Juvenile_Delinquency

According to our text and my general observations throughout my lifetime I feel that girls are slightly delinquent for different reasons then boys. I feel that since females go through puberty at a much earlier stage in life than boys do. Females might be more enticed to hang around older boys who may already be participating in delinquent activities such as drugs or even gangs. Girls are naturally more emotional than males are. I feel that if they go through a traumatic event, it may lead them to participate in delinquent activity to deal with their emotions. If females come from homes which they are being abused, especially sexually, they may in turn also participate in delinquent behaviors as well. I feel though that in general both boys and girls do have similarities in which they are delinquent. Some of the similarities that they have are lack of supervision at home. Their parents might be working and they do whatever they want. There may also be family violence in which both male and females may participate in or feel compelled to be involved with the violence as well. Lastly, school influences the reasons why females and males are both delinquent. They may have peers that pressure them into doing things the society frowns upon. . Essay 5 Considering recent changes in American culture, how would critical theorists explain the increase in the juvenile gang population' Considering recent changed in American culture, I feel a critical theorist would explain an increase in juvenile gang population due to the country’s economic status. I feel that the economy greatly impacts our American culture. People involved in gangs join to escape home life, to feel a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood, to fit in and also because they may feel that their gang members may be able to provide for them. Our society is impacted by the “strain theory” that is discussed in my Criminology class with Professor Kramer. The strain theory basically states that our society is based upon the fact that we all have similar goals. We all want to drive nice cars, live in nice homes, and wear the nicest clothes. By becoming a gang member, you may be able to achieve this goal by committing criminal acts or partaking in criminal activity. I also feel that now more than ever there are so many media influences in our society that make people want to live lavish life styles. I also think that the media especially the rap industry portrays it to be “cool” to be in a gang. Many rap artist and songs relate to gangs. Now they also have this new TV show called Mob Wives on Vh1 which may entice females to want to date males who are in mobs because they live in nice homes and drive nice cars. Essay 6 How are gangs in suburban areas different from inner city urban gangs' The text book was vague in explaining how gangs in suburban areas are different from inner city urban gangs. From my understanding of the reading, the book explains that gangs are concentrated more in urban areas. If there are gang members who are located in suburban areas it is because the gang member's family has moved to the suburban area. Gangs continue to expand to suburban areas for this very reason. The gang member still attempts to recruit members and they are constantly driving back to their old neighborhood. Being that gang members have expanded to suburban areas however, may lead to territory issues because the gang members form new local gangs in their neighbor hoods. I also assume that gang members that live in suburban areas travel back and forth between the urban cities to obtain narcotics to sell back at their new home. They may also sell or distribute illegal firearms in the suburban neighborhoods. Being that I live in Fair Lawn, I was fortunate enough not to have gang problems in my town. I can see there being an issue with gangs however in New York. There are many suburban neighborhoods in New York City. I can see gang members living in these areas trafficking narcotics for distribution and sale as well. I feel that gang violence in a suburban area is less severe than violence that occurs in urban areas. I feel that the criminal activity which would be most popular in a suburban area may just be drug distribution. I feel it is less common that you hear about drive-by shootings in a suburban area then you would in an urban area. Homicide rates are more likely to be higher in a urban area. Essay 7 Should juvenile delinquency proceedings be secret' Does the public have a right to know who juvenile criminals are' Juvenile delinquency proceedings should be a secret. I feel this way because it may cause negative affects for the juvenile in the future. I feel that making the proceeding public, people will start labeling the juvenile as being delinquent and the child will start to really think this is true. They may think that since everyone already thinks negatively of them, they may proceed in delinquent activities. The public does have a right though to know who juvenile criminals are depending on the crime. If a juvenile was caught shop lifting or vandalizing property in form of art such as street graffiti I do not think that the public needs to know about them because they are not causing physical or mental danger to another human being. If a juvenile committed a crime such as burglary, robbery, rape, or murder then yes the public should be aware. Juvenile that commit violent crimes may pose as a possible future threat. Essay- 8 Many programs have been successful in preventing delinquency and many have not, what are some of the reasons why a program may fail to reduce delinquency' I feel that many programs that fail to reduce juvenile delinquency fail to have a set organized plan to really be involved in the minor's life. I think it is important to involve the family, help them find jobs, and involve them in extracurricular activities that occupy their time in a positive way. When you include the family in the prevention programs it helps build a support system for the juvenile. It is said that juveniles who do not hold jobs tend to participate in more delinquent activity. By making them work they learn more responsibilities. I Programs that are just geared towards educating and punishing juveniles may help but only so much. If a juvenile is punished they may want to rebel because they may have anger built inside. Programs geared towards just educating are boring. When i think of preventive delinquency programs such as DARE only bore students. Once they leave the program or school they are going to end up still occupying their time by doing delinquent activities. I think it is vital to keep juveniles in an environment where they are busy and let them interact with their peers in a positive way. ESSAY 9 Would you want a juvenile community treatment program and home next to where you live – why or why not' I would not mind having a community treatment program or home next door as long as the juveniles that live in that home did not commit any violent crimes that may be repeated again such as a juvenile who raped another person. I also would at least like there to be security on the premise and also outside the premise. The home or program should make sure that there is no loitering on neighbor’s property. Overall, I do not feel that this would pose a threat as long as there is security. Essay- 10 Should there be a juvenile justice system or should juveniles who commit serious crimes be treated and tried as adults and other minor offenders be handled by social service agencies' Juveniles who commit serious crimes should be treated and tried as adults and other minor offenders should be handled by social service agencies. I feel that if you commit a serious crime for rape or murder you know EXACTLY what you are doing. The only exception to murder would be if boys are wrestling and the accidently hit each other in a way that causes death, then it is ok. However, if you use a weapon to kill someone you most definitely should be tried as an adult. Even teenagers who commit mass murder killings have a conscious thought process of exactly is going on. I feel that minor offenders can be handled by social service but they should be put into juvenile delinquency prevention programs. Minor offenders can be dealt with but I feel that they should not be titled as a delinquent because that may in turn cause more long term harm to the