Essay - Juvenile Delinquency the Shape of the Future Juvenile Delinquency: Causes...

Juvenile Delinquency

THE SHAPE OF THE FUTURE

Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Best Strategies, Interventions

Introduction

***** American Heritage Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006) broadly defines juvenile delinquency as antisocial or criminal behavior by children or adolescents.

This has been a major, baffling and frustrating concern of the various sectors ***** society through the ages. It has become even more serious, ***** and ***** today. The image of problem youths ***** has also changed: they have become both victims and offenders and at alarmingly increasing r*****es. The primary approach has been retributive incarceration, lately from ***** courts to adult facilities. Studies have shown, though, that their detention leads to further victimization and greater exposure to criminal *****. Despite praiseworthy strides in overall progress, juvenile del*****quency in modern America has remained a big problem.

His*****ry of Juvenile Delinquency and Approaches

Reformists and other concerned individuals in the mid-1800s tried to understand the issue ***** these neglected and erring young people (Onwudiwe, 2004). Some of them believed that ***** are intrinsically good and do not deserve ***** be tried, sentenced and punished as criminals. These so-called "child savers" argued that young ***** suffered ***** some deep-rooted problems, which should, instead, be viewed with comp*****sion ***** intervened into by society. Most ***** all, these advocates contended that, unlike ***** criminals, ***** offenders are ***** completely responsible for their mis*****havior or crime (Onwudiwe).

Historical efforts to curb and contain juvenile delinquency have, thus, ***** mainly rehabilitative in nature. The turbulence, damage and pain, which accompanied or followed juvenile acts and trends in the late 70s, disturbed criminologists and the criminal justice system in a new way (*****, 2004). Statistics revealed that *****re were 72.6 million Americans below 18, or 300,000 more from the previous year. At this current pace, *****re will be 80.3 young ***** ***** the year 2020 (Onwudiwe).

***** to this social problem have been derived from *****oretical assumptions to explain it. Two primary but opposite perspectives emerged to determine a young offender's culp*****bility and view of his behavior (Onwudiwe, 2004). ***** classical approach sees all persons as possessing free ***** and free choice and thus must be ***** for their individual actions. This view puts strong emphasis on deterrence, incapacitation ***** the offender, ***** when feasible, his or her retribution. The positivist approach, on ***** other hand, applies rehabilitati***** and treatment of the young *****fender. It *****s his or her behavior as not of their own volition and, therefore, not ***** or her responsibility. It *****s that ***** away as due ***** biological ***** cultural fact*****s, which largely control his or her *****. Most ***** the responsibility is placed on the ***** genetic make-up. But recent sociological views blame ***** ***** the f*****t-paced collective transformation of today's *****. That fast-paced transformation d*****ables neighborhoods ***** directing their children properly. Pioneers of the ecological philosophy suggested that cities are natural human environments. If these environments ***** left alone to decay, gangs and delinquency will form out of weakening social control schemes (Onwudiwe).

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