Juvenile Delinquency Essay Example

Juvenile Delinquency Essay Trappings of childhood When a child kills, does he instantly become an adult? Or does he maintain some trappings of childhood, despite the gravity of his actions? These are the questions oppressing our legal system today, as the violent acts of Juvenile delinquencies continue to make headlines. Some people believe that children should be tried as adults when prosecuted for certain serious crimes. Others feel that children should be tried as minors because they are not yet adults, and therefore, they should be reated differently. This is an important debate because how we choose to punish juveniles affects both our current and future society. Teens all over the world are being tried differently in court, and it is not fair to Judge and punish them inconsistently for the same crime. I believe that, without exception, children under 18 should be tried as minors. Our society has set 18 as the age of adulthood. Eighteen is when a person is expected to know what is right and wrong, and understand his responsibilities in the community. The responsibility to vote, sign contracts, make out wills, sign leases, and decide on medical treatment are not acquired until the age of 18. By 18, a person has experienced enough to know what he should and should not do. Then, why those under 18 are tried as adults? A person under 18 is a child and should be treated as such by the courts. When Juveniles receive a life sentence in adult prison, they never get a second chance. When they commit crimes and were punished properly, they should learn that their actions were wrong and not to do it gain. We will write a custom essay sample on Juvenile Delinquency specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Juvenile Delinquency specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Juvenile Delinquency specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Juvenile detention helps show their mistakes and gives them a second chance, while prison does nothing to help a child. Adults have already had their chance; they should know the difference between right and wrong by the time they cross into adulthood; therefore they deserve an adult sentence. According to Dr. Brenda Plattner, affective dysregulation is at the heart of disturbances stemming from childhood drama and can result in lone-term impairments in functioning including impulsivity and anger-control problems. Young brains are not fully developed, so humans do not understand the full consequences of their actions until about the age of 23. Teenagers essentially lack wisdom, so their perception in life comes from what they are thought at an early age. Teens commit crimes for a reason. Maybe they are angry or want attention from their family. Committing a crime is the only option they see. In the Juvenile system, they can learn other ways to express themselves. Then they can return to society with a new chance at life. Juvenile Delinquency By darlyn09 Juvenile Delinquency Essay Example Juvenile Delinquency Essay Juvenile Delinquency has long been a social problem in the United States.   Juvenile delinquency is the commission of a criminal offense by a minor.   It is considered a social problem because it is a condition which the society deems as a problem.   Ã‚  Criminal offenses, as a whole, are considered a problem in any society because it poses danger to the people in the community.   In 1999, law enforcement officers arrested an estimated 2.5 million juveniles. Approximately 104,000 of these arrests were for violent crimes. The most common offense was larceny-theft.   Ã‚  Juvenile arrest rates for property crimes remained relatively stable between 1980 and 1999. In 1998, for every 100,000 youth in the United States ages 10 through 17, there were 1,751 arrests of juveniles for property offenses (Frontline, 2005).Juvenile delinquency, more than any form of delinquency should be given more attention because of the graver problems it could bring in the future.   As juveniles, th ey are considered the future of the country and the fact that at a very young age, they are already delinquents means that the probability of being a burden than an asset to the society is very high.   With the statistics mentioned above, the number of incidents reported to law enforcement officers is already quite alarming.   Delinquent act is already a problem our society is facing right now, and the solution to it is yet to be found.   In the meantime, minimizing the number of incidents by minimizing the probable offenders could be a significant step to eradicate the problem.   Moreover, it would not only be beneficial to the society but also the individual juvenile delinquents as well because they are given the chance to have a brighter future.Delinquent behavior can be attributed to several social characteristics of the juvenile delinquent such as gender, social class, place of residence, etc.   Due to such, it is not easy to find a single answer as to what causes del inquent behavior.One of the major sociological theories that could explain the cause of juvenile delinquency is the theory of symbolic interaction.   Symbolic Interactionism as thought of by Herbert Blumer, is the process of interaction in the formation of meanings.   Human beings are best understood in relation to their environment.   The first core principle of meaning states that humans act toward people and things based upon the meanings that they have given to those people or things. Symbolic Interactionism holds the principal of meaning as central in human behavior.   The second core principle is language. Language gives humans a means by which to negotiate meaning through symbols.   It is by engaging in speech acts with others, symbolic interaction, that humans come to identify meaning, or naming, and develop discourse. It is by engaging in speech acts with others, symbolic interaction, that humans come to identify meaning, or naming, and develop discourse.   The third core principle is that of thought. Thought modifies each individuals interpretation of symbols.   Thought, based-on language, is a mental conversation or dialogue that requires role taking, or imagining different points of view (Nelson, 1998).Juvenile delinquency, as defined earlier is the commission of an offense by a minor. As minors, they are vulnerable to the many influences surrounding them.   In other words, they are easily influenced by the things around them.Juvenile delinquents could be best understood by looking into the kind of environment they grew up in.   As what was mentioned earlier, human act towards people based upon the meanings that they have given upon the given thing or people.   Every community in the society creates their own subculture by the different practices and beliefs they have in that particular area.   And from that subculture, every single person in that community gives meaning to a given thing or person they come to contact with.   This is supported by Blumer’s premise that â€Å"symbolic interactionism is derived from or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one’s fellows (Denzin, 2004, p. 152).Language and thought, comes out of the meaning created in the community where the person interacts with.   The meanings created are manifested through the language and thought of the person.   It is only through the study of the environment of the person involved could some answers be derived.Juvenile delinquency unlike any other social problem, is very difficult to solve because answers to why it is existing is hard identify because of the several factors that could be attributed to its existence.   However, this should not stop social scientists and government bodies from probing into this problem.   Eventually, with continued research, answers could be derived.Symbolic Interactionism is a significant tool to explain the existence of this social problem.   It seeks to inte rpret the various factors involved that could in one way or another explain the actions of the juvenile delinquents.   With the study of juvenile delinquency, through the theory of symbolic interactionism, it does not present the problems of the juvenile delinquents but also the societal problems present in the community where these individuals interact with.   It is only through the presentation of the real situation of the society that solutions could be found because it is from these situations where problem arise.The curbing of the problem on juvenile delinquency could solve not only the problem of juvenile delinquency but also the problem of the community and the graver problems it could bring.   The fact that juvenile delinquency was brought about by the environment in which the juvenile delinquent came from, means that there is a problem in that particular community that brought about an environment that creates delinquents out of innocent juveniles.