Almost every day is fraud with danger. Nowadays people spend thousands to burglar-proof their homes. They try to avoid dangerous areas at night, they encourage the authorities to light up dark

Juvenile Delinquency

Almost every day is fraud with danger. Nowadays people spend thousands to burglar-proof their homes. They try to avoid dangerous areas at night, they encourage the authorities to light up dark street, foster Neighbourhood Watch schemes and sentence the criminals to death penalties or life imprisonment of solitary confinement. For ages scientists, philosophers and doctors are desperately trying to find out what makes people commit crime.

The major cause of crime nowadays is the widening gap between the middle class and those living below the property line. If the have-nots do have a television at home, they are bombarded with adverts for all sorts of goods, which they can't afford.

Many psychologists, however, spotlight the breakdown of family life as a prime cause of crime. About 90% of young offenders are products of unhappy families. It is asserted that high divorce rates, stress in single parents families, lack of extended families, decline of discipline and loss of respect at home and school instigates both young and mature criminals.

I'd like to point out that the general belief that TV violence and gore causes crime has been very much doubted lately. Social studies and researches show that, the children who had been heavily exposed to violence are far more likely to take part in a serious crime. In Great Britain 92 teachers are attacked every day.

Juvenile delinquency is lawbreaking by nonadult persons. It includes such crimes as murder or robbery, as well as some offences such as truancy or certain sexual acts, that are illegal only when committed by juveniles. The definition of juvenile varies from state to state, but the term most commonly refers to someone under 18 years of age. Delinquents are likely to come from a background of poverty, to belong to a racial or ethnic group that experiences discrimination, and to live in an urban area. They are more often male than female, although females are committing violent crimes in greater numbers than in the past. Drugs and gang activity has worsened the situation.

Criminologists who study juvenile delinquency attempt to explain it in several ways.

· Culture of deviance – theorist from this prospective look at the environment and sub-culture that a juvenile resides in. this perspective sees delinquency as a function of the surroundings or environment that juvenile lives in. A juvenile growing up in a culturally deviant area will be subjected to criminal lifestyles, and could learn deviant practices, patterns of behavior, and norms.

· Structural functionalism

· Social learning theory

· Labeling theory – is somewhat of a 'if the shoe fits, wear it' theory. It suggests that social groups make deviance by making rules whose infractions constitute deviance by making rules whose infractions constitute deviance and by applying these rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders. From this point of view, deviance is not a quality of the act that a person commits but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions of the 'offender'. Basically, when a person get caught for engaging in a particular crime, the person may begin to see their self in a negative context.

· Rational choice theory

· Conflict perspective

· Social control theory

Nowadays the increase of juvenile delinquency is observed: teens have become more and more involved in crimes – both as perpetrators and as victims. Just open any newspaper or magazine and you are sure to read about problem teenagers, especially those who run away from homes, about children detained by police for having stolen something. Experts say that the juvenile problem is the result of the policy of silence which disguises many problems including this one. Almost all the psychologists guess that the juvenile delinquency comes from families. And we can only blame parents of those children who run away from homes and join street gangs. America’s children pay a steep price for family breakdown. Children who grow up in a household with only one biological parent are worse off than children who grow up in a household with both of their biological parents, and they are most likely to have a child before the age of 20. Children who do not have enough money want to earn it quickly. That is why they join gangs. To be a member of a gang is very dangerous as street gangs do not forgive mistakes easily: the gang’s enforcer does not want excuses. The statistics show a growth in crime among young people that is far greater than similar crimes involving adults. If nothing is done to stop teen crime, crime rates are expected to double by the year 2010.

Because juveniles are not treated the same as adults by American society, the justice system treats them differently as well. When dealing with juveniles, the American justice system functions much like a parent, a concept known as parens patriae. Just as parents are supposed to act in the best interests of their children, the justice system is supposed to consider the best interests of young people whj commit crimes.

The concept of the court acting as parent is the cornerstone of American juvenile justice. Parens patriae allows the juvenile court tremendous flexibility, or discretionary power, in its dealings with juveniles. In most juvenile cases, punishment is based on the court's idea of what will help the juvenile most rather than on the severity of the crime. The court can even decide that a juvenile who has committed a criminal offence should not be confined to a juvenile facility if such an action is deemed in the best interest of the juvenile.

Extensive media coverage of crimes has increased the nation's concern about the types of crimes committed by juveniles.

While juveniles do rape, rob, and kill, it is important to remember that only a small number of America's young people commit any type of crime. The property crimes are most frequently committed. While property crimes committed by juveniles seem to be decreasing, statistics show that violent crime is increasing. A significant amount of the juvenile violence in America today is connected in some way to gangs. Another trend that has contributed to the increase in violence among juveniles is the availability of dangerous weapons.

In England and Wales criminal proceedings can’t be brought against children below the age of 10 years. Offenders between the ages of 10 and 18 fall within the jurisdiction of youth courts. The same probation, curfew and community service orders may be given to 16- and 17- year-olds as to older offenders. Also available to the court are supervision orders or attendance center orders. Under a supervision order – which may remain in force for not more than three years – a child (10-13 years old) or young person (14-17 years old) normally lives at home under a supervision of a local worker or a probation officer. The order may require the offender to participate in specified activities at specified times.

Anyone under 21 years of age found guilty of an offence for which an adult may be imprisoned can be ordered to go to an attendance centre., as can an offender who refuses to comply with another order (for example, default in paying a fine or breach of probation order). The maximum number of hours of attendance is 36 spread over the period; the minimum is 12 hours, although where the offender is under 14 years of age the court has a discretion to impose a lesser total.

Crown Court powers to order long periods of detention for young offenders who commit serious crimes are extended under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to include 10- to 13-year-olds. The courts may detain 10- to 13-year-olds convicted of an offence for which an adult may be jailed for 14 years or more (including rape, arson, domestic burglary and robbery). The basic custodial sentence for those aged 15 to 21 is detention in young offender institution. Alternatives include fines and compensation, attendance center orders (for up to 36 hours) and community service orders (for between 40 and 240 hours.)

As for the curfew, its supporters argue that the curfew is an effective way of preventing violence from escalating further. They point out that this is especially true in families where parents can’t or won’t take responsibility for their teenage sons and daughters.

When police find a young person under hours a teen is arrested. ID is checked. If the person is under 18, they are arrested. The teen is driven to a detention center. If any violence is shown handcuffs are used. At the center the teen meets with police and counselors. Depending on the situation the teen may be referred to treatment centers (if there is evidence of alcohol or drug use), Child Protective Services (in cases of abuse), or Juvenile Hall (if there is more serious criminal activity). Parents arrive at the center and the police inform the teen and the parents of the punishment which can range from $50 fine for first offences to s $1000 fine or 90 days in jail for multiple offences.

Experts ring the alarm bell: against the background of general decrease of juvenile delinquency rate, the share of grave crimes committed by children and teenagers increases from year to year. Now it approaches the critical level of 10% of all crimes committed by juveniles. Psychologists state that the Ukrainian children's psychic setup underwent irreversible changes for the last ten years: they are not afraid of anything; they value nothing, and they have nothing to believe in. They become crueler, and their crimes are getting more terrifying. The teenagers' value system has substantially changed. They have become very cynical and impudent. Generation of Cruelty

Human rights advocates have calculated that the specific weight of robberies and premeditated murders in the general amount of juvenile delinquency has increased at least by 25-30% for the last ten years. Although, the State Department of Ukraine for the enforcement of sentences gives more modest figures. In 1995, premeditated murders made only 2% of the total amount of juvenile delinquency. But in 2009, this figure reached up to 8%. The experts forecast the subsequent increase of these indicators up to 10-12% in the nearest future. By the way, in criminology, growth of number of grave crimes among children to the point of more than 5% is supposed critical.

More and more children get long-lasting terms for their crimes. As of 1 September 2010, the prevailing majority of the inmates of all colonies (798 out ofl471) got the term from three to five years, and 432 more - over five years. Juvenile criminals also repeat perpetrations: 57.2% of those who are now serving their terms behind bars have already been brought to justice before.

Volodymyr Trokhymchuk, senior inspector of the Department of Social, Educational and Psychological Work of the State Department for the enforcement of sentences says, "The total number of convicts is decreasing, but the specific weight of grave crimes is inexorably going up. The teenagers' state of mind underwent inconvertible changes. For example, recently, rape among the juveniles was a rarity. Nowadays, this is one of the most widespread crimes. What surprises is that big number of rapes is committed by girls even taking into account that the matter is gang rape, it is still awful."

Viktor Suranovych reproaches that during the latest years, the governmental approach to education of juveniles has been brought to the slogan "A family for a child!" They often did not pay attention that the problem was the parents, and children were still given back to so called families. He says, "Believe me, very often it would be better for a child not to leave one with such parents. I think that we must punish very severely those parents who do not need their own children. They suppose that they have born a child, but someone else has to educate him. This is the way the stratum of social orphans is created - the stratum of children not needed by parents, and the state cannot afford to grant their education."

The problem is that the concept 'problem family' does not have an official definition in Ukraine. Instead, they use the concepts 'full' and 'not full family.' Workers of social services speak on the assumption of anonymity that the most important for their leaders is to show on paper that a child has a father and a mother. If a child has parents, he is not supposed a problem. Nobody is interested that those formal dad and mom beat a child, humble him, and do not pay the needed attention.

When a child is growing up, he or she must acquire a set of common human values, an idea of the world and of themselves as a human being, and a sense of dignity.

As researchers who study juvenile delinquency claim, the emergent feeling of shame for a misdeed is the turning point that can put a person on the right track.

Crime, Shame and Reintegration is a book written by the Australian John Braithwaite, who studies juvenile delinquency. He believes that restorative justice is only effective if a teenager feels shame, because the inner mechanism that prevents a person from committing a crime is a feeling of shame for transgressing the norms and rules of a society.

Experts emphasize that those who could most benefit from restorative justice are juvenile delinquents, who can get the chance to correct their behavior because a prison camp is not the place where they will learn anything good. For many of these teenagers this was their first offense. If the situation is handled in a humane way — by determining whether their crime was motivated by lack of food or clothing — these youngsters will not go to prison, where their lives will be scarred.

Recommendations concerning the optimization of the system of preventive works of educational institutions with minors are given which include: close cooperation of educational institution with family; profound leisure of children, their participation in pupil's (student's) self-administration; professionally-orientated work with graduates; preventive work with pupils at elementaiy school; deep learning the individual-psychologic, age and sexual peculiarities of juvenile delinquents; legal, sex, civic, labour, esthetic education of juveniles; victimological prevention of cruel manners with children; prevention of juvenile drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, suicides, etc. The necessity to reorganize the psychological service into the service of complex advice and support is defended. Suggestions on the improvement of current legislation which regulates activity of educational institutions aimed at preventing juvenile delinquency in Ukraine are introduced.

I think that violence itself is a very vicious circle. When petty offenders are sent to prison, they are generally kept in unbearable conditions, they may lose their jobs, their homes or even families. Moreover, they acquire more criminal experience. Thus by the time they come out again they may be set on a life of crime again. Therefore sort of community service that involves social work might be a good alternative to imprisonment in our country to beat the crime rate.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04