...Juvenile Shoplifting Jean Powell Wayland Baptist University Abstract Juvenile shoplifting is becoming a serious crime. Juveniles commit this crime for many different reasons. Social influence plays a big part in why most juvenile commit the crime of shoplifting or also knows as stealing. Influence from peers can become overwhelming to where a person feels as if they have to steal to feel accepted. Economic reasons can also cause a juvenile to shoplift. Families today are struggling and juveniles don’t understand that their parents just don’t have the money for the certain things that they want. This often leads them to shoplift so that they can have the items like their peers have. There are also psychological influences that play a part in juvenile shoplifting. There is a disorder called Kleptomania, which causes the juvenile to shoplift. Shoplifting can become an addiction and this causes the person to commit the crime more often so that they can receive the rush. There are many factors why juveniles commit the crime of shoplifting. Juvenile Shoplifting Juveniles today are under more pressure than ever. The pressure to fit in and to be accepted among their peers is very important. This causes many juveniles to commit the crime of shoplifting. What are the common reasons that juveniles shoplift? Social influence can cause a juvenile to shoplift so that they feel accepted or to get attention from their family and friends. Negative influence from...
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...Contact in Juvenile Justice System Statement of the Problem or Objective Youth of color have been overrepresented in the American juvenile justice system. Youth of color are more often arrested, court referred, placed in lock facilities, and transferred to adult criminal courts. Analysts attribute the unique age- and race-specific crime pattern to the confluence of broader structural changes including the deindustrialization of cities, the racial concentration of poverty and single-parent households, and the inner-city crack cocaine epidemic. In turn, media depictions of gang and gun violence by minorities—‘‘if it bleeds, it leads’’—fanned public fears and provided political impetus to ‘‘criminalize’’ more youths and punish them as criminals and to adopt more-punitive juvenile justice policies. Despite the lack of standardization in data collection and analysis, 32 of the state jurisdictions studied reported that race=ethnicity effects existed independent of criminal record offense involvement, whereas 12 states attributed DMC solely to legal factors. The proposed study contribute to our understanding of crime and policy response to crime. Youth of color make up 78% of those in the juvenile justice system. Literature Review & Theoretical Perspective Mallett and Stoddard Stated that African American youths are 6 times more likely than white youths to experience facility placement. Vazsonyi and Chen stated that even though there are a lower percentage of juvenile offenders...
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...Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Crime Ericka Davis CJA/204 July 3, 2013 Monte Morast Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Crime Delinquency is behavior by a minor that is antisocial or in violation of the law. Status offenses are activities that are deemed offenses when committed by juveniles, because of their age at the time of the activity. Some offense would include not attending school, breaking curfew laws, running away from home, and possession and consumption of alcohol. The comparison of juvenile courts and adult courts are: The juvenile courts are adjudicated in a civil proceeding, juveniles will have no criminal record, and have the ability to get record expunged and sealed once juvenile reach adult hood. In the adult court adults are charged in a criminal proceeding and upon a finding of guilt carry a criminal record for the remainder of one’s adult life (University of Phoenix 2010). One difference is juvenile courts are conducted in an informal manner, focus more on Paren’s Patria versus Due Process, court records-recordings of proceedings is the decision of the juvenile judge and the preponderance of the evidence used in most circumstance other than determine delinquency, where beyond a reasonable doubt is implemented. Now adult courts proceedings are very formal, are courts of record, and the standard of proof required to determine a guilty verdict is beyond a reasonable doubt. Only 39 states have no guaranteeing juveniles the Right to a trial by jury...
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...Juvenile Delinquent Albert Stuckey AIU Online Abstract This paper is a definition essay that defines the term juvenile delinquent. Juvenile delinquent is a person who’s under the legal age of 18 and breaks the law. This essay will give the reader in detailed information regarding the term juvenile delinquent. Juvenile Delinquent Juvenile delinquency is a term that basically means a person under the age of 18 years old (or age set by state officials) that commits that act of breaking the law. In many courts the punishment for committing a crime while under the age of 18 doesn’t sound too bad to some people. In some cases the crime in which the juvenile commit can lead to the youth being charged as an adult. Neglect Definition: To pay no attention or too little attention to a child’s basic needs from a parent or guardian. Unpredictability: not knowing what behavior will lead to a physical assault. The child is always walking on thin ice without knowing the rules or guidelines. The angrier the parent, the more severe the abuse, the abuser believes to have control they need to put fear in the child. Delinquency is a child who is beyond a parent(s) control and shows signs of being antisocial is label as a juvenile delinquent, and is subject to legal action. http://www.yourdictionary.com/antisocial Juvenile delinquent is a person who’s under the age 18. This person is found to have committed a crime in states which have declared by law that a minor lacks responsibility...
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...STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM What are the causes and consequences of juvenile delinquency? REASON FOR SELECTING AREA OF RESEARCH The researcher has been residing in the community of Dunsinane for a number of years. During this time the researcher has observed the damaging effects of juvenile delinquency on the social and economical development of said community. The researcher has decided to conduct a research to gain insight into the causes and effects of juvenile delinquency and also to find ways to deal with this social problem, as well as to find solutions that will eventually help in eliminating this problem. METHOD OF INVESTIGATION In order to collect accurate and concise data for the study the researcher, Cassandra Gordon has decided to use printed questionnaires. There are a number of advantages in using this method; some of these methods are that: • It requires less time to be completed. • It can be done at the convenience of the person required to have it completed. • It is highly confidential, as participants do not have to mark their names. • Questionnaires are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews. • Questionnaires are easy to analyze, data entry and tabulation can be easily done with the use of questionnaires. • Questionnaires also reduce bias. There is uniform question presentation as the researcher’s own opinions will not influence the respondent to answer questions in a certain...
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...1. Assumptions we make lead us to the behavior we exhibit when explaining or reacting to Juvenile delinquency. Explain how these assumptions about human nature shape our explanations and reactions to juvenile delinquency. a) The assumption of juvenile delinquency in the 17th century was primarily focused on how human beings were characterized by reason, free will, and hedonism. This means that humans are basically selfish by nature. Every action they perform is only to benefit themselves. Life is about survival of the fittest and each person has the ability to reason and make his or her own decisions. So this assumption describes delinquency as a direct result of the actions performed in order to feed our naturally selfish human nature and will eventually lead to deviance, therefore punishment will occur. b) The modernistic approach to delinquency focuses on the fact that human beings are products of forces over which they have no control. Science, including biological, psychological and even geographical forces all shape a person’s tendency to deviate. So with that thought in mind, a modernist would describe the reason why juveniles’ deviate is because they are psychologically “odd”. So this assumption says delinquency is a result of a child who was basically “wired” wrong and essentially abnormal. c) The post-modernistic assumption says that the struggles of everyday life cause deviant behavior. The environment a person is brought up in, their individual knowledge of the...
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...Chapter One – Introduction 1.1: Introduction 1.2: Origin of the study 1.3: Objectives of the study 1.4: Data collection process 1.5: Limitations 1.1: Introduction Juvenile Delinquency is a terrible problem in the unequal management system of society of the modern world. Juvenile Delinquency is increasing for the fast and speedy development of Industrialization and Urbanization. Industrialization and Urbanization make changes the Family structure which increases the propensity of Juvenile Delinquency. A large scale of people has been shifted to City town from rural area and keeps staying in the abdomen. This also increases Juvenile Delinquency. Now Juvenile Delinquency has emerged as a matter of concern in Bangladesh in recent times with the number of children and young people involved in "criminal activities" rising at an alarming rate. In most of the cases this is not a deliberate choice for the children. Numerous social factors coupled with poor parenting, family troubles and above all extreme poverty are pushing these children to this anti-social position. A child is born innocent and if nourished with tender care and attention, he or she will be blossom with faculties physical, mental, moral and spiritual into a person of stature and excellence. On the other hand, noxious surroundings, neglect of basic needs, bad company and other abuses and temptations would spoil the child and likely to turn him a delinquent. Therefore, expressing his concern for Child care, the...
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...University of Phoenix CJA/374 Mr. Ladet March 28, 2013 The issue of juvenile crimes has been of great concern to many people in the American society. Despite putting in place various programs to see that crime rates among juveniles are reduced, many juvenile courts and recreational centers have reported increased cases of dealing with juvenile delinquency. It thus leaves one wondering if the programs that are in place to control and deal with the juvenile delinquency cases are the ones failing or if it’s the society that has failed completely to give the required direction to the youths. There are many cases that have been reported as the main causes of juvenile delinquency. The major causes being attributed to the environment the child is raised. It has been a tradition that juvenile delinquencies are locked up in juvenile prisons as a way of recreating them. However, it has turned out that by locking up the kids, instead of achieving the best results of a rehabilitated child, the results are usually worse than putting in place programs that are family and community based. Therefore, instead of the program of locking up children rehabilitating them, it leads to increased recidivism (Virginia Youth Violence Project, School of Education, University of Virginia, n.d). It is thus important that for juvenile agencies to focus their efforts in using evidence- based practices that have been reported to reduce juvenile delinquency. Such programs ensure that the children are safe,...
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...Who is to be blamed for Juvenile Delinquency? suggests juvenile delinquency refers to crimes committed by children and youth. There is an ongoing discussion as to who should be held responsible for such crimes in scholarly publications , case law and the media (Brank et al, 2006; Brown et al, 2009). The responsibility for juvenile delinquency is usually associated with the delinquent (Economist, 1993), parents (Brank et al, 2006), the educational institutions (Brown et al, 2009) as well as the society, media and culture (Doi, 1998; Jones, 2008). According to the Economist (1993) Britain's most notorious juvenile offender and child-murderer was Mary Bell, who was found guilty of strangling two boys, one aged three and another one aged four, while the offender was only 11 years of age herself. Who shall be held responsible for such crimes? Who could be seen as accountable for such occurrences? This essay will look at those stakeholders in the situation that could be at least partly blamed for such occurrences. with the person committing the crime. This theory suggests that the responsibility for crimes in general should be with the individual offender (Home Office, 2010). According to the said source the rational choice perspective “assumes that offenders seek to benefit in some way from their offending behavior. Rational choice theory therefore portrays offenders as active decision makers who undertake a cost-benefit analysis of presenting crime opportunities” (Home Office...
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...Safety in one’s life is paramount. Safety/security is not only physical but mental as well. By these pervasive laws in juvenile justice more and more youth are being victimize and abused inside juvenile facilities. Locking youth up may decrease emotional development and the likelihood to increase recidivism. Research Zhang stated “the age at first referral (to the justice system), father absence, and special education status were associated with recidivism” and “ youth arrested before 14 years of age are two to three times more likely to become chronic adult offenders, (Zhang et al, 2011, P.284). They may not receive adequate medical and mental health treatment in juvenile facilities. In addition, emotional distress will be high and the chances of minorities receiving non placement in a facility is slim to none. Maslow discussed that safety/security needs are listed just above physiological needs. He described that safety needs has to be met before an individual can thrive and feel important. However, Stone (2012) didn’t exactly agree with Maslow but her observation on security was closely related. Stone stated “security is a state...
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...There is no doubt that various studies and experts can give many theories as to the cause(s) of juvenile delinquency. Many of these causes include economic background and status, influence of peer (groups), repeated exposure to violence inside and outside of the home, images portrayed in the media and the easy access to firearms. Although all of these matters, alone or combined, can turn any child into a juvenile delinquent, parenting is one of the primary causes. Parents are live-in examples for juveniles whom learn by example. There are other sources children can be influenced by, but parents are the most important source simply because they are the primary caregivers, role models and first leading examples for children. Families are one of the strongest socializing forces in life. The images parents and family members portray determine what young children learn to be right or wrong and take as lifelong morals and standards. Parents and family life have a great deal of influence over children and basically mold and shape them into adults. Many if not all parents know that parenting is a complex task with no easy answers or solutions. No child comes with an owner’s manual or parenting tips on how to raise children. Parents learn how to raise their children from how they were raised and things they have experienced in life. Parents with more than one child learn from the way they raised their previous children. Parenting is like trial and error, trying different...
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...Juvenile Delinquency Youth Violence in schools and outside of schools is an issue that is damaging the whole world. It is not something that is happening recently it is happening for a long period of time, and we as the parents are the one that have to find the way on how to help our teenagers, as well as the family members, friends, and the teachers too and one of the ways is by knowing the causes of why so many youth end up in juvenile delinquency. Based on an Article back on 1999, students between the ages of 12 and 18 approximately 186,000 where victims of violence crime in school and 476,000 while away from school (National Center for Educational Statistics 2001). That is a situation that should have not be acceptable, one of the biggest causes of Juvenile Delinquency is the lack of attention that parents give to their children. There are parents who give poor directions to children, fail to structure their behavior and do not reward or punish appropriately. “…our prediction was that the highest levels of antisocial behavior would occur where poor attachment between parent and child was combined with poor controls.” (Hoge, Andrews, and Leschied, 1994, p. 547). Two other causes are a child being abuse physically and mentally at an early age, and low self-esteem. There are many much factors and causes that if we all take in consideration and with the help of the government we can help our youth to children of good and grow with being...
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...An Overview of Juvenile Delinquency in the United States 1. Introduction Juvenile delinquency regards crimes that are committed by individuals under the age of 18. Juveniles can be treated as adults depending on the nature of the crimes. Misdemeanors are minor crimes that don’t carry harsh penalties although felony related offenses do. Each state has juvenile courts that deal with juvenile delinquency. In 2010, there were a total of 308,745,538 juvenile delinquents living in the United States. This large has caused an increased concern about the number of youths that are committing crimes of all kinds. Major causes of juvenile delinquency are a lack of employment opportunities, little to no education and drug addiction among the parents. Juveniles that live with parents that have substance abuse problems often exhibit negative behaviors that result in crime. One program, “Beyond Scared Straight” has been highlighted in the media recently because it uses scare tactics to help juveniles avoid crime and the resulting jail time. This paper will provide an over of juvenile delinquency by defining it in terms of prevalence, causes and interventions. 2. Juvenile Delinquency Defined Each state in the United States have pre-established laws that define juveniles. Roberts concludes that individuals that have not turned 18 are juveniles in the eyes of the law. However, juveniles can be tried as adults if they commit serious crimes such as murder and robbery (Roberts). This has...
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...Juvenile Justice System There are many aspects that go into the juvenile justice system. Dealing with juveniles is a much more sensitive matter than that with adults. Some of the aspects of the juvenile justice system include the historical development of the system, the predominant philosophy, key differences between the juvenile and adult systems, distinguishing between dependency and delinquency, and the reason behind the importance of confidentiality in juvenile court. After reading the class material and reviewing case laws and legislations, we can have a further understanding of the aforementioned keys. Historically, the juvenile justice system dates back to England in the 1600s. Chancellors were appointed to make decisions, which were in the best interest of the juvenile. In 1839 there was the case of Ex Parte Crouse, which dealt with a father attempting to release his daughter, Mary Anne Crouse, from the Philadelphia House of Refuge. The girl was not given a trial and the courts rejected the father’s claims. The state made decisions on behalf of the child and other states decided to do the same. In the case of Reform Schools and People ex rel. O’Connell v. Turner in 1870, courts were confining juveniles in reform schools. Many children in Illinois were getting put in reform schools for simply loitering or playing in the streets. Many parents began complaining of the unjust rulings. Later on the courts ruled juvenile delinquents would be placed under the...
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...Juvenile Justice Process and Corrections Cheryl Cooper CJA/374 July 8, 2014 University of Phoenix Juvenile Justice Process and Corrections Case Study A youth on parole in Louisiana, Mychal Bell, 17, was ordered back to prison for 18 months following numerous parole violations. He had been placed on probation on four previous occasions for violent incidents. Bell was a former member of the “Jena 6,” a group of six black teens who had beaten a white student, Justin Barker, in December 2006. The incident was a culmination of a fight between blacks and whites. Various religious leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, called Bell’s re-imprisonment “revenge” by the judge and called upon the governor, Kathleen Bianco, to intervene (Champion, D. J., 2010). Brief Corrections Plan Mychal Bell will be ordered back to prison for 18 months for parole violations. Upon his release, he will be required to attend and complete an Anger Management class. The extra 18 months complete the original sentence, so any new crimes committed by Mr. Bell will bring new charges. Mr. Bell will be an adult upon release, so no communication is necessary with Child Protective Services or school. Juvenile Justice Process in Ohio Juveniles’ first encounter with the juvenile justice process is usually his or her arrest by a law enforcement official. Other ways that youth enter the system include "referrals" by parents and schools, delinquency victims, and probation officers. A decision is usually...
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