Crime Among Adolescents

We often read or hear about the awful crimes committed by children and adolescents all over the Internet, on Television, and even in newspaper articles. This had led many people to wonder if adolescents are as bad as the media perceives them to be. Delinquent behaviors among juveniles are present in all societies and have been steadily decreasing for the past decade. Due to the media overload concerning delinquency, people tend to assume that crime rates among adolescents are the highest they have ever been. However, research indicates that all crime rates among adolescents are much lower than they were in the past. Serious acts of delinquency such as murder had a sharp decline in the mid 2000s, after rates were doubled between the late 80s …show more content…
The first type is the failure to achieve goals. In this type of strain, individuals may engage in delinquency because they are struggling financially, to show their status or respect, for thrills and excitement, or due to autonomy from adults. However, failure to achieve these goals results in goal blockage. The second type of major strain is when the adolescent experiences loss of positive stimuli and has a presentation of negative stimuli. For example, the adolescent may have interpersonal problems that all of a sudden became a bit rocky, or had a breakup with a boyfriend/girlfriend. Whatever the reason may be, the juvenile was some how treated negatively by their peers or family members. This treatment may upset or make the adolescent angry so as a result of their feelings they will engage in delinquent or aggressive …show more content…
Since juveniles are not typically held to the same standards as adults, adolescents are usually required to attend some form of a diversion program after committing a crime. A diversion program essentially is a procedure of sentencing and programs run by courts, police departments, or certain agencies to prevent youth from going through the formal court process and to guide, teach, and rehabilitate. For adults who committed a crime, it is assumed that these individuals know between right and wrong. However, knowing between right and wrong becomes a little fuzzy when considering the seriousness of crimes committed by adolescents and the age at which they did it. When juveniles are sent to court, they are not there to be punished, but to learn and understand how their actions were wrong. Parens Patriae was initially created to help teach children right and wrong if their parents failed to do so. The aspect of rehabilitation in juvenile courts is not only important for the adolescent, but this can benefit the society as a