Reducing Juvenile Delinquency

Essay by sheikchiliUniversity, Master'sA, May 2012

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Reducing Juvenile Delinquency � PAGE �1�

Running Head: REDUCING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Reducing Juvenile Delinquency

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Reducing Juvenile Delinquency

Introduction

The legal term "juvenile delinquency" was established so that young lawbreakers could avoid the disgrace of being classified in legal records as criminals. Juvenile delinquency laws were designed to provide treatment, rather than punishment, for juvenile offenders. Young delinquents are usually sent to juvenile courts, where the main aim is to rehabilitate offenders, rather than punish them. But, the term "juvenile delinquency" itself has come to imply disgrace in today's society. A youngster can be labeled a "delinquent" for breaking any one of a number of laws, ranging from robbery to running away from home.

Thesis Statement

Crime statistics, though they are often incomplete and may be misleading, do give an indication of the extent of the delinquency problem.

Approach towards study

The FBI reports that during the early 1980s, about two-fifths of all arrests in the United States for burglary and arson were of persons under the age of 18.

Juveniles also accounted for one-third of all arrests for larceny. During any year, about 4 percent of all children between the ages of 10 and 18 appear in a juvenile court. The percentage of young people in this group who are sent to court at least once is much higher. A third or more of the boys living in the slum areas of large cities may appear in a juvenile court at least once. Girls are also becoming increasingly involved in juvenile delinquency. Today, about one of every five young people appearing in juvenile courts is a girl. In the early 1900's, this ratio was about 1 girl to every 50 or 60 boys.

Literature Support

Sociologists have conducted a number of studies to determine how much delinquency is not...