Nisha St. Louis Juvenile Delinquency Final Paper Generally, it started as a plan by Sandy Fonzo and her husband to teach their son Edward Kenzakowski, 17 years-old at the time a lesson. Sandy Fonzo and her husband notice that Edward had been hanging out with the wrong crowed. Despite him have a clear record and excelling in school, as well as sports, such a wrestling, they feared he might or did not want to see him ruin his chances at a scholarship (Ecenbarger 2012). Thus, the devised a plan, and her husband planned paraphernalia on Edward’s truck, meanwhile tipping off the cops. They were hoping that their son who receive probation, meanwhile getting imitated by tough Judge Mark Ciavarella when in front of him. Like a little bit of a tough …show more content…
This theory states that criminal behavior is not a product of social class or individual behavior. That delinquent behavior is not in fact something that an individual is not born with, yet alone are they born a criminal. But that they learn it and ways of thinking that are delinquent (Siegel & Welsh 2011). Thus, delinquent behavior can be learned from whom ever is influential in a kid 's life such as family or peers. Therefore, going back to the advice that was stated earlier. Based on this theory if Edward viewed his parents has role models and that often shaped his well being and life decisions from what he learned of observed from this parents, this would have been the perfect way for them to go about the situation. By them approaching Edward and explaining to him how important his behavior was in terms of his future, he would have leaned ways and developed thinking that would have prevented him from being delinquent. Simply because he would have had counts of stories from his parents about their own disappoints that we could have kept in mind in regards to fulfilling his own dreams and accomplishments. Edward 's parents would have been his prime example in straying away from being delinquent or turning into a
The study of Juvenile delinquency and the theories pertaining to it are vital for several reasons. In order to more effectively engage with youths and foster positive behavior and schemas, the individuals must first be understood. The study of theory provides a means of understanding adolescents and the factors that lead to or detract from delinquent behavior. In the case of juvenile delinquent, Jordan Brown, theory helps to provide insight into why an eleven-year-old boy murdered his stepmother.
They can be easily learned from parents, relatives, friends, or other peers. In other words, delinquency can be learned through interactions and associations with other people. This is because “people learn behaviors and definitions of behaviors [through] interactions with [others]” (Brauer & Coster, 2012, p. 378). In the interview, the man mentions how he didn’t know why exactly he behaved the way he did, but he does come to the conclusion that paying close attention to those who you decide to surround yourself with is quite significant. The social learning theory is founded on research that has indicated that the strongest factors that correlate with delinquency are the affiliation with delinquent peers. From the very beginning he knew that his social sphere was toxic as they participated in delinquent behavior together. Peers are powerful influences and incredible learning tools, thus when an adolescent is exposed to negative influences, the learning process and imitation of criminal behavior facilitates. Although, in some instances, learning delinquent behaviors is more of a genetic makeup problem rather than a social issue. According to research “some people may be more receptive to the [type of] learning they receive from their delinquent peers” causing a “more readily [reinforcement of] their own delinquent behavior by
Juvenile delinquency has a history that dates back hundreds of years. Before the 19th century children were tried in courts the exact same as adults were, but it was only the most severe juvenile cases that actually went to trial. Children were put into prisons, transported and even hanged. In 1880, there were 6,500 children under 16 in adult prisons, 900 of which were under the age of 12 (King & Noel, 1993). Before 1900, many social ideologies shifted resulting from industrialization. The United States’ first juvenile court was opened in 1899 in Illinois. It was spearheaded by Jane Addams and many other influential women in children advocacy. Addams and the others wanted to have a separate court for
they are currently in. A juvenile committing crime may the only way they know to display their anger and feelings of neglect.
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.
Across the nation, social scientists and criminologists have researched and hypothesized the main contributing factors that promote juvenile delinquency. The Strain/ Anomie theory introduced by Robert Merton and later revised by several other theorists, attempts to explain why juvenile subculture tend to behave certain ways when confronted with pressures from everyday life. Revised by other theorists, the Strain theory attempts to provide the framework of juvenile delinquency and its sources in order to analyze the effectiveness of this assumption, as well as to implement certain crime prevention policies and programs to curb this problem. This paper is going to analyze how the Strain theory contributes it’s principles of delinquency factors in order to explain and understand juvenile delinquency.
In most states juvenile delinquency are criminal acts committed by minors’ ages 10 to 18 years old, the crimes are categorized as status offenders or delinquent offenders. Offenses committed by status offenders can only be committed because the offender is a minor, such as running away from home, truancy and underage drinking. (Mooney, pg 115) then there are delinquent offenders whose offenses would be a crime if they were committed by an adult. Depending on the nature of the crime, minors are tried in a juvenile justice system or can be transferred to the adult justice system. According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, it is estimated 1.7 million youths are in the juvenile justice system with 100,000 cases being heard in juvenile court annually. Currently, it is estimated that 70% of the youths arrested are boys and 30% are girls, although African-Americans make up only 17% of the total youth population, they are 30% more likely than white youth to face harsher sentences and be transferred into the adult
Gang violence and murder are two factors that contribute to the delinquency that develops in young boys and girls. Violence is seen among juvenile delinquency, where teenagers are victims of violence that exists around their neighborhood or violent acts their peers around them commit. Violence exists in poor neighborhoods where juveniles do not have any money or jobs and leads to them becoming thieves. Caine is a young man that is surrounded by violence and drugs, where he becomes a delinquent due to him growing up in a dangerous neighborhood and being part of a group where his peers murder and steal.
Juvenile delinquency is committing criminal acts or offenses by a young person, generally involving people under the age of eighteen. That is what this research proposal is about. For my research proposal my research question is what can cause or deter juvenile delinquency in first time offenders? I feel that this is an important question to be asking, because in our society there is too much juvenile delinquency and if we can use this research to figure out what can cause and deter this phenomenon then we could sincerely help a lot of adolescents.
Juvenile delinquency is a serious problem and leads to negative outcomes for youth, families, and society as a whole. Adolescents under the age of 18 who are arrested for committing a criminal act are processed through a juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice system is grounded on the principle that the youth have different needs than adults. During adolescence, youth are forming their identities and still developing mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally. Due to their early stages of development, juveniles who violate the law should be treated differently than adults.
In deliberations pertaining to juvenile delinquency, the most controversial issue has been the punishment clause. Is it justifiable or fair to sentence children to the same degree and extent as adults, for crimes they have committed? There are always 2 sides to each argument. On the one hand, there are advocates who argue to support minimizing the offender’s culpability simply because of their age. On the other hand, there are advocates who work to keep these kids responsible and be held accountable for heinous acts of crime they have committed.
According to the text “Juvenile Delinquency: The Core” the social structure theory associates juvenile delinquency rates to socioeconomic structure conditions, for example poor communities, families that are usually unemployed, families that have a continuous cycle of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), single parent households, families with incarcerated fathers, sons and even moms and daughters. Some of these children are raised by grandparents or placed in the foster care system. Many young people in these communities are parents themselves – babies raising babies. This I know because this describes many of the youth in my community.
A finding that emerges very strongly and consistently is that delinquents have very poor relationships with their parents” (Gove 303-304). The teens who commit crimes often lack a parental figure in their lives. These teens are not strictly overseen by their parents, and their parents rarely know what they are up to or what they are doing (Gove 303). “Poor parent-child relationships, lack of parental control, and erratic behavior of parents could be a product of juvenile misbehavior and the juvenile’s hostility towards his or her parents” (Gove 304). Teens that do not have a close relationship with their parents often resort to delinquency as a form of resentment. “The family as an institution plays a critical role in the socialization of children; as a consequence, parents presumably play a critical role in whether their children misbehave” (Gove 315). Parents play the biggest role in a child’s life because the parents have been with the child since birth. Parents shape, mold, and provide the foundation that a teen needs to make hard decisions and to live by a good m...
Juvenile Delinquency refers to a violent or non- violent crime committed by persons who are (usually) under the age of eighteen. There is a debate about whether or not such a child should be held criminally responsible for his or her action. There are many different inside influences that are believed to affect the way a child acts both negatively and positively.
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.