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Position Research Parper

Emily P.                                                                                                                               Patrick 1

Mrs. Zurkowski

English 9 Greens

October 1, 2010

Juvenile Delinquency

            Today, you will be informed about the topic of juvenile delinquency. Over 100,000 children under the age of 18 are in jail in the United States (National Institute on Drug Abuse). As the people of the United States, we should be worrying about this unfortunate issue, and trying to find ways to prevent it. If we all try to look out for juveniles that may turn out to be delinquents, then we may be able to bring the number of juveniles in jail to a lower number then it is today.  Juvenile delinquency is a serious issue in the United States today,  and often teenagers involved have other issues outside of being a delinquent but society has found that there are many other ways to help lead children away from this life of crime.

            There are way too many children under the age of 18 in jail, and here are some of the reasons and consequences for these immature actions. There are many reasons that juveniles are arrested, but most juveniles are arrested for alcohol abuse, curfew violation, and runaway. Most delinquents are charged appropriately according to their age. Sometimes this does not always prove to be true because every year, 1% of the juvenile court cases are waved to adult charges. This may be based on the seriousness of the crime, or that the juvenile became an adult during the time of the case (Pryor).  Douglas W. Pryor stated that, "National studies of firearms behavior among youth from 1996 and 1997 show that about six percent of high school students carried a gun outside of home over a period of 30 days or a year, but that far less than 1 percent did so at school." The quote that was stated is just another way for children under the age of

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eighteen to be arrested. Every day more and more juveniles are arrested for reasons that can be prevented so Americans should strive to stop this trend, and keep these children out of trouble.       

             Many people believe to have found explanations on their child’s misbehavior, and in this paragraph you will learn a few. Lack of discipline and/or self-control will also result in this misconduct. Today, more children are lacking discipline in their household which is why parents and other family members must become stricter towards their children. Other people seem to think that juvenile delinquency is a result of abuse in the house. The media also plays a huge roll in this. Violence in the media may cause teens to result as violent or angry individuals (Pryor). Douglas W. Pryor exclaimed that, "Two popular theories argue that youths who face limited economic opportunities or youths who experience low status among peers at school may turn to delinquency out of need, hopelessness, or frustration." This could possibly mean that more children in the United States are being faced with poverty.

              Some people may ask why juvenile delinquency is so common, but others ask why it is still occurring so often. A lot of illegal crimes committed by juveniles go unnoticed. Sources say that the working class does not properly prepare the younger people for dealing with a world of middle-class people. Even though it doesn’t seen that this issue is getting much better, police everywhere are trying to take a stand and prevent juvenile delinquency in the future (Griffin). Brenda S. Griffin indicated that, "Research studies indicate that more than 90% of all American juveniles, sometime during their minority, have committed acts for which they could be adjudicated delinquent." This means that more juveniles are committing crimes without being caught, and that more people will most likely try to commit them in the future.

           

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In some situations, people with mental disabilities should be excused from discipline because of their condition.  Most juveniles in jail have been proven to be mentally disabled in some way. In most surveys, it is shown that more females have mental disabilities then males do (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Even though most of the juveniles that commit crimes are disabled, they should not be an exception because in most cases it could've been prevented. Linda A. Teplin stated that, “…detention centers are mandated to treat major mental disorders …” This means that many people that have mental disorders go into juvenile detention without having much if any treatment. Hopefully, society will work on helping people with disorders, and maybe decrease the number of juveniles in jail.

It is also shown that many children in jail for committing a crime do not have a proper education. Douglas W. Pryor said, "It has also been stated that juveniles who have weaker bonds to their parents, education, and/or religion may be more delinquent." This issue may be for many reasons, one may possibly be because of the economy and its recent failure. Many federal programs are now trying to help underprivileged juveniles receive better education (Griffin). This should not be a problem to some Americans. This is because most Americans live with unneeded items. After their time in jail, the juveniles are found a good source of education (Teplin). This may make people wonder if going to jail is only to receive a good education, or just a place to be able to stay in.

Juvenile delinquency is very common in the U.S. It is a result of many things, and still needs to be terminated. As you can now see juvenile delinquency is much too popular, and hopefully in the future you and all other people who will read this will help to take a stand for preventing the concept of juvenile delinquency.  Once again, juvenile delinquency a serious issue

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in the United States today, and teenagers involved have many other issues outside of being a delinquent but hopefully they will be able to get help instead of getting arrested.

Works Cited

"Comorbidity is common among youths in juvenile detention." Pamphlet by: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Vol. 19. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2004. 14. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 3 Oct. 2010.

Griffin, Brenda S., and Charles T. Griffin. "Juvenile Delinquency." Encyclopedia Americana. 2010. Grolier Online. 23 Sept. 2010 <http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0226690-00>.

Pryor, Douglas W. "Juvenile Delinquency." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2010. Grolier Online. 27 Sep. 2010 <http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0156390-0>.

Teplin, Linda A., Karen M. Abram, Gary M. McClelland, Amy A. Mericle, Mina K. Dulcan, and Jason J. Washburn. "Psychiatric Disorders of Youth in Detention." SIRS Researcher. Web. 3 Oct. 2010.