Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Increasing crime among youth introduction
Nature of youth crime essay
Nature of youth crime essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Increasing crime among youth introduction
Today I will be discussing the occurrence of crime after a teen passes through adolescence. Many teens like to experiment with petty crimes such as shoplifting and vandalism. Though you hear about it all of the time only a small fraction of those delinquents turn to the more violent side of criminal behavior. Many of the young teens that get caught committing those small crimes go through the rehabilitation process and decide that type of life is not for them, while others continue to commit crimes getting more bold and daring each time. Those teenagers and young adults usually do it for one of a couple of reasons. Either they continue to commit crime because they enjoy the trill, or they are opportunistic crimes. This means that they may just be bored with way too much time on their hands so they occupy themselves by this method.
It has been shown that there has been a decrease in crime after this occurs and it is believed to be because of stricter laws that allow a better opportunity for the teen to be tried as an adult. More often than not if a teen commits a violent crime...
In conclusion, teen courts are beneficial to young offenders. Jurisdictions across the country are using teen court as an alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system for their youngest and least serious offenders (Wilson, p. 15). It has been reported that teen court increases young offenders’ respect for the justice system and reduces recidivism by holding offenders accountable, starting with their first offense (Wilson, p. 15). Teen court are able to act more quickly and more efficiently than a traditional juvenile court (Wilson, p. 15). Teen courts teach peer justice, procedural justice, communication skills, deterrence skill building, and most importantly provides a safe environment for youth to be rehabilitated.
From 1990 to to the present there has been a sharp increase in juvenile crime across the United States. From 1996 to the present there has been a slight decline from the statistics in 1995(OJJDP). What was the cause for this uprise in juvenile delinquincy? I will discuss 2 different theories to why there was such an increase in juvenile crime rates. I will analyze the rise of the "Gangsta-Rap" culture in the early 1990's and how it may have affected teenagers that are in lower-income families. Many people believe that the increase in real life violence on television is a cause for violence in juveniles. I will discuss the evidence for this theory. It seems to me that the best theory to explain the rise in juvenile crime is the social constructionist theory. Different sub-cultures of teens have higher crime rates than others because of their interests, whether it be the music that they listen to or the types of television programs that they watched as child.
There is no doubt that youth justice practises have changed throughout the years, these changes have been made to adapt to the new challenges that present themselves today. Crime in general, but particularly youth crime is a consistent problem for society.
Harassment, reckless endangerment, and burglary are all juvenile offenses. These juvenile offenses almost always stay on the juvenile’s criminal record, and the offenses displayed on a juvenile’s criminal record may cause employers, educators, and other authority figures to think less of the juvenile offender. As a viewer can see, this one mistake or lapse in judgment can ruin the juvenile offenders chance to further their success in life. For example, juvenile offenders may not obtain the dream job that they have always wanted, get into the college that they have always wanted to, or be eligible for a scholarship whether athletic or academic. However, there is a loophole in the juvenile justice system called teen courts. Teen courts give first-time offenders and some re-offenders a second chance because the offense (s) do not go on their criminal record, and their peers get to decide what sanctions the juvenile offender receives or performs. The big question that I am going to discuss throughout this essay is do juvenile offenders who appear before teen courts recidivate?
A large proportion of all crimes committed throughout the United States are committed by juveniles. In the United States there are roughly 73.8 million youths; youth being defined as being under the age of eighteen years old (CrimeSolutions). The total U.S population is roughly 317,800,000 million people making juveniles account for about twenty-three percent of the whole population (Census Bureau). Although there are not as many juveniles as there are adult’s, juveniles account for a good portion of crimes that are committed. For violent crimes about twenty percent of the crimes are committed by juveniles and twenty-five percent of property crimes (FactSheet). Although, the total amount of juvenile offenders has gone down throughout the years, there is still more that needs to be done to prevent the crimes that are being committed by juveniles. There are many different programs that are out there to help prevent juveniles from committing crimes or recommitting a crime. There have been many different studies to show the specific time period juveniles commit crimes most throughout the day, which programs help juveniles and what ones do not, and studies that show the sex and race of the most juvenile offenders that are convicted.
Many theories, at both the macro and micro level, have been proposed to explain juvenile crime. Some prominent theories include Social Disorganization theory, Differential Social Organization theory, Social Control theory, and Differential Association theory. When determining which theories are more valid, the question must be explored whether people deviate because of what they learn or from how they are controlled? Mercer L. Sullivan’s book, “Getting Paid” Youth Crime and Work in the Inner City clearly suggests that the learning theories both at the macro level, Differential social organization, and micro level, Differential association theory, are the more accurate of the two types of theory.
According to Males and Brown article, the primary cause for the youth to get involved in crime is poverty and lack of success. The statistics from California Criminal Justice and Census Poverty for 2010 refers that the lift in economic deprivation and the lack of success or jobs indulge the youth or teenagers more into the life of violent offenses. The news and article exacerbate the rate violent crime and over-represented the young age in violent crime. The peak age for crime means that the young people involved more in crime than older people. The Brown article suggests that the age-crime relationship means that the violent crime rise in young age and then decline with the age. The child who gets involved in crime at an early age becomes the chronic offenders. The teens who have less relationship with their parents, labelled as antisocial by parents, teachers, neighbors and society get more involved in crime.
There has always been controversies as to whether juvenile criminals should be tried as adults or not. Over the years more and more teenagers have been involved in committing crimes. In some cases the juries have been too rough on the teens. Trying teens as adults can have a both positive and negative views. For example, teens that are detained can provide information about other crimes, can have an impact in social conditions, and serve as experience; however, it can be negative because teens are still not mature enough for that experience, they are exposed to adult criminals; and they will lose out on getting an education.
Few social issues get as much media attention as youth crime. Statistics Canada reported a 3% increase in crimes committed by 12- to 17-yearolds between 2005 and 2006. In the last 15 years, the rate of violent crimes among young people has increased by 30% (Youth crime, 2008). From gangland-style killings in Vancouver to the senseless beating of an elderly woman in Hali-fax, Canadian cities are struggling with a wave of youth crime that was unimaginable a couple of decades ago. According to Statistics Canada, most Canadians believe that youth crime is on the rise and 77% believe that the sentencing of young offenders is too lenient (Youth crime, 2005). Many experts attribute the spike in youth crime to the increased number of street gangs - often the perpetrators of youth crime (Catalano and Hawkins, 1996). Research indicates that youth seek comfort from those who welcome them and reinforce their sense of belonging. Unfortunate-ly, some youth have no choice but to turn to street gangs in order to satisfy their need for approv-al, belonging and self-worth (Clark, 1992). Street gangs are not just issues in big cities. Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the presence of street gangs in non-metropolitan and rural communities. For example, in 1960, there were 54 cities in the United States with a gang population. In 1995, there were street gangs in approximately 800 cities and towns across the United States (Swetnam and Pope, 2001). There is no consensus among experts on how to reduce youth crime. Criminal involvement usually starts before the age of 15, with first-time of-fences declining markedly once young people reach 20 years of age. Young people who become involved in criminal activities before the age of 14...
That’s why we don’t permit 15-year-olds to drink, drive, vote or join the military” (qtd. in Billitteri). There is adolescent-development research according to Hambrick, J. and Ellem, J that has shown “children do not possess the same capacity as adults to think thru the consequences of their behaviors, control their responses or avoid peer pressure” (qtd. in Lyons). There are some very good points made in the argument against sentencing youth as adults but I still have a hard time agreeing with peer pressure or impulse control as a reason to be held in a juvenile center for less than a few years for murder. Ryan, L. uses the example of a report released by the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on “Juvenile Transfer Laws : An Effective Deterrent to Delinquency?” This report found that prosecuting youths as adults has little or no effect on juvenile crime.” She uses this information and backs it up with the report showing “youths prosecuted as adults are more likely to re-offend than youths handled in the juvenile justice system” (qtd. in Katel). This is definitely a new perspective, but I still stand with my first take on the subject. “We know young people can commit serious crimes, and the consequences are no less tragic” (qtd in
The United States has been affected by a number of crimes committed by juveniles. The juvenile crime rate has been increasing in recent years. Everyday more juveniles commit crimes for various reasons. They act as adults when they are not officially adults. There is a discussion about how juveniles should be punished if they commit heinous crimes. While many argue that juveniles who commit serious crimes, such as murder, should be treated as adults, the fact is, juveniles under the age of eighteen, are not adults, and should not be treated as such.
While this may help adults desist from crime, it may not be as effective in helping juveniles. Most delinquency occurs during young adulthood and then the individual ages out of crime. When looking at juvenile desistance other explanations exist as to why some juveniles continue a life of crime and others desist. One idea places responsibility on the ability to make conscious decisions. A study, by Haigh, of desistance among juveniles and their transitional period to a law abiding life suggest that most juvenile offenders simply make the decision to stop committing crime. Haigh conducted the study using one on one interviews in order to capture the former offender’s interpretation as to why they stopped committing crime. Through the interviews she found that most juveniles held this preconceived idea that they had to commit crime based on where they lived. Crime was a part of a regular daily routine for many. Participants state things such as, “you have to do crime, if you don’t you get stomped on” or “we didn’t think it as dangerous, we got off on the buzz of doing it” (Haigh, 2009). Some did not have reasons as to why they made the decision to stop committing crime. Others stated that they wanted to stop committing crime because of new found relationships, making their parents happy, or from fear of being sent to jail. For this set of juveniles in the study it can be said that as they
With excitements, many teens get hurry out to disobey authority or involvement in crimes. The young may be engrossed to the mob’s way of living as it stays out of the law and takes place in illegal behaviors. Others prefer to be in the mob because of the many problems they encounter at homes. With the promise of a greater life by the gangs then the excited teens get attracted to the illegal activities of the mob (Bryman, 2008).
Crime has become an ongoing trend, which has become an issue in society today. However, crimes can be prevented through various prevention strategies. The case study regarding the Kings cross shooting, where youths of indigenous background were joyriding in a stolen car in Kings Cross. They were spotted by police and lead to a police chase that resulted in two pedestrians being injured and the youths getting shot by police. Through this case study, the essay will assess how this crime can be prevented in the future with the help of developmental crime prevention. Developmental crime prevention is a way of placing strategies of preventing crime and is af popular approach in Australia because it aims at early intervention program. The main
The social environment of teens holds an enormous influence on how the teens act and behave. Teens are easily influenced by their surroundings and they look to others for guidance. Their behavior results from that of the parent and peer influences. Parents play a particularly influential role in their child’s life and it is up to them to make sure that they are leading their sons or daughters in the right directions. A teen’s peers also play a large role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not around. A teen’s social environment, consisting of family and peers, plays a vital role in their life, therefore becoming the ultimate cause of juvenile delinquency.