Juvenile delinquency.

Juvenile delinquency.

Author: Tony

Abstract.

Juvenile delinquency is one of the societal problems plaguing the state of Connecticut. Juvenile incarceration has overburdened the state prison system. Hence, there is need for the state to allocate funds for a research that is aimed at analyzing the feasibility of military service in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. This paper is a research proposal that focuses on the need to place juvenile delinquents into military service. The paper provides an introduction into juvenile delinquency and boot camps. The causes of juvenile delinquency are also itemized. The importance of this research is then explained. The problem statement for the research proposal is then stated. Moreover, the option of placing juvenile delinquents in military service is also analyzed.

 Introduction.

Juvenile delinquency refers to the acts of criminality committed by young people. Experts in the field of criminal justice have always considered juvenile delinquency as a notable problem facing the criminal justice system. This problem has been compounded by the rise of “superpredators” who commit violent reprehensible crimes (Heidelberg, 2010). The problem of juvenile delinquency in the United States is exemplified by the number of juvenile delinquents who have been arrested. For instance, in 1997, the police arrested about 2,800,000 juvenile delinquents (Puzzachera, 2000).  According to a self-report study that was carried out in the US by Puzzachera (2000), 5% of people under the age of 12 admitted to having handled a handgun.

Parens patriae laid down the foundation of the preventive model which was adopted by the federal government and the Connecticut state government. The doctrine of parens patriae stipulates that the wellbeing of children is the responsibility of the state. The federal government has consistently continued to commit enormous amounts of financial resources to the state’s criminal justice system. Currently, due to costly criminal justice system, the federal government is exploring for feasible alternatives that can decrease juvenile delinquency (Heidelberg, 2010).

According to the report, The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society, both the national and state security apparatus, and the criminal justice system could not adequately deal with the problem of crime. Thus, in order to combat crime, other sectors of the American society must be involved in crime prevention.  The Corporation for National Service was then formed to deal with the unmet public safety needs of the nation. Public safety is an issue of national importance, and hence, innovative and practical strategies are needed to combat juvenile delinquency. Research correlates theory to practice. Moreover, research provides a stage of progress towards formulation of state policy concerning juvenile delinquency (Heidelberg, 2010).

Problem statement.

To assess the feasibility and impact of placing juvenile delinquents in military service.

Objectives of the research.

1.     To analyze variables correlated to juvenile delinquency.

2.      Assess the feasibility of placing juvenile delinquents into military service program.

3.     Analyze the cost-effectiveness of this program.

Research questions.

1.     Does placement of juvenile delinquents into military service merit state funding?

2.     Are there any potential problems associated with such placement?

3.     Advantages and disadvantages of placing juvenile delinquents into military service?

4.     Would it save money for the state to have fewer employees?

5.     Would it save money for the states that give hazardous duty retirement for juvenile probation officers?

6.     How would this impact the hiring and keeping of juvenile probation officers and juvenile correctional officers and court-appointed attorneys?

7.     Should the United States ensure that juvenile delinquents are under intensive supervision?

8.     Would the juvenile probation officers deal with the status offenders weekly or monthly?

9.     Would the parents of the juvenile delinquents have the power to handle problems and report directly to the court?

10.Would you have a problem with unions?

11.Would it reduce the Connecticut state budget?

12.Can juvenile delinquents be placed in military service?

13.Would the state laws have to be addressed?

                                      Purpose of the research.

1.      To offer an empirical model for military service as a way of decreasing juvenile delinquency.

2.      To offer empirical evidence of the feasibility of the program of placing juvenile delinquents in military service.

3.      To show the importance of the state government allocating funds to support this program.

4.      To elucidate the importance of cooperation between the justice system and the US military.

                                           Audience.

This empirical research can be used by criminal justice service professionals, prison service professionals, Connecticut state governor (and other state legislators) and other associated government officials, and child welfare experts.

                         Variables related to juvenile delinquency.

There are 9 variables correlated to juvenile delinquency. These variables are divided into individual variables, family variables and environmental variables. An “at-risk” youngster is one who exhibits or resides in an environment which exposes him/her to any of these variables. A delinquent is a juvenile offender who breaks the law. Criminologists concur that the probability of an “at-risk” youngster engaging in criminality is significantly reduced if they are preoccupied, counseled and informed of the value of attachment. Military service provides counseling services, bonding sessions and, it also provides job skills to juvenile delinquents.  Breakdown of conventional societal social has led to an increase in the number of cases of juvenile delinquency. Thus, bonding a youngster to the society through constructive activities is likely to reduce the chances that he/she will engage in criminality (Gelspan, 2011). The variables related to juvenile delinquency are discussed below (Gelbspan, 2011):

1.     Individual variables.

a)      Degradation of conventional societal norms has led to youngsters exhibiting unconventional behaviors such as theft, dishonesty and anti-social tendencies. Such duplicitous youngsters engage in violence, criminal activities and they also challenge the authorities (or symbols of authority).

b)     Youngsters who associate them with delinquent peers have a high chance of engaging in crime. This explains why youngsters associated with gangs do commit most of the juvenile crimes.

c)      Poor academic performance is a strong indicator of future delinquency. This is because poor academic performance is usually associated with truancy, frequent school transfers, school discontinuation and poor bonding with schoolmates.

d)     Low self-control causes an individual to engage in risky acts for the sake of immediate gratification. Most juvenile delinquents are individuals who have low self-control as is exhibited by their alacritous behaviors and poor planning skills.

2.     Family variables.

a)      The most important family variable is anti-social parents who are likely to mistreat their children, disengage themselves from the affairs of their children and encourage substance abuse at home. Children of anti-social parents represent the biggest proportion of juvenile delinquents.

b)     A child from a family with a history of criminal activities is more likely to engage in criminal activity. This is as a result of the criminal tendency of his/her family.

c)      Juvenile delinquency peaks during periods when youngsters have ample time of unsupervised hours. More, during such unsupervised hours, the children are at an increased risk of them becoming victims of juvenile crime.

3.     Environmental variables.

a)      Social disorganization causes weak neighborhood cohesion thus making such a neighborhood highly volatile and unstable. Social disorganization is caused by: broken families, poverty, constant flux of residents and multiethnic neighborhoods. Police records do show that juvenile delinquency is high in such socially disorganized neighborhoods.

b)     Children who come from a poor background are more likely to engage in criminal behavior that their counterparts who come from wealthy families.

                               Approaches to juvenile delinquency.

The “get-tough” approach encouraged punishment, stricter fines and longer incarceration durations for juveniles. Research showed that this approach was cost-ineffective, since it was costly and the delinquents were hardened by their prison life (Heidelberg, 2010).

The “ability” approach emphasizes that rehabilitation can be achieved if the delinquent is provided with socially-valuable competence skills. This approach is cost-effective. This cost-effectiveness is attributed to the following facts: the delinquent is provided with an adult support and supervision structure; creative learning techniques are used in educating the delinquents, workplace guidance, follow-up after release and quality implementation of this approach. The incarcerated youngster is therefore transformed from being a delinquent into being a responsible and resourceful youth (Heidelberg, 2010).

Juvenile delinquency and military service.

Social scientists have shown that human behavior is modeled by his/her environment (especially the physical and social aspects of the environment). The differential behavior theory of Sutherland postulated that delinquency is behavior learnt by a person who is part of an intimate group. This learning process enables the youngster to justify instances of juvenile delinquency (Zaccano, 2011).

 Hence, it follows that the more the duration of time a delinquent spends with law enforcers, the more likely it is for him/her to become fully rehabilitated. The social control theory that was postulated by Hirschi states there are our basic elements that are required for bonding to occur. These elements are: attachment, commitment, involvement and belief.  This social control theory can be applied in juvenile delinquency as described below. Attachment is the emotional forte of an individual that ties him/her to a particular significant individual(s) or institution(s). Attachment provides a source of affection and belonging to a youngster, and most youngsters avoid delinquency in order to preserve their attachment. Involvement of a youngster in conventional activities enables the youngster to adopt behaviors that are in conformance with conventional norms and standards. The commitment of the youngster to his/her education (or similar activities) does keep him/her from the path of delinquency. A youngster who has belief in the intrinsic value of the conventional norms and standards is able to avoid delinquent behavior. Placing such delinquents in military service has shown that most of them create bonds within the military and such boning enables them to reform their character    Zaccano, 2011.

                                                               Methodology.

The methodology that will be applied will be literature review. According to the OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention), has shown that most rehabilitated delinquents are the ones who were placed in military service. The “Blueprint” series have shown that it is easy to place and integrate delinquents into military service, so long as they are confinement bound (Revold, 2010).           Revold (2010), has shown that boot camps where juveniles are placed do offer aftercare follow-up. The aftercare follow-up assists in isolating recidivist youngsters. Moreover, he stated that placing delinquents into boot camps does help to decongest the prisons, and thus reduce the state’s budget for the prisons. Moreover, he stated that there are two main potential problems that are related to placing delinquents in boot camps: some overstay in the boot camps as “recycles”, and some hardcore delinquents contravene standing orders and are sent back to jail(thus such delinquents end up serving a longer jail term) (Revold, 2010).                 According to Revold (2010), placing delinquents in military service allows the state government to save money part of which is directed towards providing hazardous duty retirement for juvenile probation officers. However, because only a handful of (hardcore) delinquents are filtered out of the military service back into the prisons; the state burden on maintaining juvenile correctional facilities are eased and this creates a need for the state to halt hiring and to retrench excess juvenile probation officers and juvenile correctional officers. Trade unions are likely to collide with such attempts to retrench probation and correction officers, but a good retrenchment package is able to stymie such a conflict. However, according to Revold (2010), this retrenchment does not affect court-appointed attorneys. He has attributed this fact to the high rate of juvenile delinquency. Delinquents are under intensive adult supervision while they are at boot camps, and the US government should promote such close observation. Status offenders are identified after a time lapse of between 2-3 weeks; and therefore the juvenile probation officers have to deal with them monthly (Revold, 2010).          A meta-analysis done by Simmons (2010) showed that most parents of delinquents cannot be relied upon to handle any problem caused by the son/daughter, and they certainly do not inform the authorities of such problems. Puzzachera (2010) indicated that rehabilitation of delinquent in military service must be done according to the state’s constitution and the children welfare charter. However, this program adheres to the state laws.                            Advantages of placing juveniles into military service. 1.     The program is cost-effective. 2.     The program is easy to manage and run. 3.     It has the highest rate of rehabilitation success. 4.     The training and skills acquired during the military service provides a sound foundation for the youngster future life and career. 5.     It decongests the prisons.                         Disadvantages of placing juveniles into military service. 1.     There is no guarantee for complete rehabilitation. 2.     Status offenders end serving long jail terms due to re-incarcerations and recycling. 3.     This programs leads to job loss (especially for juvenile correctional officers and juvenile probation officers).                                                       Conclusion.            In conclusion, there are 9 variables that correlate to juvenile delinquency. The placement of delinquents into military service is a cost-effective strategy of rehabilitating these delinquent, while at the same ensuring that they are giving back to the society. Hence, it is imperative for the state government of Connecticut to allocate funds to finance this program. The program can cause some job losses, but it also reduces the state budget for prisons and corrective facilities. The program ensures that the delinquents are placed under intensive adult supervision during their military service. This program decongests prisons and also provides life skills to the delinquents.                                                                          References. Heidelberg, R. (2010). Juvenile Delinquency. New York, NY: Guggenheim. Puzzachera, A. (2011). A self-study report on juvenile delinquency in the USA. Journal of Criminology, 17, 548-79. Gelbspan, R. (2011). Variables related to juvenile delinquency. Journal of Sociology, 17, 324-78. Zaccano, R. (2011). Juvenile delinquency and military service. Journal of Social Sciencest, 98, 321-55. Simmons, R. (2010). Meta-analysis of Juvenile delinquency. American Journal of Sociology, 54, 788-805. Revold, K.M. (201). Approaches to Juvenile delinquency and its effect on Correctional facilities. Currents Trends in Criminology, 47, 123-45.