In Dammer & Albanese (2010), youth are tried in juvenile courts (unless the crime is severe and violent) as long as they are under the age of 18. What is interesting about this chapter is the argument of maintaining the age distinction because of the slow cognitive development of minors. The argument explains that due to a slow cognitive development, minors are unable to understand the gravity of their delinquent acts; thus, permitting the intervention of juvenile courts to utilize rehabilitative programs in an attempt to reintegrate at-risk youth back into society. Even after the age of 18, there are individuals that continue to commit crimes. Some of these individuals goes beyond to become career criminals.
In Winterdyk, Antonopoulos, Corrado …show more content…
In most cases, juveniles engage in delinquency due to broken homes or families, or their social environments. Most of these at-risk youth do come from a low socioeconomic background and are minorities of color as well (Dammer & Albanese, 2010). Whether these youth were raised with their guardians (rather than parents), or in a single-parent household, many of these families exhibit some form of dysfunctional behavior. Whether the youth grew up in an abusive or drug-rampant home, guardians or single-parents often do not have enough time to be at home to serve their function as positive role models. When a youth is missing a positive role model in their lives, they may look elsewhere to replace the missing void through illegal, street gangs. Although many would view street gangs in a negative light due to their illegal actions and behaviors, these street gangs actually provide a close-niched relationship and express their own definition of …show more content…
A non-profit agency known as Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) recruits community members that would volunteer as mentors for at-risk youth. Not only do the volunteers serve as positive role models, they are trained to mentor youth to reinforce positive cognitive behaviors such as anger management, critical thinking, or problem solving. FLY not only recruits volunteers as mentors, but they also recruit volunteers to be facilitators for law-related education as well. By teaching youth about the law and what their consequence entails towards themselves and to their community, the goal is to have youth develop empathy and understanding of their delinquent behaviors. Some examples include teaching them about the Three Strikes Law, Gang Enhancement Law (what constitutes a 707B offense, which are felonious and more severe and violent forms of crime such as armed robbery, rape, arsony, etc.). In addition, halfway into the law semester that these youth are enrolled in, they are taken to Santa Clara University (SCU) for a tour to have a fresh experience of what their future can look
In Winterdyk, Antonopoulos, Corrado …show more content…
In most cases, juveniles engage in delinquency due to broken homes or families, or their social environments. Most of these at-risk youth do come from a low socioeconomic background and are minorities of color as well (Dammer & Albanese, 2010). Whether these youth were raised with their guardians (rather than parents), or in a single-parent household, many of these families exhibit some form of dysfunctional behavior. Whether the youth grew up in an abusive or drug-rampant home, guardians or single-parents often do not have enough time to be at home to serve their function as positive role models. When a youth is missing a positive role model in their lives, they may look elsewhere to replace the missing void through illegal, street gangs. Although many would view street gangs in a negative light due to their illegal actions and behaviors, these street gangs actually provide a close-niched relationship and express their own definition of …show more content…
A non-profit agency known as Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) recruits community members that would volunteer as mentors for at-risk youth. Not only do the volunteers serve as positive role models, they are trained to mentor youth to reinforce positive cognitive behaviors such as anger management, critical thinking, or problem solving. FLY not only recruits volunteers as mentors, but they also recruit volunteers to be facilitators for law-related education as well. By teaching youth about the law and what their consequence entails towards themselves and to their community, the goal is to have youth develop empathy and understanding of their delinquent behaviors. Some examples include teaching them about the Three Strikes Law, Gang Enhancement Law (what constitutes a 707B offense, which are felonious and more severe and violent forms of crime such as armed robbery, rape, arsony, etc.). In addition, halfway into the law semester that these youth are enrolled in, they are taken to Santa Clara University (SCU) for a tour to have a fresh experience of what their future can look