Causes of and Conditions for the formation of Delinquent Trajectories
According to World Youth Report (2003), the intensity and severity of juvenile offenses are generally determined by the social, economic and cultural conditions prevailing in a country. There is evidence of a universal increase in juvenile crime taking place concurrently with economic decline, especially in the poor districts of large cities. In many cases street children later become young offenders, having already encountered violence in their immediate social environment as either witnesses or victims of violent acts. Based upon what goes on in a child’s daily life and their surroundings determines whether or not they will turn into youth offenders. For example of the
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There are many circumstances where there are kids who are not less fortunate, but do it for the lack of attention and the others do it because it is a means of survival for them. Which brings to the reasons of economic, social, and cultural factors of why delinquents are delinquents. Also another reason would be urbanization and family.
Economic, Social, and Cultural Factors
According to World Youth Report (2003), juvenile delinquency is driven by the negative consequences of social and economic development, in particular economic crises, political instability, and the weakening of major institutions. Socio-economic instability is often linked to persistent unemployment and low incomes among the young, which can increase the likelihood of their involvement in criminal activity. An example of a child going through situations such as social and economic issues would be them experiencing broken family, divorce, sometime domestic violence, drug abuse in the home,
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These films have become part of American culture and are at once a representation of and possible etiologic factor in causing delinquency. Due to the relative ease of access to videocassette recorders and cable television, there is increasing evidence that the age at which youth are exposed to the movies is becoming lower. Youth learn to behave aggressively by modeling violent actors in the media (Bandura, 1986).” This is explaining how youth are easily influenced by what they see on television and also in the media. Even though parents have an effect on their children acting out, sometimes the things the children watch on television can affect the child’s behavior. A perfect example would be when children are just playing and mimicking the ‘thugs’ on television by having a fake toy gun and pretending to shoot their siblings. Cases like this later lead into the child actually turning to a lifestyle filled with guns and violence because of what took place in their childhood. With dealing with the broader outlook of juvenile delinquency within movies, one can see the correlation of sex and race within juvenile
There are many crimes committed by teenagers every year. Crimes that are committed by teens each year are mainly assault, bullying, gang violence, and physical fights. According to National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, about 1 and 9 murders are from kids that are under 18 (Center, 2001). In 1998, there were approximately 2,570 among youth aged 10-19. Every day there are at least 7 children murdered in the United States (Center, 2001). Statistics say that between 16%-32% female teenagers have committed a crime before the age of 17. Also 30%-40% male teenagers have committed a violent crime before they turned 17 (Center, 2001). Teenagers that commit crimes are the ones who were abused or bullied as a...
According to John Davidson's essay Menace to Society, "three-quarters of Americans surveyed [are] convinced that movies, television and music spur young people to violence." While public opinion is strong, the results of research are divided on the effects of media violence on the youth in this country. Davidson wrote that most experts agree that some correlation between media violence and actual violent acts exists, yet the results are contradictory and researchers quibble about how the effects are to be measured (271). Moreover, Davidson is not convinced that the media is the sole problem of violence, or even a primary problem. He points out that other factors, such as "poverty, the easy accessibility of guns, domestic abuse, [and] social instability" may have a greater impact on a child becoming violent than the influence of the media (277). Even though other forces may be stronger, media violence does have some adverse effects on the members of society. If senseless violence on television and in movies had no effect, it would not be such a hotly debated topic. What type of effects and whom they affect are the most argued aspects of the discussion.
When families sit down to watch television, they expect to watch family type of shows. Family type shows meaning rated PG or PG13, sitcoms and movies that do not include weapons, killing, foul language, and non-socially accepted actions. When children killing, they start to believe that it is accepted. Do children think that killing and hurting others and themselves have little meaning to the real life, children can become traumatized. Most killers or violators of the law blame their behavior on the media, and the way that television portrays violators. Longitudinal studies tracking viewing habits and behavior patterns of a single individual found that 8-year-old boys, who viewed the most violent programs growing up, were the most likely to engage in aggressive and delinquent behavior by age 18 and serious criminal behavior by age 30 (Eron, 1). Most types of violence that occur today links to what people see on television, act out in video games or cyberspace games, or hear in music. Media adds to the violence that exists today and in the past few decades. It will continue in the future if it is not recognized as a possible threat to our society. When kids go to a movie, watch television, play video games or even surf the web, they become part of what they see and hear. Soaking violence in their heads long enough becomes a part of the way they think, acts, and live. The line between pretend and reality gets blurred.
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 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.
Many in the juvenile justice field have tried to understand the cause of juvenile delinquency. There are many different theories describe the cause and effect of variables and how they react. However, through much research, we have concluded there is not just one single path or journey that determines the fate of the juvenile. There are many different risk factors that build in order to increase a youth's chance of becoming an offender. This is kind of like a domino effect. Risk factors are described as the characteristics that present themselves to determine if the individual or youth will become a delinquent. These factors may include; home life, income status, gender, and social. It can either be one or all that play a part in the way the
Juvenile Delinquency has been a big issue since the mid-1980s. It has declined since the mid 1990s. the number of juvenile homicide offenders have tripled between 1984 and 1994. some states started taking tougher legislative as far back as from late 1970s. since the beginning of the legislation; reformers are trying to prevent and make less punishing procedures the importance of education and employment. We could focus on the minority children since there is a higher percentage of juvenile offenders come from minority family. Polices began to change in recent years to treat juveniles as adults. Many factors that changed in our societies today, which has influenced the increase in juvenile crime such as, increase in guns, drugs, and from violent inspiration in our communities. The different between the settings in our society is what increased the increase in juvenile crime. More single parents home is an example of a setting that has changes since the late 1990s. These structural changes in the lifestyle and development of a child can affect his/her
The possible yet likely and lasting effects of crime and violence related mass media are impacts that can be prevented, and are advised to keep away from our children, the future of this generation. The research presented clearly shows evidence for crime and violence related media being an issue of concern in regards to our children. Other factors do influence the paths a child is placed on from birth, but these factors do not necessarily dictate a child’s destiny. And while the same factors may not be the sole reasons behind a child’s fate, they do play quite a part, especially when paired with the negative effects of crime and violence filled mass media. The effects can be avoided or at least minimized, and this will increase the chances of a better character and lifestyle. While it may be hard to escape, the effects of crime and violence related media should be made known to the public and for the sake of our children and the future of our societies, safety, supervision, and caution should be taken to the benefit of the brains of the tender and
In England, conforming to the Civitas’s Crime report Youth Crime in England and Wales (2010) the youngest age that someone can be prosecuted is as young as ten years old. It is also mentioned that trailing, patrolling and applying penalties on young offenders costs almost four billion pounds annually. The numbers of first time offences committed by a young person has decrease over the years; according to the Youth Justice Statistics (2014) youth crime is down by 63% since 2002. In regards to the offences themselves, nearly every offence category has decreased in reoccurrence with exception to drug offences declares Civitas’s Youth Crime in England and Wales (2010). The same report states that theft and handling remains the highest volume category taking up 21% of all youth crime. It is shortly followed by violence against a person, 19.5%, and criminal damage, 11.9%. It can be concluded from both aforementioned reports that crime in the UK is decreasing. Contrariwise to this, youth reoffending rates are soaring concludes Civitas’s Youth Crime in England and Wales (2010).
The Soaring Juvenile Crime Rate It is comforting to know that, according to recent crime statistics, crime rates are dropping among adults. However, for teens the crime rate is soaring. Between 2000 and 2004, the rate at which adults age 25 and older committed homicides declined 22%; yet the rate jumped 16% for youths between 14 and 17. This age group surpassed the 18 - 24-year-old group in the early 2000's as the most crime-prone. (Between 1966 and 2001, 18 - 24 showed a 62% increase in homicides; 14 - 17 showed a 124% increase in murders.)
Individual, social, family and community conditions, as well as interactions, influence juvenile’s behaviour and how they act in situations regarding crime (The National Academies Press, 2017). Some factors include children who are involved in abusive home lives, social isolation, poor education and low family income. It is widely recognised that the more risk factors, environmental and individual influence a child has, the higher their risk is of delinquent and criminal behaviour (ACS Distance Education, 2015). Research found that children from broken homes are nine times more likely to commit serious offences not only as juveniles but also later in their adult lives (Bloxham, 2017). This shows the need for the criminal justice system to address childhood crime when it occurs rather than when it becomes more serious as juveniles reach adulthood.
The criminal activities these individuals can be involved in can range from theft, robbery, burglary, stealing/dealing drugs,etc. The environment in which they grow up in causes them to enact in these irrational behaviors. Individuals are not aware of any other way of life which results in them getting into trouble and having a criminal record. It is stated that “poverty can lead to high levels of stress that in turn may lead individuals to commit theft, robbery, or other violent acts. Moreover, poverty may lead to an actual or perceived inferior education, which would cause youth to count on less access to quality schools, jobs, and role models(Ludwig,1).
On average an American child will see 16,000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence by the age of 18 through the television. Thousands of studies from the 1950s to the present day have all suggested that viewing violent acts will increase violent behavior while only less than 20 have suggested otherwise (Boyse). As our children are exposed to these 16,000 murders and 200,000 violent acts one can only conclude that aggression, crime and violence can only increase in our younger generations from being exposed to the current media.
Synder, Scott. “Movie portrayals of juvenile delinquency: part II—Sociology and psychology,” Adolescence. Summer 1995. First Search. Feb 2007
Television violence is also a cause of both violent and aggressive behavior in teenage boys. According to the evidence in a study done by Turner, Hesse, and Peterson-Lewis, it was concluded that watching television violence had a long-term increase in aggression in boys (Hough 1). In addition to this study, Dr. William A. Belson evaluated fifteen hundred boys, aged thirteen to sixteen years, and he determined that boys with heavy television exposure are more likely to commit violent acts than other boys (Langone 51). In Belson’s study, he discovered that the effect of each violent act on television was collective, and over time, Belson discovered that the boys engaged in many aggressive acts, including painting graffiti, breaking windows, aggressive play, swearing, and threatening other boys with violence (Kinnear 26).