MULTICULTURALISM AND DIVERSITY

Multiculturalism and Diversity

Multiculturalism and Diversity

The changing demographics and diversity of the U.S. population may affect the operation of juvenile and criminal courts by the effectiveness in properly dealing with new trends in crime and all the costs of hearing and preparing the court cases, and of hiring more people to deal with the increase in crime in the future, and finally the cost of rehabilitating those offenders.

Some of the things that could change this are the rise in elderly population that is embracing technology. While the recent advances in technology have brought a number of advantages to society, it has also resulted in some unique challenges for law enforcement.

The State Police will be called upon even more in the future to police technology-related crimes (Internet scams and other cyber-related crimes), especially against the elderly, which will cost us more to hire more police officers and cost us more in the courts (Durkheim, Emile, 1953).

It is anticipated that an increase in the senior population will result in an increase in the number of crimes perpetrated against elderly citizens. Not only will this change in demographics impact the investigation and enforcement of crime, it will also precipitate questions concerning whether current legislation sufficiently addresses this particular class of victims. As with any changes in demographics, an increase in the number of law enforcement concerns of elderly citizens will generate several training issues for sworn personnel who are called upon to respond to those concerns, and hearing court cases.

Although juvenile crime rates declined during the mid-nineties, high-profile juvenile homicides and school violence cases have propelled legislative action. Most states have moved to narrow and restrict the scope of juvenile court jurisdiction and to experiment with sentencing reforms that blur the traditional boundaries between the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. The juvenile ...