Essay on Juvenile Delinquency: Understanding Types & Interventions

Introduction

Juvenile delinquency refers to the act of a minor participating in criminal behaviors or activities that are usually beyond their parents or guardian control thereby requiring the intervention of the juvenile criminal justice system (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The two main types of juvenile delinquents include repeat offenders who begin engaging in criminal behaviors or activities either before or after adolescence and continue with the same into adulthood. The age-specific offender or adolescence-limited offenders start engaging in criminal behavior and activities at the adolescence stage and ceases before entering into adulthood (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). The increased level of juvenile delinquency necessitates enhancing of prevention and treatment interventions towards reversing the worrying trend of rising criminality among minors. This paper compares and contrasts juvenile delinquency prevention and treatment and its importance to the juvenile criminal justice system.

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Description of juvenile delinquency prevention

Juvenile delinquency prevention refers to various strategies, plans, and interventions aimed at deterring minors from engaging in antisocial or criminal behaviors and activities. Juvenile delinquency prevention involves prediction of risk situations for minors engaging in criminal activities that demand to undertake early preventive intervention which calls for focused research activities (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). The various research activities carried out by individuals and responsible agencies such as the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) on juvenile delinquency prevention highlights various risk factors contributing towards minors engaging in criminal activities. Researches have also shown that effective juvenile delinquency prevention policy requires establishing and addressing the root cause or risk factors influencing minors in a given geographical area to engage in criminal behavior or activities to guide the preventive interventions (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). Some of the identified risk factors include defective parenting styles that include permissive, neglectful, overindulgence and authoritarian (harsh punishment) parenting. Individual risk factors include psychological and behavioral problems that predict juvenile delinquency include impulsiveness, aggressiveness, inability to delay gratification, low educational expectations, achievements and lack empathy among others (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). The identified external environment risk factors include negative peer pressure, peer rejection, poverty/ low socioeconomic status, persistence insecurity or criminal activities in the neighborhood among others. Therefore, juvenile delinquency prevention involves developing early interventions aligned to the observable or predictable risk factors that involve a multidisciplinary approach engaging various key stakeholders. The main juvenile delinquency prevention interventions are based on units of the socialization process which include the family, school, community, mass media, and established government social policy and streamlining legislation and juvenile administration system (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). There should be expert personnel in every area of juvenile delinquency prevention for better-informed decision making.

Fundamental principles of juvenile delinquency prevention

The first applied fundamental principle indicates that juvenile delinquency prevention forms a critical part in current and future crime prevention in society. The principle suggests that minors can develop a non-criminogenic attitude in life through continuous active engagement in lawful, socially responsible activities, and adopting a more humanistic approach to the society and positive outlook in life (Siegel & Welsh, 2016). The second principle suggests that effective prevention of juvenile delinquency calls for multidisciplinary efforts by the various stakeholders in the entire society towards facilitating holistic development of the minors through upholding their respect and promoting their positive personality development from a young age. The third fundamental principle suggests that the formulation and interpretation of guidelines on juvenile delinquency prevention should take a child-centered approach (Siegel & Welsh, 2016). The child-centered approach ensures that minors take an active role and partnership in the society rather than been taken as objects of socialization or social control which creates an enabling environment for engaging in non-criminal activities (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The fourth fundamental principle requires that the implementation of the progressive juvenile delinquency prevention should protect the welfare of the child rather than penalizing or criminalizing the minors' behavior that does not pose significant damage to their development or harm to other children (Siegel & Welsh, 2016). Therefore, education and other extracurricular supportive opportunities should be adequately offered to the minors as support for positive personality development rather than punitive or incarceration measures. The other principle encourages the development of community-based programs and services for juvenile delinquency prevention, especially where no formal agencies exist (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The formal agencies of social control should act as facilitators of established community-based programs and as providers of last result guidance.

Types of juvenile delinquency preventions applied

There are various types of juvenile delinquency prevention interventions applied that usually focus on deterring identified or predictable risk factors towards reducing the motivation, need, and opportunity for minors to engage in criminal behaviors or activities (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). Previously applied juvenile delinquency prevention interventions have focused on the units of socialization process for minors including the family, school, community, mass media besides the social policy, and legislation and juvenile justice administration (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The various types of juvenile delinquency prevention focus on facilitating socialization and integration of minors and recognizing them as equal partners in the socialization process. The juvenile delinquency prevention interventions focused on the family as a unit socialization process aims at creating a conducive environment in each family for raising children with a positive personality that deters them from engaging in criminal activities. Some of the interventions focus on the parent or guardian including parental training programs to equip parents or guardians with effective parenting skills that reinforce positive personality and social behavior such as firmness on matters discipline and application of reasonable punishment, close monitoring of child development and creating adequate time for the child (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). The parents and the child participate in parent-child interaction enhancement programs towards facilitating their interactions both in the family and outside the family environs among others (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The other type of juvenile delinquency prevention focuses on the school as a unit of socialization process for the minors. The prevention interventions aimed at ensuring every child gets an equal opportunity for quality education including vocational training to impart essential knowledge and skills (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). Other school-based prevention interventions include bullying prevention program, emotional and behavior disorder prevention intervention delivered by teachers or school counselors, drug and substance abuse prevention program involving peer groups sensitization among others. Community-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs focus on facilitating the engagement of minors in community activities, mentoring, and outside school environment recreation activities (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The effective engagement of minors in community-based activities acts as a diversion of minors from criminal behaviors and activities, facilitating the development of positive interpersonal skills, and the development of socially responsible children. The prevention interventions focused on the mass media requires various mass mediums communication to avoid positive portrayal of criminal behavior and criminal activities among minors. The juvenile justice administration system and legislation have previously focused on the stricter application of existing regulations and policies towards penalizing or punishing criminal activities among minors to deter others from engaging in the same commonly referred as "scare straight" approach. Juvenile delinquency interventions focused on the social policy requires the government to invest more through adequate funding of effective community and school-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs to facilitate success and in reduction ethnic socioeconomic disparities usually through affirmative actions (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012).

Effectiveness of the various types of juvenile delinquency prevention interventions

The effectiveness of various juvenile delinquency prevention programs and practices requires close monitoring and evaluation of the individual program results against the desired end results to inform on its success or failure. The family-based juvenile delinquency prevention interventions both targeting parenting skills and parental-child interactions remains the most effective type of prevention (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). This is because the family forms the integral unit of socialization process where children first learn socializing and interpersonal skills. The family-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs facilitate the development of a conducive environment for positive family interaction that allows effective socialization and integration of the child which enhance the development of positive personality characteristics that inhibits minors from engaging in criminality (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). The school-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs have proved to be effective in deterring antisocial behaviors such as bullying, behavior disorders such as aggression and impulsiveness among others (Hawkins & Weis, 2017). The school-based juvenile delinquency programs targeting high-risk individuals or peer groups demonstrates substantial success in deterring minors from engaging in drug and substance abuse at least in the short run (Greenwood & Welsh, 2012). The community-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs have demonstrated relative success in preoccupying a substantial population of minors in engaging in positive community social activities and after-school recreation activities. However, only a limited number of minors actively participate in community-based activities thereby the intervention influences a small population of minors. The stricter implementation of the punitive legislation on juvenile delinquency as a scare tactic towards deterring minors from engaging in criminal behaviors or activities have proved less effective. Harsh correction interventions only make the minors more rebellious.

Description of juvenile delinquency treatment

Juvenile delinquency treatment involves various psychopharmacological and Psychosocial interventions aimed at treating minors diagnosed with psychological, mental, and conduct disorders among high risk, first-time offenders, or repeat offenders involved in criminal behavior or activities (Young, Greer & Church, 2017). The main aim of the treatment prevents recidivism among minors involved in criminal activities or behaviors. Several research studies on juvenile delinquency treatment h...