Juvenile Crime in the United States
Juvenile Crime Juvenile Crime in the U.S.
Introduction to Juvenile Crime
The public appears much more aware of juvenile crime today than in the past; this is due in part to more thorough reporting techniques and greater emphasis on publicizing delinquent acts in the media. Official U.S. crime reports in the 1980s showed that about one-fifth of all persons arrested for crimes are under 18 years of age. In the 1970s, juvenile arrests increased in almost every serious crime category, and female juvenile crime more than doubled. During the most recent five-year period studied, juvenile arrests decreased slightly each year. Unofficial reports, however, suggest that a higher percentage of juveniles are involved in minor criminal behavior; grossly underreported common offenses include vandalism, shoplifting, underage drinking, and using marijuana.
Official records indicate that much juvenile crime is a group or gang activity. Juvenile gangs are typically classified as violent, delinquent, or social. Members of violent gangs sometimes have unstable personalities. Disputes center on territory or gang warfare and are assaultive, often involving deadly weapons. While group violence is sanctioned, individual violence is discouraged. The delinquent gang is a small cohesive group developed to carry out criminal acts, such as petty thievery and mugging. Although violence may be used, the primary goal is material gain. The social gang is a relatively permanent group of youths who generally exist in accord with society. In contrast to the common characterization of gang-generated crime, however, self-report studies often reveal that youth crime is a personal, independent effort not directly related to group activity.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Juvenile Crime in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Guide to Juvenile Crime
Juvenile Crime in Other Nations (not in the U.S.)
Introduction to Juvenile Crime
Comparisons of the juvenile crime rates in various countries are severely limited by wide variations in national legal systems, categories of criminal behavior, and methods of reporting crimes; certain similarities are apparent, however. For example, Canadian, Australian, and European victimization studies show the actual number of crimes to be several times those known to the authorities. According to one study in Finland, the larcenies known to the police were only 5 percent of the total that occurred. Also, homicide rates in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom are far lower than those in such countries as the United States and Mexico.
The major causes of delinquency in various countries are related to each nation’s economic and social environment. In Brazil, for instance, the incidence of widespread poverty and the number of abandoned children in large city slums may be primary causes of juvenile crime. Delinquency research in India suggests that the primary causes are the changing social system, the population explosion, and shifting morals and values. Egypt reports that known delinquency has doubled in recent times, coupled with a decline in available services for offenders; many of these juvenile delinquents have been faced with very difficult social circumstances, such as surviving as abandoned children in city streets. Although the Soviet Union abolished its juvenile court system in 1935, it was not successful in eliminating delinquency. The government variously blamed the problems on inadequate parenting, failure of the schools, and remnants of the past sociopolitical climate. Many countries, such as Japan, report a decline in the number of juvenile delinquents that parallels a decline in the number of young people generally. Almost universally reported is the fundamental change in or breakdown of traditional patterns of family living, and this is cited as a major cause of juvenile crime around the world.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Juvenile Crime in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Guide to Juvenile Crime
Juvenile Crime in relation to Crime and Race
Juvenile Crime is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: Children in American society have, historically, been regarded as innocent beings who are still at a relatively early stage of their development and are behaviorally, cognitively, and emotionally immature. Society is keen to impute to children all of the characteristics that are believed to represent the vulnerable nature of childhood—goodness, inexperience, and blamelessness; consequently, when children violate the law, social sensibilities are offended. It is inconceivable that one so young could commit so horrendous an act as robbery, rape, or murder. Yet juveniles (as the law regards those who have not yet reached the age of majority in a given jurisdiction) commit crimes varying from the more trivial (such as truancy or petty vandalism) to the gravest (such as arson or homicide), and the law has established mechanisms to deal with those eventualities.
Resources
Notes and References
- Entry about Juvenile Crime in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime