Good Research Paper About Juvenile Crime

Kids are at times involved in criminal activities that leads them to join the criminal justice system. Such children are usually referred as juvenile delinquent for they have enacted in criminality that is against the set laws. Juvenile delinquents are basically minors who are between the ages of 10 to 18 years and have engaged in unlawful activities. The acts that are committed by the minors are usually referred as delinquent acts rather than crimes in the case of adults. The juveniles undergo through an adjudication and not a trial as soon as they are indicted in court.
Later on, they receive a disposition and a sentence is then passed. The proceedings involving juveniles are different to those of adults in several ways. Generally, the delinquent acts fall under two categories. The first one involves criminal acts that wouldn’t otherwise be considered as crimes in case they were perpetrated by adults. They are commonly referred as status or age linked crimes. Some of the examples of such criminality acts entail staying out when a curfew has been instigated or truancy, which implies that a kind has progressively failed to go to school (Ferro 2011).
The second category of delinquent acts entails criminal acts that would be considered crimes if they were enacted by adults. These include serious crimes and sometimes juveniles who have committed them are tried by some jurisdictions as though they were adults. However, in case children are tried as adults, it is the responsibility of the parent to account for the court costs on behalf of the kid on trial. For the reason that juveniles need special help when it comes to the criminal justice system, it is advisable to seek for an attorney during their adjudication. In the event of failure to handle kids properly, it is not surprising to see the kids turning into criminals even when they attain adult age. The purpose of an attorney is normally ensuring that the records of wrongdoing against the juveniles are expunged so that they can have a fresh life upon attaining the age of 18 years (Ferro 2011).
It is worth noting that in the event that child is engaged in a juvenile delinquency, they are considered to have broken the law and thus are treated as per the stipulated guidelines. In most cases, the court considered the severity of the crime committed, the delinquency record of the offender as well as their age. After the court runs the assessment it can order that the kid be around to live with their parents under the supervision of the court. Furthermore, the court can decide that the child should be subjected to probation whereby they can still live with relatives or sent to an institution. Another form of probation can subject the kids to live in probation ranches or camps. When the delinquency committed is more serious, the kid can be sent to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation which is usually under the Division of Juvenile Justice. In the event that the kid is tried in court as an adult, he can be sent to the Division of adult Operations (Merino 2010).
When a minor is caught on the long side of the law by the police and arrested, the police have the authority to record the arrest before sending the child home. The officer can also send the kid to an agency for the purpose of getting care, shelter and counsel. The child can also be summoned to the police station for more police scrutiny or give the parents a note indicating that the child should appear before the police. Furthermore, the kid can be detained in a juvenile hall. The parent must also be alerted as soon as their child is arrested. The parent can also be issued with a Notice to Appear that directs the parent or guardian to meet with a probation officer who is found in the probation department.
The probation officer can lecture the child and then allow them to go home if the delinquency was a minor one. The kid can also be instructed to engage in a voluntary program as opposed to going to the court. The program may entail counselling, special classes, community service as well as other activities. A contract is normally signed and the child must adhere to the program until its completion. Moreover, the probation officer can decide to send the kid home and involve a district attorney in the case. The attorney goes on and decides whether to file a petition or not regarding whether the kid should appear in court or not. The child can also be detained until the case is brought forward to the court and it is considered as a juvenile delinquency case (Gerdes 2012).
It is vital to note that children can also be tried as adults in case they are involved in violent crimes. Some of the serious criminal acts include murder or even attempted murder, blazing a house that has occupants in it, using weapons in robbery activities, rape, and carjacking or even kidnapping, use of guns to commit crimes and engaging in drug related crimes. Kids who abscond juvenile detention facilities can also be tried as adults. It is usually the role of the parents or guardians to ensure that they take legal accountability when their children are associated with criminal activities. The parent can be accountable for any damage that the child causes and pay the victim in case the court instructs for a restitution which the amount of money paid as a compensation for any damage or loss made by a juvenile (Gerdes 2012).
In order to counter the delinquencies enacted by children that facilitate criminality acts to surge, several programs have been initiated to validate that venture. To start with, there has been interventions aimed at improving situations revolving around street-connected kids as well as youths. The practice ensures that the family functions properly by lessening alcohol abuse, delinquent behaviors and lowering depression levels among street-connected youth. Mentoring programs have been initiated in institutions such as schools to provide unwavering adult peer contact to supply at-risk kids with optimistic inspirations. Mentorship is key in ensuring that youths develop in a risk free environment and protective factors are strengthened (Haerens 2013).
Programs that abolish school-based bullying are also initiated to ensure that victimization and bullying in school is lowered. Other interventions stressed in this program is to ensure that positive involvement is increased when it comes to shunning the vice. Programs that are aimed at reducing school-based kid sexual abuse are also instigated to lower cases of sexual abuse among adolescents and children. Social as well emotional learning is a program that is devised to ensure kids engage more in learning activities, hence promoting improved social behaviors, not as much emotional stress and reduced conduct problems (Haerens 2013).
There exist various reasons as to why teenagers engage in unlawful activities. Some causes of juvenile delinquencies can be attributed to their family whereby they go through economic problems. Youths who come from destitute families engage in crime trying to improve the prevailing destitute status in their families. Psychological problems such as mental illnesses for instance aggression, depression can facilitate the risk of youths engage in unlawful dealings.
Social problems such as discrimination or pressure from peers can lead youths in criminal activities so as to fit in the society. Lack of moral cohesion among kids and parents can subject the children to enact in crime since they have no respect for the family as well as other individuals. This is normally contributed by the style through which the kid is brought up. Personal reasons such as social concerns, psychological problems, drug abuse and physical concerns like physical handicap can make youths develop revenge tendencies towards others hence engaging in criminal activities (Merino 2010).
In conclusion, since all the causes of juvenile delinquency are in one way or another linked to their family, it is the role of the parents to ensure that their kids are brought up in an environment that has positive attitude when it comes to the society and life. Parents plus elder siblings must show the kids positive morals, norms and values of society so as the children can display the right conduct of the society. The family should function as the role model when it comes to every kid and a model's conduct by the parents as well as siblings can offer motivation to the kid to act positively. The government must support families languishing with poor financial status in order for them to advance their economic condition.

References

Merino, N. (2010). Juvenile crime. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.
Haerens, M. (2013). Juvenile crime. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.
Gerdes, L. I. (2012). Juvenile crime. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.
Ferro, J. (2011). Juvenile crime. New York, N.Y: Facts on File.