Risk Factors Involving Juvenile Delinquency

However, the juvenile justice system is broken in most of the nation’s leading to underperformance. This paper explores the substantive reforms that can be put in place to the justice system of the juveniles in order to improve the lives of juveniles who are in the society. It is important for children to be taught various value at a young age because it affects the kind of person they become in the future. In Proverbs 22:6 in the Bible, there is an assertion that children need to be taught about the right values of life while still young in order to uphold the values when they grow old. Over the past decade, studies have been dedicated to determining the various risk factors that bring about delinquency and those that have a huge effect on juvenile's lives.

In addition, through the establishment of legitimacy, a range of methods are used in enforcing the desires of their children. Peer influence is another major risk factor which simply means that juveniles are more often than not influenced by their peers. Children often show vulnerability hence can be influenced easily both in school and while not in school. Gangs may be disguised as a group of friends who may significantly influence the life of a juvenile. The reason why they join the gangs is to have a support system which they may be lacking at home hence hoping to form bonds and long-lasting friendships with the members of the gang (Cardoso, 2012). The U. S government has come up with Scared- Straight program to help the delinquents in the society.

The goal of the program is to deter children from committing criminal behavior in future (The Annie Casey Foundation, 2013). Despite the juveniles going through harsh realities while in prison, they are taught from their wrongdoing to the right. On the other hand, the program shows the juvenile delinquents the factual truth about the wrong choices they have made always to do the wrong. Therefore children become very cautious about their lives and hence tend to do right always. Also, the juvenile court administrators should consider the juveniles with minor offenses, and therefore they should not be incarcerated instead they should be taken to special school to continue their education. Therefore, they are not left behind by other children and hence there is a guarantee of a better future.

Whibey argues that those who have major offenses should be incarcerated (2015). They ought to be taken to facilities which give them an opportunity to actually go on with their education which makes them be at par with their age mates. The incarceration rate among the American youth tops with about 300 per 100,000 annually which is approximated to be higher by a multiple of five when compared to another high developing state, South Africa. The differences in the confinement of the youth show a system which treats youths based o their race. The Latinos and African Americans are often treated more punitively as compared to their fellow youths (The Annie Casey Foundation, 2013). Many youths who are in confinement are held for offences which are not violent.

Violent offences include sexual assault, homicide, robbery and aggravated assault. Moreover, changing the incentives through the changing of policies which hinder reforms that have been put forward in these facilities. There should be the adoption of practices in the best interest of the delinquent youth and their supervision. Finally, there should be an establishment of small facilities which are more oriented to the treatment of the youth which is more humane and in an appropriate setting. Disparities existing in the justice system such us unequal policing makes it easier for young men who are black to be confronted more, arrested and taken into detention. This kind of treatment exacerbates inequalities already existing since criminal records and any experience which is related to time in the system of criminal justice undermines working and educational lives.

There has been a change observed in the way the nation is approaching how to deal with the youth who are in trouble with the law. The United State is a leader in the rate of locking up the youth in an institutionalized world and the rate at which youths are being confined is declining at a very high rate. Therefore, there are differences in the rates of confinement according to race. The confinement decline has come up among various racial groups. The highest declines are among Pacific Islander, Asian and Latino young people. References Cardoso, L. Juvenile Delinquency: An Investigation of Risk Factors and Solutions. Pell Scholars and Senior Theses. Paper 84. Casey, A. Whibey, J. Juvenile Incarceration and Its Impact On High School Graduation Rates.