We all have high hopes that our children will grow up and have successful careers and become law abiding citizens, but that is not always the case. There are many troubled teens that choose to defy the law which often seems to happen repeatedly. In order to understand why these teens end up on this path of defiance we need to look at different factors that influence their daily lives which include their location, family life; are parents together or separated, violence or illegal activity in the household, poverty level of family, friends the juvenile hangs around.
https://online.maryville.edu/blog/juvenile-delinquency-statistics/
Teen violence is not just a personal issue, it is a public issue that could be caused by a combination of multiple different factors. These crimes have a wide range from less severe such as vandalism and theft, to more severe such as assault, rape, or even murder. Statistics from the CDC’s website of the year 2010 and 2014/2015 are as follows regarding teen violence:
4,828 (2010) 4,300 (2014) ages 10-24 were victims of homicide
82.8% (2010) and 86% (2014) of those were committed with a firearm
Juveniles under 18 accounted for 13.7% of all violent crime arrests
Juveniles under 18 accounted for 22.5% of all property crime arrests
784 (2010), 605 (2015) juveniles arrested for murder
2,198 (2010), 2,745 (2015) juveniles arrested for forcible rape
35,001 (2010), 21,993 (2015) juveniles arrested for aggravated assault
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/youth2019.html
Causes of juvenile crime can vary by influential factors such as peers, parents, environmental factors, and strain.
- Malnutrition can be a major reason why children may turn to crime. If the child isn't getting enough food, then they may try to steal food in order to survive.
- Lack of sleep can cause irritation and mental illness, so the child may turn to delinquency as a coping mechanism.
- Disorders and defects can cause children to feel like they don't matter as much as other children, so they could turn to delinquency to gain the attention of the people around them.
- Weather is known to have influences on mood and could cause a child to have a "bad day" and act out.
- Mental defects can cause children to act out more than other children or they may feel like they are less than the other children so they will act out to try to assert themselves before the other students.
- Sometimes a child may not need to make much of an effort to meet the standards that they are held to, so out of boredom and extra energy the child may turn to delinquency
-Psychoses or mental diseases like insanity, dementia, and paranoia can all cause a child to turn to delinquency
-Psychopathic constitution can cause a lot of different things in a child. Things like Emotionally unstable (extremely emotional), emotionally deficient (very little or no emotion), hypersensitivity (extremely sensitive to pain and intense sensory stimulation), and hypersensitivity (not sensitive to pain or intense sensory stimulation). These can all cause a child to have problems with social adjustment and act out because of it.
- Unsanitary conditions affect a child's physical health which can cause a child to develop mental health problems
- Lack of proper materials, such as clothing, toys, personal belongings can all cause a child to feel inferior to the other children, so they act out to gain to try to gain back confidence or try to steal to gain the things they want
- On the other hand, if a child has too many materials, they may feel superior to the other children, so they act as if they are in charge and act out toward the other children
- Mental and physical defects of siblings and parents, the child may act out so they can try to gain the attention from their parent who seems to be giving all of the attention to the other sibling, or the child may have to take care of their parent because of a defect so they act out because they are unable to do the things the child wants to do.
- If a child is not being treated right by a foster parent, stepparent, or guardian then they may act out as a way to take out their resentment toward the adult
- Lack of care and affection from a parent can cause a child to act out in order to gain the parent's attention.
- The child had bad examples, if the person they look up to is always doing drugs and committing crime then the child is more likely to do those things.
- The neighborhood where the child grows up can determine how the child acts. If a child grows up in an area known for drugs and crime, then they are more likely going to do drugs and commit crime. But on the other side if a child grows up extremely wealthy then they could feel superior and then treat others with disrespect.
Getting into trouble with the law can have long term consequences on juveniles mentally, physically, and socially. “It can harm development and contribute to impaired decision-making, learning challenges, decreased connections to peers and adults, and trouble coping with stress” (CDC, 2022).
Most juvenile crimes are sealed from public view as long as they are tried as adults. Juvenile offenders can petition for expungement of a criminal record when they become adults, in most cases. When minors are charged as adults, they may qualify for expungement if the charges were dismissed, the juvenile was found not guilty, or a guilty plea was not entered, even in some cases where the juvenile was found guilty, it’s still possible for the court to consider an expungement for the crime (Firm, 2021).
https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/3528159-youth-crime-wont-be-solved-with-harsher-punishments/
There are early detection signals that should not be overlooked. You might want to look into seeking help if a child is showing continuous signs of extreme anger, often hitting or punching siblings, parents, other children or animals. If your child is showing signs of rebellion, there are options out there to help before it escalates to the point of them getting into trouble with the law. There are options such as therapists, bootcamps, military schools, and boarding schools.
If you or someone you know needs help or information the hotline office for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention is:
The Annie E Casey foundation helps children who have been in the juvenile justice system find professional paid careers. This program offers grants across America to children in need of fair and safe jobs. This includes further access to quality of care, safety, and expands their opportunities. This resource allows users to fund the program, as well as, see reports and data on the foundation.
For additional information on programs and initiatives:
Programs | Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (ojp.gov)
Bridges, Banham K. M. 1927. Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2038&context=jclc
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, April 14). Preventing youth violence |violence prevention|injury Center|CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/fastfact.html
Cuervo, K., Villanueva, L., González, F., Carrión, C., & Busquets, P. (2015). Characteristics of young offenders depending on the type of crime. Psychosocial Intervention, 24(1), 9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psi.2014.11.003
Firm, C. & T. L. (2021, April 9). Your child's life isn't over after a juvenile crime. here's why. Caplan & Tamburino Law Firm, P.A. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.caplantamburino.com/blog/2021/april/your-child-s-life-isn-t-over-after-a-juvenile-cr/#:~:text=The%20consequences%20of%20a%20juvenile%20crime%20conviction%20depend,of%20a%20criminal%20record%20when%20they%20become%20adults.
Gong, J. (2022). Juvenile Crime Monitoring and Characteristic Analysis Based on the Internet of Things and Grid Management. Mobile Information Systems, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5141745
Juvenile delinquency statistics and risk factors in the U.S. Maryville Online. (2020, October 28). Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://online.maryville.edu/blog/juvenile-delinquency-statistics/
Shader, Michael. Risk Factors for Delinquency: An overview. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/frd030127.pdf
Sharma, S., Sharma, G., & Barkataki, B. (2015). Family and Social Factors as Predictors of Drug Misuse and Delinquent Behavior in Juveniles. International Medical Journal, 22(4), 237–240.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Casey funds career opportunities for young people with justice system experience. (2023). https://www.aecf.org/blog/casey-funds-career-opportunities-for-young-people-with-justice-system-experience
van der Laan, A. M., Veenstra, R., Bogaerts, S., Verhulst, F. C., & Ormel, J. (2010). Serious, Minor, and Non-Delinquents in Early Adolescence: The Impact of Cumulative Risk and Promotive Factors. The TRAILS Study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38(3), 339–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-009-9368-3