Parents or Prisons, Term Paper Example

Morse (2003) asserts that single-parent homes attribute to the increase in juvenile delinquency. The author argues that juveniles who do not come from homes where two parents are married, living together, and working together to solve problems, are more likely to end up in the juvenile justice system. These juveniles lack proper modeled behavior and are therefore more inclined to commit crimes. Although the author makes many valid points in her argument against single-parent families, some points are invalid. This paper will examine the invalid points by supporting them with counter arguments.

Morse (2003) claims that juveniles commit crimes because by lack proper cognitive development. Because these youths do not grow up in a nurturing environment where two parents are present, they develop behavior traits that exhibit a lack of “basic self-control and reciprocity,” (Morse, 2003). By contrast, Chilton and Markle (1972) attribute the disproportionate incarceration of juveniles who come from single-parent homes to a shortcoming within the justice system. The authors assert that broken homes are often cited as the cause for an increase in juvenile delinquency, but wrongfully so. If poverty causes an increase in crime, and the majority of single-parent homes are found in poorer communities, then that does not mean that the single-parent homes are the reason for the influx in crime among juveniles. The real culprit is poverty. In fact, MSNBC.com reported in 2010 that poverty in the United States had risen dramatically in recent years, largely due to the recession. However, despite the fact that more Americans were living under the national poverty level than in previous years, the demographics of those Americans had changed. Because of the economic recession, more men had become unemployed. This meant that women, who had previously stayed home, sought employment to contribute to the family’s income. The result was that more mothers left home to generate a family income. Fathers of these families stayed home. So, although the families were structured according to societal norms, the family incomes decreased (MSNBC, 2010). In those instances where middle income families entered the lower-income median, many juveniles turned to crime. These circumstances put juveniles at an increased risk of delinquency and consequently contribute to the rise in juvenile crimes. In order to establish some sort of program to curb the rise in juvenile crimes, U.S. crime policies are increasingly treating juveniles as adults (Snyder & Sickmund , 1999). These policies have been met with much criticism as the question comes up of what is considered an appropriate balance between the healthy development of children and the public’s desire to punish criminals. From a criminological perspective, crimes should be condemned and punished. However, when the criminals are children and adolescents, the public feels that they should be educated and reformed in order to prevent recidivism (Snyder & Sickmund , 1999).

More than two million juveniles are arrested in the United States each year. The juvenile justice system follows certain standard proceedings when arresting and detaining youth. Usually the officer making the arrest decides whether the youth should be detained or released. If the officer decides to release the youth, he or she is typically released into the custody of parents or other custodians. The youth is usually detained if he poses to be a threat to himself or others. If the youth is detained, he or she is placed in a youth facility to await trial (Juvenile Law Center, 2011). It is during these trials that various important legislative decisions have been made; many of which have changed the juvenile justice system permanently. In contrast to Morse (2003), Chilton and Markle (1972) attribute the skewed statistics associated with juvenile crimes to the incarceration procedures of law officials. When a juvenile is apprehended for committing a crime, the arresting officer has the authority to decide whether that juvenile should be taken into custody or released into the custody of his or her parents. The majority of cases where the juvenile is found to live in a single-parent home, the arresting officer opt for juvenile detention. When the juvenile is found to have two parents waiting at home, the offender is released into the custody of his or her parents. Statistics are primarily based on the number of incarcerated individuals. If the majority of juvenile who are incarcerated are found to be from single-parent homes, that is because the arresting officer deemed it more beneficial for that juvenile to be detained. In other words, the statistics show only the number of youth who have been detained, and not the amount who have been arrested for crimes committed. It is therefore erroneous to assume that youths who hail from single-parent homes are more likely to commit crimes. The fact is that youth who live in poverty are more likely to commit crimes, regardless of the amount of parents that youth has (jrank.org, 2011)

Works Cited

jrank.org. (2011). Juvenile Delinquency – Family Structure. Retrieved July 19, 2011, from family.jrank.org: http://family.jrank.org/pages/1006/Juvenile-Delinquency-Family-Structure.html

Juvenile Law Center. (2011). Juvenile Justice. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from www.jlc.org: http://www.jlc.org/litigation/chaz_bunch_v._keith_smith1/

Morse, J. R. (2003). Parents or Prisons. Policy Review, 120.

MSNBC. (2010, September 16). Record number of Americans living in poverty. Retrieved July 19, 2011, from MSNBC.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39211644/ns/us_news-life/t/record-number-americans-living-poverty/

Snyder, H. N., & Sickmund , M. (1999). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.