Juvenile Delinquency Research

Children are often considered the future of our country. While this might be true, what kind of future will the country have if children under the age of eighteen accounted for sixteen percent of the incarcerated population in the US. Meanwhile, nationwide reports of juvenile crime are reliably high, with juveniles representing 38% of the incarcerated population. Juvenile delinquency generally falls into two categories: status offenses and criminal offenses. Status offenses are acts that if committed by adults would not be considered criminal (e.g. runaway, minor in possession). Criminal offenses on the other hand are offenses that range from property crime to murder. Of the 2.2 million juveniles arrested each year, 92,300 are arrested for …show more content…
In lieu of prison, juvenile court judges find other legal options that meet both the safety needs of the public and the treatment needs of the youth. Juveniles are given those considerations because they are seen as mentally or physically incompetent as compare to adults. As a result of their incompetence and immaturity, they cannot be held accountable for their actions in the same way as adults do (Chavez-Garcia, 2012). There has been a number of changes over the past few years. The research conducted by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on the development of adolescents and the justice for minors has led many States and the courts to see juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice, through a developmental lens. The study shows that the human brain develops all throughout adolescence. The pre-frontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for reasoning, will not have finish developing not until the mid-twenties (Gottesman & Schwartz, 2011). Developmental psychology enriched by the recent research on how the brain of adolescents, which is still developing, differs from that of adults, can better advocate for rehabilitation instead of …show more content…
Age is a significant predictor; according to the literature younger juveniles are more likely to reoffend than older juveniles. Ethnicity is also found to be a strong predictor of recidivism in juveniles. Deep rooted mistrust of the police, courts and corrections in communities of color have particularly contributed to the overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in the juvenile system. Gang affiliation, peer influences such as those received from membership in an exclusive group is also a predictive of juvenile recidivism, that can lead to violence. Gang affiliation is a negative social influence that is indicative of future criminal activity. Recidivism is just one of the flaws of the juvenile rehabilitation system (Calley,