Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Crime Article

Introduction

The juvenile justice system is to prevent juveniles from performing illegal acts. It comprises of a network of agencies that deal with juveniles whose conduct has come in conflict with the law. The agencies involved are, police, prosecutor, detention, court, probation and correctional institute. A juvenile is a person younger than the legal age of the majority

Juvenile delinquency is the participation of minors or in other words juveniles in illegal behavior. If a person under the age of 18 commits an illegal act that would have serious consequences and could lead to imprisonment if the child was above the age of 18.Delinquency can be defined as a person who performs an act which is considered to be a crime

There are no definite predictors that indicate which child will engage in delinquent behavior and activity. However a general analysis indicated that lesser girls perform juvenile delinquency a majority of such cases come from socioeconomic classes, there is a direct relation of delinquency and children living with disadvantages. Common crimes juveniles commit include, underage drinking, running away from home, vandalism, braking curfews, vehicle theft, larceny theft, burglary , arson (Rose, n.d).

Discussion

Recently it has been seen that the age for the first arrest has significantly dropped since younger boys and girls are committing crimes. A majority of them are adolescents, engaged in some sort of juvenile offense. These offenses can vary from Status offences, property crimes, and in the worst situation violent crimes.

All the offences committed by a juvenile are considered as status of offence, which include sexual behavior, alcohol, consumption, truancy. How to treat the delinquents for performing status of offence has been a debatable question

Once a juvenile has been taken into custody he will eventually appear in a juvenile court in order to have a judge decide how to punish him. A juvenile court the primary focus is rehabilitation. Whereas within an adult court the primary concern is the retribution and the due process. One of the major differences between a juvenile court and an adult court is the terminologies used for a delinquent he is trialed for an act of delinquency, whereas an adult is trialed for a crime. In a juvenile court the offenders' background is taken into serious consideration. Whereas an adult have no such ease.

The major concern of a juvenile court is that it focuses on individualized rehabilitation. An adult court ascertains a punishment equivalent to the crime performed. A juvenile is not arrested he is taken into custody. In an adult court the offender is either guilty or not guilty; a delinquent can have adjustments to his case. The juvenile court decides if the juvenile will remain or be placed in a detention facility.

There are a number of factors that have a direct impact an a juvenile that forces him to perform some sort of wrong doing. There are a number of factors that can push a child towards wrongdoings, parental guidance and supervision has a huge impact on a ...