“The number of under-18s convicted or cautioned over violent offences rose from 17,590 to 24,102 - an increase of 37 per cent” Telegraph, Leapmen. Youth crime has increased drastically over the years as it can be seen from the statistics given above in 2008 on the telegraph newspaper. Youth crime has been an issue for a long time now; however it is becoming a major issue as it is only getting worse with how many youngsters are committing crime as well as the seriousness of the youth crimes is increasing. Criminologists as well as sociologists try to find out the main reason behind children turning to crime and have managed to come up with a few theories as well as good reasons to why many children would consider committing crime. (Source 1)
Many criminologists believe that criminals are not made over night; instead it takes time for a person to become a criminal. These criminologists suggest that normal people go through a long process and over many years do they accept crime and therefore become criminals. These theories suggest that every person goes through many changes in life and their perception of life changes with them, this change sometimes is for the worse. Statistics have proved that younger people tend to commit more crime than adults now, this is because many events in these youngsters lives end up changing them for better, however not all go through these changes. Therefore many people who were deviant in their youth tend to be a whole lot worse in their adulthood. Moffitt (1993) suggested that antisocial behaviour and aggression can be detected earlier in people’s lives. Moffitt suggests that by detecting these problems earlier the society can help these children as well as reduce this sort of behaviour as well as c...
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... of hatred for one another considering they are always being separated. This can then lead to racism and other violent acts between different groups. (Source 10)
David Hargreaves (1967) had carried out a research in a boys secondary school and had found out that pupils' attitude to school was less influenced by their background and more by streaming, he had found out that students put in lower bands lost their enthusiasm and excitement to learn as the boys in the lower band considered themselves as failures. Interactionists support the idea of streaming and banding, however they think that the way teachers separate the children is often inaccurate and unfair. Interactionists can be correct by saying that the teachers are unfair, however their findings were inaccurate as these sociologists only saw what was happening in a few schools not the entire world. (Source 11)
Laub and Sampson (2003) discuss the prominent theories of crime over the life course with an emphasis on the work of Terrie Moffitt. Moffitt (1993) attempted to explain life course persistence and some discontinuity. According to Moffitt (1993), there are two distinct categories of offenders concealed by early offending: adolescent-limited offenders and life-course persistent offenders. In this taxonomy, adolescent-limited offenders are those who offend temporarily and discontinue use while life-course persistent offenders are those who offend continuously, with an earlier beginning in delinquency (Moffitt 1993). Adolescent limited offenders only participate in antisocial behavior during adolescence while life-course persistent offenders participate in anti-social behavior throughout the life course beginning in early childhood and into adulthood (Moffitt 1993). Moffitt’s theory (1993) all...
As Laub and Sampson (2003) analyze crime over the life course, they highlight Terrie Moffitt’s theory and discuss the limitations of her developmental explanation. In Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy, she acknowledges two categories of offenders...
Youth crime is a growing epidemic that affects most teenagers at one point in their life. There is no question in society to whether or not youths are committing crimes. It has been shown that since 1986 to 1998 violent crime committed by youth jumped approximately 120% (CITE). The most controversial debate in Canadian history would have to be about the Young Offenders Act (YOA). In 1982, Parliament passed the Young Offenders Act (YOA). Effective since 1984, the Young Offenders Act replaced the most recent version of the Juvenile Delinquents Act (JDA). The Young Offenders Act’s purpose was to shift from a social welfare approach to making youth take responsibility for their actions. It also addressed concerns that the paternalistic treatment of children under the JDA did not conform to Canadian human rights legislation (Mapleleaf). It remained a heated debate until the new legislation passed the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Some thought a complete overhaul was needed, others thought minor changes would suffice, and still others felt that the Young Offenders Act was best left alone.
Hendrick, H. (2006) ‘Histories of Youth Crime and Justice’, In B. Goldson and J. Muncie (eds) Youth Crime and Justice. London: Sage
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.
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...
Every year, millions of juveniles are involved in criminal activities. According to statistics, as of 1999, the arrest rate for juvenile crime has dropped from its peak in the mid-1990’s. Statistics about juvenile crime have shown a steady increase of juvenile arrests from 1987 to 1994. Although overall crime rates have decreased since 1994, they are still above what they were in 1980. The following paragraphs and charts show the crime rates of specific crimes committed by juveniles.
... Crime in the Life Course. Retrieved from http://criminology.fsu.edu/center/jjeep/pdf/annual2003/chapter7ar03.pdf Moffitt, T. E. (1993). A Developmental Taxonomy. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/ewaters/552-04/slidsets/brian_mcfarland_aggression/moffitt_aggression.pdf Siegel, L. J. (2000).
To conclude this essay, it would be safe to say that the labelling theory and the learning theory both have great powers over young people’s lives, possibly because of their vulnerability and the way they perceive different behaviour within society. With criminal and deviant acts being formed and constructed by society, then behaviour displayed by a young person will inevitably be labelled if they do not live up to the norms and value’s that are in place. However, as the essay explains young people will gather characteristics of deviance from society’s influential structures.
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.
Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment.
When today's youth commit crimes it is often the taxpayers that have to pay for it. In many cases, when the crimes include damage to property, theft of personal belongings or merchandise the public are required to pay for the damages through taxes and raised prices in stores. When it comes to theft, the public would be required to pay more money in the long run for a product that is often stolen due to the rate of loss on it. When it comes to property damage we, the owners, are responsible for replacing what has been damaged and paying to replace or repair the item from our own pockets, or to place claims using house or automobile insurance, causing our premiums to rise. Youth crime rates seem to have been increasing over the past couple of years. Most crimes these days are committed by youths who are often under the influence of drugs and alcohol, who have an impaired sense of perception. Police Chief Julian Fantino of the Toronto Police Service says, "Youth crime rates have been rising in recent years even though other violent crime rates have been decreasing," (www.cbc.ca). With youth crime on the rise we the public are forced to pay increasingly for their mistakes.
Researchers show that a good percentage of adult criminals committed their first offence in their childhood, long before their first conviction. They could manage to escape notice by committing the first offence, which encouraged them to commit further offences till they were apprehended, tried and convicted. However not until we know the causes of delinquency, can measures for its prevention be suggested.
Loeber, R and Farrington, D (2000). Young children who commit crime: Epidemiology, developmental origins, risk factors, early interventions, and policy implications. Development and Psychopathology, , pp 737-762.
I now know that criminology prefer to highlight the correlations between crimes’ social climates and criminals’ psychological states of mind. While some argues that criminal behavior is a result of individuals’ association with criminal peers, other claims that crime is a reflection of an individual’s genetic disadvantages. I have come to learn that there are no universally agreed formulas on decoding crimes and criminal behaviors. What we have, however, is a manual full of academic opinions and subjective views that have emerged alongside of the development of criminology. At the same time, the volume of conflicting perspectives that I have stumble upon in studying criminology reminded me again that the success of our current assessment models has yet to be determined. Thus, the study of criminology is an appropriate practice that will further prepare me to conduct meaningful research on legal studies and to provide accurate and in-depth findings in the near