Juvenile crime is a blanket term that refers to any of a number of criminal acts which are perpetrated by minors. While adult crime is typically well understood from a criminal psychology perspective, the range and causes of juvenile crime are a bit more vague in terms of our understanding.
In any case, juvenile crime poses a unique threat and responsibility to society to address and prevent before it can cause devastating consequences.
Some of the most common forms of juvenile crime are vandalism, harassment, drug use and sales, as well as gang related violence and battery.
While researchers do not agree upon the causes of juvenile crime, there are a number of risk factors which are associated with statistically higher incidence and dangers for a given community of youths to engage in juvenile crime.
Some of the major risk factors which have been found to increase the danger of juvenile crime are poverty, and the presence of drugs and drug related violence in a particular community.
Domestic violence within the home is also a significant player in many lives of juvenile delinquents. Exposure to violent streets which already suffer from gang violence have also been found to play a significant role in increasing the incidence of juvenile delinquency in a particular area.
Compounded with easy access to fire arms, exposure to violence in the media, as well as an unstable family environment, the risks for juvenile crime become exceedingly significant.
While many people expect the state to address the issues of juvenile crime, the expected effectiveness of a state sponsored program is not high concerning the prevention of crime, but rather it is focused on the rehabilitation of delinquents after criminal acts have already been executed.
Since juvenile crime begins in the home, it will only be prevented at the societal level. Close knit societies can influence and address the problems facing the youth in a particular area and give them the support they need to reject negative peer pressure.
Part of preventing juvenile crime is by giving youths a suitable substitute to the gang mentality.
That being said, some of the more common state run projects to preclude juvenile crime are state sponsored youth initiatives as well as drug abuse education.
Along with these activities, the state also diverts a substantial amount of tax monies into supplying and maintaining correctional facilities whose focus is the rehabilitation of minors involved in juvenile crime.
No matter what the primary cause of juvenile crime is, the fact remains that it is a significant issue that we need to address as a society.
Only by the fair address of juvenile crime at the community level can we take the steps required to win over the disenfranchised youth.
