The Problem Of Juvenile Delinquency

Introduction:

Juvenile delinquency is seen as a problem in America, but the more pressing issue is how troubled juveniles are handled in reference to the Criminal Justice System. Looking at the problem of juvenile delinquency through social bond theory and specifically the element of involvement, children of a low socioeconomic status have little communal engagement to help keep them out of trouble. Comparing these children living below the poverty line to middle class juveniles, there is a distinct difference between the two. Middle class children’s parents have them involved and enrolled in many extracurricular activities from camps, to sports, to music lessons. However, all of these programs cost money, and those of a low income family

Ideas such as the Zero-Tolerance Policy have emerged and have increased the number of children the country views as delinquent. A social psychology and post-structuralism perspective has been used to analyze juvenile delinquency in a study conducted by Reis. Reis’s article was focused on juveniles who are heavily involved in drug use. He states that drug use is a pathway into more violent crimes and frequent property crime driven by addiction that started at a young age. Drugs cause a significant number of problems according to the authors, from psychiatric hospitalizations leading to school dropouts and homelessness. From this point, crimes become a matter of survival ranging from theft or prostitution to support their addictions. This article did not mention any solutions to this problem, which is why I hope to address it further. Something could have been done early on in order to help these children steer clear of criminal

According to the authors of China’s Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law, this law, also known as JDPL became effective November 1, 1999. This law “…stipulates educational measures for preventing delinquency, defines administrative measures for carrying out the prevention, addresses rehabilitation of minor and status offenses, proposes juvenile rights and responsibilities for preventing delinquency, stipulates correctional measures and processing procedures for juvenile offenders, and defines legal liabilities for parents, law enforcement agencies, and enterprises in preventing delinquency” (Zhang, Liu 541). This law is a total society approach to prevent delinquency through a social and political context. It is understood that China is ran by a Socialist government, which involves direct control making this an easy law to pass. In America, since we are a Democracy, it would be more difficult to implement such law as everyone has a voice. However, the JDPL can be done on a much smaller scale in America to be