Juvenile and Criminal Behavior, Research Paper Example

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of juveniles and violent crime from the perspective of Criminal Justice.  The geographical lens is focused upon the United States but some comparative analysis is provided.  The prime objective is examination of the juvenile or adolescent and how they are drawn into criminal behaviour from an early age.  The analysis examines the issues from a legal, psychological and socioeconomic perspective.  The paper is structured into four main parts: (1) An Introduction – provision of  background information to juvenile crime in the USA (2) Literature Review – providing published works analysis in this area  (3) Juvenile Crime analysis by subheadings of psychological, environmental, deterrence, sociological and core values.  (4) Conclusion – summary of key points.

Introduction

Social Deviance Theory can be broken down into five sub components, which generate further theories that can be used in order to explain Juvenile crime. Depending upon the nature of the crime it is possible to select different theoretical approaches. Social deviance is defined as a behavioural condition that acts against the considered ‘norms’ of society.  The concept is an important part of a criminal investigation as it helps to explain the behaviour and cause that resulted in the juvenile crime. Where a child deviates from normal behaviour, if this is left untreated it can progress into more serious behaviour in adulthood.

Robert Merton described five types of deviant behaviour and associated these with different cultural goals and institutional types.

| Conformists – Those that work within the parameters of society and accept the goals by endeavour and hard work. Mostly middle class people

| Innovators – Those who accept the goals of society but not necessarily the conventional means of achieving them. These people are often more creative types

| Ritualists – Those that reject the goals of society but do accept institutionalism. They still essentially agree to the norms within society. These people are often found in dead end jobs or in jobs where they cannot achieve anything.

| Retreatists – These people reject society’s goals and the conventional wisdom of working within the legal framework.  Essentially rebels who wish to replace the normal conventions of society. These are often anarchists and gangs of juvenile delinquents.

Some recent interesting statistics in the USA indicate that about 62% victims of non-fatal violence occur at the hands of juvenile offenders.  95 % of sexual assaults were committed by youths under the age of 18.  Some 74% of reported juvenile offences said the perpetrator was a male.  61% of simple assaults were carried out by juveniles.  One area singled out as having the most continued troublesome record was Los Angeles in California. (Montaldo, C. 2009)

Whilst juvenile crime in the USA is undoubtedly a criminal problem it is equally an environmental and social issue that has to be addressed from a racial, poverty, ethnic and deprived community perspective.

Literature Review

There is a large information base on the subject matter of juvenile crime in the USA.  This being examined from a number of different perspectives. 

R.Agnew has published a comprehensive review of juvenile crime and delinquency in the USA. His research examines this from a causation perspective and reviews the behavioural traits associated with juvenile delinquency. Specific case study focuses on Los Angeles and California in general.  (Agnew, R. 2005).  J.Junger et al explore the rising trend of juvenile Crime in Europe and beyond.  This book serves as a source of excellent comparative analysis to that of the USA and illustrates some alarming trends amongst the youth of today. The increased rates of alcoholism and substance abuse in the Cities being a contributory factor. (Junger, J. 2010).  An excellent view of juvenile delinquency from the legal and criminal justice perspective is provided by Schmulleger. (Schmulleger, E. 2008).  A clinical psychology lens is provided to the work of Rolf Loeber who looks at this from the perspective of anti-social behaviour and the underlying causes that promote this sort of behaviour.  (Loeber, R. 2010)

Juvenile Crime

| Psychological Perspective

In more recent years researchers have been studying the construct of psychopathic behaviour in juveniles and young adults. This research is likely to have a significant input into how the legal jurisdiction will impact the treatment of juvenile crime. It has been proven that there are a number of juveniles with serious persistent criminal records that display psychopathic tendencies.  Questions have been raised as to whether the root cause is that of criminal behaviour or sociological considerations i.e. driven from poverty, drug dependencies and poor social living environments.

Since the 19990’s the public outcry about juvenile crime has seen more punitive measures taken against offenders  and they are now facing stiffer penalties from Juvenile Courts. At the extreme level Texas still imposers the death penalty for juvenile homicide convictions. Juvenile Crime and gang convictions are on the increase in the USA.  Police arrests and subsequent convictions show gang members being related to location, grouping, type of crime committed, conviction type, date convicted, number of previous offences etc.  These provide more logical grouping of data.  It must be recognised that the largest percentile groups, that of street gangs and juvenile gangs, are not a police problem but a social problem.

This has not been properly recognized in the USA and as such there are not any significant banks of social statistics to call upon. It has been estimated that there are over 840,000 gang members in the United States using a variety of different identification names.  (Carlie, M. 2011)). Most of juveniles arrested are repeat offenders and as such have a record of violence and petty crime.  The system does not provide adequate social welfare for these offenders and as such crimes often escalate into cases of homicide and serious assault.  As such police have the right of detention until the person arrested cab be formally charged and duly processed through the court systems.

Violent Crime in the USA falls under a number of different categories: – 1) that associated with Juvenile crime 2) Drug related crime  3) Homicides 4) Organised crime syndicates.  5) Bodily assault and rape.  These are the main areas that account for the more serious violent crimes carried out in the US today.

With virtually 1 in 100 Americans being sent to Jail is violent crime in the USA increasing to a point where the Government are starting to lose control of the situation ?  How may the current trends be reversed and is it time to recognise that we have more of a social problem that that of a criminal one?

| Environmental Issues – California Case Study

It is the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that assumes the responsibility for all of the California State Corrections i.e. corrections, rehabilitation, parole, probation etc. for both adults and juveniles. It is the second largest law enforcement agency in the United States. Only the New York police department is larger than the CDCR.  The CDCR is the largest state run prison institution in the USA. It has 37 correctional institutes, 18 community correction facilities and 8 juvenile facilities housing more than 165,000 adults and over 3,200 juveniles.

The CDCR is also responsible for overseeing the rights of the inmates whilst in prison. This has been a tremendous challenge owing to the significant overcrowding in the California prisons. The Governor of the state (Arnold Schwarzenegger) introduced a $7.4 billion prison reform bill in 2007.  This bill provided for an additional 40,000 prison beds.  The state also faces numerous legal challenges over its provision for adequate medical care in the prison system. Certain prisons have been singled out for having the most appalling conditions and contravening human rights.

The CDCR has been acutely aware that it needs to make changes to improve prisoner conditions and this started in 2008 with the introduction of the Victims Bill of Rights Act .  CDCR do state that they have an open access policy in visiting inmates and listening to their concerns.

| Social Issues of juvenile delinquency.

Most of juveniles arrested are repeat offenders and as such have a record of violence and petty crime.  The system does not provide adequate social welfare for these offenders and as such crimes often escalate into cases of homicide and serious assault.  As such police have the right of detention until the person arrested cab be formally charged and duly processed through the court systems.

Most of the current research effort in psychopathic behaviour is aimed towards forecasting why this type of behaviour pattern occurs. i.e. the utility of measures. There have been some interesting debates taking place on precisely what constitutes psychopathic behaviour. One argument states ‘an integral part of psychopathy is an emergence of an early and persistent patter of problematic behaviour’ whereas another viewpoint stated that criminal behaviour is mainly rooted in anti-social behaviour  (Skeen, 2010).

In 2002 the number of people in USA prisons exceeded the 2 million mark  (Longley, R. 2012). This obviously points to the need for a new approach around the rehabilitation model.  Although this method has its difficulties there is a need to change the behavioural modifications of prisoners and get them back to society as trusted and valued citizens.  Much of this needs to be focused on drug rehabilitation and treatment of mental illness.  There is a differentiation in the treatment between what prisons can do and that of hospitals for those with psychological problems.  The current prison situation remains alarming when factoring in the trend and rise of juvenile crime. It has been questioned as to whether this is more a sociological problem than that of legal jurisdiction.

In the USA there is a very diverse range of addicts who have become dependent upon the drug. In addition to the immediate health hazards like liver failure and the lethal risk of overdose.  Those that share needles also place themselves at serious risk of contracting other serious diseases like HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. Trying to overcome heroin addiction on your own is virtually impossible. The best course of action is to get help from a prescribed treatment centre.

It is interesting to note that approximately half a million heroin addicts land up in jail each year. A majority of those in jail do not receive medical treatment for their addiction. The World Health Authority issued guidelines that stated the prisons should offer appropriate medical treatment to addicts. It is clear that most prisons are not abiding by these guidelines. The addicts also eventually get released from jail without any referral to medication or health support.  This sees them back on the streets and resorting to criminal activities in order to feed the habit. Subsequently these people find themselves back in jail and so the vicious cycle continues.

Have drugs penetrated US society to such an extent that they represent an irreversible trend in the deterioration of Crime and society at large?  There is no doubt that the US has a major issue with Drug abuse and importation of illegal drugs from abroad.  The concept of juvenile substance abuse and drug addiction represents a serious threat to the social fabric and well-being within American society.  The changes in social lifestyle, particularly among the poorer echelons of American Society, estimated as being 25% of the population, means that the problem will take a considerable time to resolve.  Blocking the supply of importation of the drugs to the USA is paramount in destroying the business at source

Core Values

The Christian views are sometimes opposed to the more mechanistic rules of Criminal law and as such have an often more complex view towards the resolution of juvenile delinquency problems.  Such views often look at behavioural and environmental considerations and how these may be remedied in order to act as a deterrent or prevent criminal behaviour  in juveniles.  This often takes in broader considerations of understanding the impacts of extreme poverty and the sociological conditions that turns a young person into juvenile delinquency.

There are also the aspects of racial discrimination amongst ethnic groups and child and sexual abuse of children that cause severe psychological problems  and mental illness amongst the young.  In many regards the concept of punishment should be more of a last resort and there is more of an immediate need to address the many sociological issues that lead to this behaviour in the young.  There is also the trend of increased substance abuse that leads towards mental illness, homelessness and rejection by society that leads these young people towards criminal behaviour in order to continue financing their habit.  A  Christian view moves more towards the need of increased education and awareness in the health issues and help / assistance in gaining rehabilitation  and acceptance into mainstream society.

Conclusions

Social and Government bodies are taking a more proactive stance with regard to criminal behaviour.  This particularly in the area of juvenile crime.  These bodies collect various forms of research data based upon empirical research and quantitative statistics.  There are common often overlapping areas of interest i.e. Juvenile delinquency and crime.  Juvenile crime in Los Angeles CA is often a result of ethnic, poverty and drugs that start at an early age and cause repeat offender’s that escalate in terms of criminal activity.  This is believed to be more of a social issue than that of a criminal justice issue.  Both regulatory bodies need to work together in order to find joint solutions to the problems.

Increasing attention is being made towards juvenile crime statistics. Juveniles mixing in gangs may result to victimization as more criminal related activities like, mugging, theft, robbery, intimidation etc.  This is often teenagers coming from backgrounds of poverty and becoming resentful of others that have money and a lifestyle that they can never attain. This equally covers vandalism and damage of property as a result of rage and jealousy. There are a number of behavioural conditions associated with juvenile delinquency i.e. anger, rage, hatred, jealousy and ignorance ( lack of education). This often leads to repeat offences and eventually more serious crimes including homicide.  Certain states like Texas treat juvenile crime in the same context in adults and the death penalty still exists for juvenile homicide cases.  ( Snyder, H.N. 2006).  The recent spate of shootings in US Schools (Columbine Example) was the result of two boys who were relatively isolated, talked of carrying out a massacre, talked of a suicide pact and ultimately carried out their fantasy.

People react differently to crime incidents. This is an important part of behavioural research and an important source of data for developing public policy in response to criminal behaviour.  Many states have not been able to provide adequate security for its citizens and this has created different reactions to crimes including the formation of vigilante groups and vendettas for homicide cases.

The research helps Governments to understand where policies are not working and the trends / correlations between different areas. This can lead to new policies, amendments to existing policies or formation of new laws. The Police are using Incidence Forms as an important means of gathering data on crime. The police use research into predicting hotspots in prisons.  Research into historical incidents can be examined across the prisons systems for causation and impact.

Trends and correlations can be drawn and this provides information where future incident spots occur.  Universities complete incident forms for the police in certain legal mandated areas.  Primarily, sexual assault, racial abuse, theft and weapons.  Incident forms are normally the first part of a criminal investigation.  The forms are an important means of collecting base information but are not exhaustive in terms of completing the investigation.

References

Agnew, R. (2005). Juvenile Crime causes and control. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing.

Carlie, M. (2011). Into the Abyss. Retrieved 10 17, 2011, from A perspective on Gangs: http://people.missouristate.edu/michaelcarlie/Orientation/perspective.htm

H.N. Snyder, M. S. (2006). Juvenile Offendors and victims. National Report, 253.

Junger, J. (2010). Juvenile delinquency in Europe and beyond. . Boston MA: Springer.

Loeber, R. (2010). Developmental and risk factors of juvenile anti-social behaviour and delinquency. Clinical Psychology Review Vol 10(1), 1-41.

Longley, R. (2012, 2 20). US Prison population tops 2 million. Retrieved from US Government: http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censusstatistic/a/aaprisonpop.htm

Montaldo, C. (2009, 11 17). Most juvenile crime victims are other juveniles. Retrieved 11 3, 2011

Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2012, 3 1). A Comprehensive Approach to Drug Prevention . Retrieved from Office of National Drug Control Policy: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/prevention-intro

Schmulleger, E. (2008). Criminal Justice: A brief introduction. New York: Prentice Hall .