Juvenile Delinquency

Childhood is a time of joy and innocence for most people; for others, life turns violent and so do they. Criminal acts of young persons are referred to broadly as juvenile delinquency. In some countries delinquency includes conduct that is antisocial, dangerous, or harmful to the goals of society. The age at which juveniles legally become adults generally ranges from 15 to 18.

Sociological research has established such bases for predicting delinquent behavior as the nature of a child’s home environment, the quality of the child’s neighborhood, and behavior in school. _____It is far likelier that delinquency is an integral part of society and probably part of the maturation process that some children go through.

For the majority of young offenders, delinquency seems to be a phase passed through on the way to adulthood. Delinquent acts begin at about age 10 or 11, though there has been a substantial increase in even younger offenders in recent years. _____ The exceptions to this generalization are some older youths who get involved in car theft, robbery, burglary, and even murder. They may well become adult criminals.

For the majority, delinquent activities gradually decrease and may cease altogether as young people enter their 20s and face the prospect of full-time work and marriage. It does seem to be true, however, that the earlier in life delinquent activities are begun, the likelier it is that the pattern will persist particularly in offenders who are convicted and sentenced to juvenile correction institutions.

There has been much controversy among psychologists and sociologists in the late 20th century concerning whether some people are genetically disposed to crime or whether illegal acts have their origin in one's upbringing and environment There is evidence to support both views.

Those who believe it probable that there is a genetic disposition to crime have noted certain physical and personality differences between delinquents and nondelinquents. _____ In their personality traits, delinquents are more extroverted, narcissistic, and impulsive, and less able to delay the satisfaction of desires.

The contrary opinion tends to view delinquents as not substantially different from the remainder of the population. Not all sturdily built individuals, for instance, become criminals; many make their living as athletes or in a variety of professions. Studies in Great Britain have shown that delinquents tend to come from families where there is tension and much difficulty in interpersonal relationships. Family breakdown is also found to be a significant factor. _____

Many delinquents come from homes where the parents abuse alcohol or drugs or are themselves criminals. Poverty, physical and verbal abuse, parents with little respect for themselves, and erratic discipline patterns emerge as contributing factors in such research. Beatings by parents or others can cause injuries to the brain, which in turn frequently cause neurological problems, paranoia, hallucinations, or violent behaviour.

In the United States, Europe, and Japan, most delinquents are boys, though since the early 1980s the number of delinquents who are girls has risen dramatically. _____ One reason for this is the low esteem in which education is often held in these groups. Schooling seems boring and unchallenging, and the delinquent rebels against it by cutting classes or disrupting them and eventually may drop out altogether as more than one quarter of teens did by the early 1990s. Such youths find in each other’s company a compensation for their educational failure by rejecting the social values to which they aresupposed to adhere To make up for this failure, and finding their job market limited, they live dangerously and show contempt for authority.

Many parents, educators, and others blame the violence found in many movies and television shows, rap music and heavy-metal rock lyrics, and comic books, as well as the economic aspirations and goals of society itself. The signs of affluence that children in the poor and working classes see about them money, power, and a large array of consumer goods make them desperately want some of these things even though they may feel they will never be able to afford them. _____In places where drug abuse has become more common, crime has often increased.

Traditionally, delinquency meant offenses such as truancy, assault, theft, arson, or vandalism. _____ Bigotry could be seen in teens of all races; one example is the rise of white-supremacist gangs called skinheads. Sexual crimes also dramatically increased, with date rape one of the most common of adolescent sexual crimes. Allthe more troubling is the fact that the number of teenagers in the country decreased during this time.

The cliche that ‘birds of a feather flock together” has special relevance for the social situation of delinquents. _____Alienated from society, they tend to form groups. Although nondelinquent teenagers also form gangs, delinquents are far likelier to do so. They are impelled by the need to belong and are drawn by the sense of security that a gang offers its members. In belonging to a gang there is a solidarity that an individual fails to find as a loner in society. _____It may also have its own dress code.

Not all teens involved in a crime together are acting as a gang, however. In a well-publicized incident in 1989 a group of youths ages 14 to 16 raped and nearly murdered a young woman jogging in New York City’s Central Park, they said they were “wilding”, roaming about the park with no purpose but to create havoc and hurt people.

Society tries to deal with youthful offenders in a variety of ways. The most common unofficial means are through school counselling and sessions with psychologists and psychiatrists. _____

Serious offences are dealt with officially by the police and the courts. Because of the nature of some of the offences committed by juveniles, there has been a tendency to try them in court as adults for certain crimes, especially murder. _____ If possible, however, the courts try the more lenient methods of probation, juvenile aftercare, or foster care.

Probation means that the court suspends sentence and releases the offender on the condition of good behaviour, subject to certain rules and under the supervision of the court. Probation is frequently granted to first-time offenders. _____ Probation has proved to be the most successful way of dealing with very young offenders.

Juvenile aftercare is the equivalent of parole for an older criminal; it takes place after the young person has been released from an institution and is supervised by a youth counsellor. The purpose of aftercare is to promote readjustment to society.

a)Delinquents have been found to have sturdier bodies and to act in a more aggressive way than nondelinquents.

b). Sometimes, in order to avoid bringing a case before the court, informal probation under the supervision of a probation officer is prescribed.

c)The more serious activities peak at 14 or 15 years of age and then begin to decline for the next several years.

d)This may be true when the father is away at work most of the time and has little contact with his children in free time.

e)Alienated from society, they tend to form groups.

f) Juvenile delinquency is law-breaking by nonadult persons.

g)In recent decades, more violent crimes by teens became more common, especially for those who traffic in drugs or are addicted and commit crimes to support their habits.

h)It has never been conclusively proved, however, that delinquency can be either predicted or prevented.

i)The juvenile courts attempt to steer young people away from a life of crime, though the more serious offences normally result in periods of confinement in juvenile halls or prisons for younger criminals.

j)Most of these in the United States come from the lower middle class and the poorest segments of society.

k)The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that in the late 1980s, about 70 percent of the juveniles in state reform institutions grew up in single-parent (usually with the mother as head of household) or no-parent families.

l) Social workers who deal with family problems also attempt to sort out the difficulties of young potential delinquents.

m) Gang subculture has its own standards, obligations, and rights.

b) Read the text again. Match headings A-H to paragraphs 1-7. There is one heading you will not need to use.

A Crime and punishment

B The justice system

C Nature versus nurture

D Society’s response

E Types of delinquent behaviour

F Gangs and group crime

G Causes and Effects

H Social factors

c) Say:

1. What crimes are usually committed by juveniles and try to explain why.

2. What makes juvenile join or create gangs.

3. Why grown-ups blame television for the increase of juvenile delinquency.

4. What society does to return young offenders to nondelinquentlife.

5. How young offenders are punished for their crimes.

6. Who or what is to blame for the increase of juvenile delinquency.

7. What should be done by the family to protect their children from being offenders or victims of offenders.

During the past decade, teens have become more and more involved in crimes – both as perpetrators and as victims. Curfew supporters argue that curfew is an effective way of preventing violence from escalating further.Curfew attackers don’t believe in its miraculousforce. Here is the story of Marta, a single mother of four in Dallas.

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