Juvenile Delinquency

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A juvenile delinquent offense is an act committed by a juvenile for which an adult would be tried at a criminal court. New statistics give an alarming picture: juvenile delinquency is higher as never before. According to the census bureau, in 2008 there were 1,653,000 recorded delinquent offenses in the United States. This is a 23.6% increase from 1990 when 1,337,000 delinquent offenses occurred. Today, a lot of people demand lowering the age of criminal responsibility and draconian penalties (Jenson & Howard, 1998; Melton, Petrila, Poythress, Slobogin, 2007). These individuals react to this obvious social crisis with an attempt to fight the phenomenon with curbing the symptoms but without considering the causes which are created socially.

When trying to combat this phenomenon, one has to be aware of the social contexts of juvenile delinquency. Of course, the postulate of personal responsibility has to be maintained, however, the statistics that show a significant relationship between socio-economic status and vulnerability to crime cannot be dismissed (Aaltonen, Kivivuori, & Martikainen, 2011). Only when these blatant injustices (e.g. the gap between the rich and the poor) are compensated, a reduction of crime can be achieved (Aaltonen, Kivivuori, & Martikainen, 2011).

However, not only economic problems cause juveniles to commit criminal acts. Also, broken families, which are often accompanied by alcoholism, unemployment, and a high divorce rate, contribute to the lack of socialization of young people (Wilson & Petersilia, 2011). Loneliness and increasing individualism prevent solidarity and compassion from developing (Mackenzie, 2008). The apathy and anonymity of large cities create lethargy and disorientation, which, coup...

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U.S. Census Bureau. (2012). Law Enforcement, Courts, & Prisons: Juvenile Delinquency, Child Abuse (Table 340). The 2012 Statistical Abstract. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0340.pdf

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