1869 Words  | 4 Pages

    Juvenile crime in the United States is ballooning out of control along with adult crimes, and politicians and law enforcement officials don’t seem to be able to do anything about it. Despite tougher sentencing laws, longer probation terms, and all other efforts of lawmakers, the crime and recidivism rates in our country can’t be reduced. The failure of these recent measures along with new research and studies by county juvenile delinquency programs point to the only real cure to the U.S.’s crime problem: prevention programs. The rising crime rates in the United States are of much worry to most of the U.S.’s citizens, and seems to be gaining a sense of urgency. Crime ranks highest in nationwide polls as Americans’ biggest concern (Daltry 22). For good reason- twice as many people have been victims of crimes in the 1990s as in the 1970s (Betts 36). Four times as many people under the age of eighteen were arrested for homicide with a handgun in 1993 than in 1983 (Schiraldi 11A). These problems don’t have a quick fix solution, or even an answer that everyone can agree on. A study by the Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy has found no deterrent effects of the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law recently put into effect by politicians (Feinsilber 1A). It has been agreed however that there is not much hope of rehabilitating criminals once started on a life of crime. Criminologist David Kuzmeski sums up this feeling by saying, “If society wants to protect itself from violent criminals, the best way it can do it is lock them up until they are over thirty years of age.... I am not aware of any treatment that has been particularly successful.” The problem with his plan is that our country simply doesn’t have the jail space, or money to ...

    Read More

  • Juvenile Crime

    1973 Words  | 4 Pages

    There has always been alarm and despair over escalating juvenile crime. In the 1950s there were reports about the mushrooming problems with youthful gangs in the big cities. In the 1960s we began to hear about a surge of juvenile crime in areas that had been regarded as virtually crime free. In the suburbs as well as the inner cities, youngsters were dropping out of school, using drugs and committing crimes. In the 1970s and 1980s, juvenile court dockets became increasingly jammed with criminal cases. According to the Department of Justice, the percentage increases in arrests from 1985 to 1994 have been greater for juveniles than for adults. During 1994 alone, 2.7 million juveniles were arrested. During the latter part of this century, juvenile courts that customarily provided social services in order to rehabilitate rather than punish lawbreakers were faced with an onslaught of children who were not simply wayward youths, but hardened repeat offenders. The 1980s witnessed an increasingly desperate outcry for courts to take more extreme measures to contain juvenile crime, which is assuming ever more serious forms.

    Read More

  • Victims of Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence Against Men

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gadd, David, Stephen Farrall, Damian Dallimore, and Nancy Lombard. "Male Victims of Domestic Violence."1-3. 2001. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Juvenile Delinquency in the States

    1783 Words  | 4 Pages

    Torbet, Patricia, et. al. State Responses to Serious and Violent Juvenile Crime. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1996.

    Read More

  • Juvenule Crime Models

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many issues with crime and violence in the United States, but very few are more controversial than the issue of juveniles in crime. How are juveniles getting involved in crime? What is causing America’s youth to do things that their parents should’ve instilled as morally wrong? What are ways to control and possibly eliminate these issues that affect the way we live? For the past century, criminologists have been studying juvenile related crime and a few theories have come up. These theories have, in the mid to late 20th century, been shaped into models. There are three main models dealing with juvenile crime and violence that will be gone over in pages to follow of this paper: Noninterventionist Model, Rehabilitation Model, and Crime Control Model. In this paper, the reader will see what each model discusses, and how they apply to today’s youth. At the end each model’s description, the reader will learn what I personally think about how the specific model would work. Being a recently turned 20 year-old, I feel I can give an accurate view of how, or if, the crime model would work. Living in both extremely rural(Mokane Missouri), and very urban(St Louis) has taught me a great deal about what really goes on in a juvenile’s head, and what sorts of actions would truly help to decrease crime rates among juveniles. I will give examples from the readings of chapter 13 of Making Sense of Criminal Justice: Policies and Practices, and I’ll conclude with my opinion of which model I believe works best to cope with juvenile crime.

    Read More

  • Juveniles and the Justice System

    1597 Words  | 4 Pages

    The U.S made legal history in 1989 when the world’s first juvenile court opened in Chicago (Rank, J.) Since 1990 many states have also adopted the “get tough” approach to juvenile justice as a response to the increasingly violent crimes committed by children. Juvenile crime escalated to an all time high, and then started to decrease in 1995 when images on television, such as the Springfield, Oregon, rampage of 15-year-old Kip Kinkel who shot both of his parents and then two of his classmates. The impression of citizens in the United States was that juvenile crime is out of control. (Levinson) Now Juveniles are being prosecuted a lot more than adults in adult courts.

    Read More

More about Solutions to Juvenile Crime

Open Document