Juvenile delinquency research paper

Every government has its juvenile justice system separate from the common justice system. Juveniles can also be incarcerated, given parole or community service when they do crimes. The best solution to avoiding all types of juvenile delinquency even the gang-related is by having responsible parents in society. Juveniles join gangs with no knowledge about gangs which make them do crimes, but this can be eliminated if the society works together with the government to ensure children are brought up well and the society does not have gangs. Juvenile delinquency is the act of a minor violating criminal statue or engaging in unlawful behaviors. , the police can arrest the delinquent then refer the case to their parents to pick the child after being detained for some time or refer the case to juvenile court depending with its seriousness (639).

Before a juvenile case is handled various aspects should be considered as the age of the delinquent, previous offense records, history, education, type of offense committed, and parents’ ability to control juvenile’s behavior. Juvenile delinquency handled informally demand the offender to pay fines, enter probation, attend counseling sessions, and perform community service. If the cases are handled formally, the judge in the juvenile court decides the type of punishment to give the juvenile like incarceration in the juvenile center, probation, curfew, or community service. Gangs demand loyalty; it is hard for juvenile offenders to work with the justice system because they are not expected to cooperate with authorities it is seen as a betrayal. If teenagers have lots of unsupervised time and no other alternative activities to do, they are more likely to join gangs.

Teenagers always wish to have identities, attention, status, loyalty, and acceptance. Gangs when recruiting target mostly youths that do not have a positive support system. Peer pressure also increases chances of juveniles joining gangs since they wish to be respected like those other juveniles in gangs. Gang members due to the crimes they perform they have money to brag with hence luring teenagers to joining them since they like the life of having money and other possessions (O’Brien et al. Differential opportunity theory proves that although gangs can be formed by all classes in the society, those who are less fortunate are more likely to join gangs unlike the fortunate who have opportunities like jobs. The best method is eliminating the causes of teenage delinquency to ensure no new youths are intending to commit crimes then help those who are already criminals to stop.

Parents are reluctant when it comes to punishing their children nowadays because of their lifestyles. Parents are dedicated to working and making money to pay for schools and leave the responsibility of bringing up the children to teachers (Omboto et al. If the society had parents who acted as role models and educate their children about the dangers of being in gangs, there would be no gangs with juveniles as members. Gangs should be eliminated by governments because they create a culture of crime which becomes normal to infants when they are teenagers. Parents should raise their children well by punishing them when they are wrong and not being too harsh to create retaliation from their children. The best solution is giving teenagers opportunities to be great and attain their goals in life.