Concept of Delinquency Essay Example for Free

Concept of Delinquency Essay The National Criminal Justice Reference Service defines the offenses committed by status offenders as the following: â€Å"behaviors that were law violations only if committed by a person of juvenile status. Such behaviors include running away from home, ungovernability (being beyond the control of parents or guardians), truancy, status liquor law violations (e. g. , underage drinking, and other miscellaneous offenses that apply only to minors (e. g. , curfew violations and tobacco offenses. In the Federal Criminal System, juvenile delinquents are juvenile offenders processed in the Federal justice system, with charges of delinquency, which are in violation of state or federal laws. Looking at the definitions of these two, there seems to be a very thin line dividing the two which is why the justice system treats them similarly, which is by having the cases processed by the juvenile courts. From the point of view of the law enforcers, the treatment should be the same as both are violating certain laws and regulations. The other sectors however believe that the treatment should not be the same as status offenses are considered as minor offenses while the juvenile delinquency offenses are of graver status. Therefore the status offenders should not be processed in the same manner as the juvenile delinquents. The latter are considered to have more serious violations of either state or federal laws or municipal or local ordinances. A master’s study that was archived with the Central Connecticut State University Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice supported the claim that the treatment should not be the same. A review of a state program created to deal with status offenders was made and here it is asserted that the treatment of status offenders should not be the same. The paper asserts that status offenders should not be punished without having committed crimes and that they should not be referred to the courts as they have not committed crimes. Further, the juvenile courts should not be used to order children into placement. Why are males more delinquent than females? Is it a matter of lifestyle, culture or physical properties? A study of gender and delinquency entitled Crime Delinquency in the United States presents official statistics that suggest that males are significantly more criminal and delinquent than females. Data show that the teenage gender ratio for serious violent crime arrests is approximately 6 to 1, and for property crime approximately 2. 5 to 1, male to female. Similarly, the study by Melissa Sickmund (Juvenile Justice Bulletin, Oct. 2000) indicates that the males are involved in about 8 in 10 delinquency cases each year. Although they constitute only half of the juvenile population, males were involved in well over 70% of person, property, and public order offense cases and in 85% of drug law violation cases handled by the courts in 1997. The male proportions were somewhat higher in 1988. Here it is seen that males are more likely to be â€Å"frequently delinquent† than females and more likely to engage in serious felony-type acts. The explanations range from the biological to the sociological to the social. Each of the reasons identified in the question is a factor to consider: lifestyle, culture or physical properties. As to the lifestyle, males are more extroverted and therefore more exposed to the environment outside the homes. Even in the modern non-patriarchal societies, the males are seen to perform more roles outside of the house. Culture is an important reason too. Our general notion of the females relates to being mothers and therefore also naturally clinging to maternal support. This natural tendency explains why females will more likely not want to commit crimes. The physical or biological properties are also helpful in explaining this gender issue relative to delinquency. In their physical development, females are more expressive of their emotions, more open to family bonding and ties compared to males. Females have the tendency to be more closely monitored by the parents compared to the males. Should there be mandatory incarceration for chronic juvenile offenders? Those who are in favor or mandatory incarceration are of the opinion that offenders, regardless of gender or age should be incarcerated and that chronic offenders should be punished on a mandatory basis in order to reduce and deter crime . On the other hand, those who do not favor mandatory incarceration are of the opinion that for reform to take place, rehabilitation and not incarceration is the remedy. The paper written by Joseph B. Sanborn Jr. asserts that the traditional primary purpose of the juvenile justice system, which is rehabilitating young offenders, should be preserved. Because of the problem of excluding some juvenile delinquents from being prosecuted in the juvenile courts but only in the criminal courts, Sanborn believes that there must be developed a rationale for this exclusion. Summarizing the arguments for or against mandatory incarceration, a study on Serious Juvenile Offenders , quoting Schuster (1978), observes that the serious violent delinquent is an insignificant part of the total population and only a small part of the delinquent population. Because of their small numbers it is more appropriate to rely on the traditional juvenile court waiver mechanisms than to create new laws for the special handling of serious juvenile offenders. From another perspective, however, although serious juvenile offenders are few, they cause considerable social harm, such that measures must be taken to rotect society from them. This view, combined with an emphasis on crime reduction through incapacitation, has led to a policy of mandatory incarceration for serious juvenile offenders in some States. Another view holds that the incapacitation of chronic juvenile offenders will not substantially reduce the crime problem, because so many serious delinquent acts go undetected according to self-report data; however, the same studies suggest that the more frequent and serious violators eventually become â€Å"official† delinquents. Another perspective neither minimizes the problem of serious juvenile crime nor suggests that the rehabilitative goal of juvenile justice be abandoned. It advocates that juvenile justice develop programs that will facilitate change in serious juvenile offenders while providing adequate protection for society. While research can provide more information on what does and does work with such offenders, youth policy ultimately rests on ethical considerations that lie beyond the province of the legal and behavioral science realms. References http://www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=88858 http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/jjbul2000_10_3/contents.html