The_Changes_in_Juvenile_Delinquency

Unfortunately most people have first-hand knowledge of the phrase “juvenile delinquency”. It’s not something to be proud of but it is what it is, life. Children often test the limits and boundaries set by their parents and other authority figures. Among adolescents, some rebelliousness and experimentation is common. The phrase “juvenile delinquent” puts focus on the child instead of the parents, who are the problem. The first discovery about juvenile delinquency is that it refers to antisocial or illegal behavior by children or adolescents. These children present great concern to parents and the community at large. The prevention of delinquency requires identifying at-risk individuals and their environments before delinquent activity and behavior occur, and then removing such risk factors or strengthening resistance to the risk factors already present. Regardless of how good a parent you are, or how close your family is, this doesn't mean that your teen is immune from the effects of relationship violence. Relationship-based abuse happens to good kids, smart kids and strong kids -- and though you'd rather not even think about it, the harsh reality of the matter is that it can happen to your kid, too. The second discovery is that juvenile delinquency is the broad-based term given to juveniles who commit crimes. Juveniles are defined as those people who haven’t reached adulthood or the age of majority. Delinquency can be defined as the committing of those things considered crimes by the state, although delinquent can also mean abandoned. Thus juvenile delinquency can cover anything from small crime — a student who cuts school repeatedly is delinquent--to very serious crimes like felony theft and murder. Family factors which may have an influence on offending include; the level of parental supervision, the way parents discipline a child, parental conflict or separation criminal parents or siblings parental abuse, and the quality of the parent-child relationship (Graham & Bowling: 1995 p. 33) Children brought up by lone parents are more likely to start offending than those who live with two natural parents, however once the attachment a child feels towards their parent(s) and the level of parental supervision are taken into account children in single parent families are no more likely to offend than others. (Graham & Bowling: 1995 p. 35). My third discovery was in the United States, the federal government enacted legislation to unify the handling of juvenile delinquents, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act of 1975. The act created the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Justice Department to administer grants for juvenile crime-combating programs. Also to gather national statistics on juvenile crime and fund research on youth crime. The Act orders Youths charged with "status" offenses that would not be crimes if committed by adults, such as truancy, running away and being caught with alcohol or tobacco, must be "deinstitutionalized," which in this case really means that, with certain exceptions (e.g., minor in possession of a handgun), status offenders may not be detained by police or confined. Arrested youths must be strictly segregated from adults in custody. As a general rule, youths subject to the original jurisdiction of juvenile courts cannot be held in jails and lockups in which adults may be detained. Over representation of minority youths: States must systematically try to reduce confinement of minority youths to the proportion of those groups in the population. Delinquency Prevention is the broad term for all efforts aimed at preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal, or other antisocial, activity. Increasingly, governments are recognizing the importance of allocating resources for the prevention of delinquency. Because it is often difficult for states to provide the fiscal resources necessary for good prevention, organizations, communities, and governments are working more in collaboration with each other to prevent juvenile delinquency. In conclusion, with the development of delinquency in youth being influenced by numerous factors, prevention efforts are comprehensive in scope. Prevention services include activities such as substance abuse education and treatment, family counseling, youth mentoring, parenting education, educational support, and youth sheltering. Increasing availability and use of family planning services, including education and contraceptives helps to reduce unintended pregnancy and unwanted births, which are risk factors for delinquency. References Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juvenile_delinquency Christensen, T. E. (2011). What is Juvenile Delinquency' Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-juvenile-delinquency