Ch2 Juvenile Crime Criminals and Victims

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Crime, Criminals, and Victims

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


CHAPTER OBJECTIVESCHAPTER OBJECTIVES

After completing this chapter, you should be able to:1. Identify three main ways that juvenile crime is measured

in the United States.2. Analyze strengths and weaknesses of victimization

surveys and self-reports for juvenile crime.3. Demonstrate an understanding of juvenile crime and

victimization in the United States.4. Describe the concepts of risk factor and protective

factor.5. List the various risk and protective factors and explain

how these relate to juvenile delinquency.

Slide 2

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


2.1 Issues in the Measurement of Juvenile Crime

Juveniles are more and more perceived by the general public as potential offenders. Despite the media’s sharp focus on a recent string of shootings at suburban schools, the nature and extent of juvenile delinquency in the U.S. remains elusive for several reasons:

Slide 3

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Issues in the Measurement of Juvenile Crime

Measuring total crime in the U.S. is extremely difficult. Singling out juvenile crime presents its own sent of unique problems.

Slide 4

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



• The juvenile justice system is decentralized.• Record-keeping in the juvenile justice system is still subject

to confidentiality and sealing restrictions.• There are many options available for juveniles who come

into contact with the system, which makes it difficult to measure the true extent of delinquency.

confidentiality and sealing restrictions: Laws that keep juvenile records confidential to prevent them from being viewed.

Slide 5

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



There are mechanisms in place to measure juvenile delinquency. • Each has its strengths and weaknesses.• Each presents different issues in measurement and

interpretation.

Slide 6

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



This chapter will examine:• Ways in which juvenile crime is measured• The extent of juvenile crime and victimization• Some of the correlates of juvenile delinquency

correlates: Variables that are related to each other and are said to be correlated. Correlates should not be interpreted to imply causation.

Slide 7

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



Research on delinquency has led to a variety of conclusions about what causes, and what correlates with, juvenile crime.• There are many risk factors in juvenile offending• There are also many protective factors that keep people

from committing delinquent acts.

risk factors: Variables that research has found to be correlated

with juvenile delinquency.

protective factors: Variables that research has found to protect or

insulate a juvenile from becoming a delinquent.

Slide 8

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


SELF CHECKSELF CHECK

What factors help explain the elusive nature of juvenile delinquency in the United States?

Slide 9

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


2.2 Measuring the Extent of Juvenile Crime

The question of how much juvenile crime exists is typically answered through three main methods of gathering crime statistics:

• Official records• Victimization surveys• Self-report surveys

official records: Statistics and data collected by law enforcement agencies,

courts, and correctional institutions.

victimization surveys: Survey research conducted using victims

or potential victims of crime.

self-report surveys: Survey research conducted with offenders

or potential offenders.

Slide 10

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Official Records and MeasuresOfficial statistics and measures are data collected by city, county, state, or federal governmental agencies. The primary storage agency for juvenile records is typically the juvenile probation agency.• Typically, each county has its own system of record-

keeping.

• Official records of juvenile crimes outside of the county or state itself are based almost exclusively on police records and counts of crimes.

Slide 11

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Law Enforcement StatisticsThe most comprehensive official measure of crime in the U.S. is the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR).

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR): Statistical report compiled by the FBI using reports from

law enforcement agencies across the country. The report is broken into two main categories of

offenses: Part I and Part II crimes.

Slide 12

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Law Enforcement Statistics

• Part I Offenses

• Part II Offenses

Part I Offenses: Also known as the index offenses. The counts of the most serious crimes in the UCR (felonies), including murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated

assault.

Part II Offenses: The less serious crimes counted in the UCR, mainly misdemeanors.

Slide 13

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Law Enforcement StatisticsThe UCR collects data from police agencies throughout the U.S. that count the number of crimes reported for each category of offense.• The FBI then counts the number of crimes

committed each year throughout the U.S. and the number of arrests.

• From the arrest data, the FBI estimates how many juvenile offender arrests the police have made.

Slide 14

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Law Enforcement Statistics• The total number of juvenile arrests for Violent

Crime Index offenses has been declining.

• In contrast, the Property Crime Index rate has remained relatively constant over the last 16 years.

• Status offenses have risen sharply over the last several years.

Violent Crime Index: The violent crimes included in the Part I offenses—murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Property Crime Index: The property crimes included in the Part I offenses: burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson.

Slide 15

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Arrest Rates 1981-1998 FIGURE 2-1

Note: The Property Crime Index includes burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Slide 16

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


FIGURE 2-1 (continued)

Juvenile Arrest Rates for Curfew and Loitering Violations 1981-1998

Slide 17

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Court StatisticsThe Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) collects data from state and local agencies.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP): A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Primary federal agency responsible for addressing the issues of juvenile

crime and delinquency and the problem of missing and exploited children.

Slide 18

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Court StatisticsThe office collects both automated case-level data and aggregate data from juvenile courts around the country.

These statistics are estimates and should not be viewed as a comprehensive count of court activity.

automated case-level data: Data collected by agencies at the individual case level

containing details on the offender, victim, disposition, and other relevant items.

aggregate data: Data collected by agencies on how many crimes or

dispositions they possess. No individual-level data are collected, only summary statistics and counts.

Slide 19

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Court StatisticsThese statistics reveal several interesting patterns, including a demonstration of the funnel effect in processing these cases.

funnel effect: Way in which the number of cases processed through the juvenile justice system decrease

at each successive step.

Slide 20

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


MYTHMYTH FACTFACTJuveniles are responsible for most crimes in the United States.

According to arrest data, juveniles are only involved in 18% of all crimes in the U.S. Juveniles were involved in 17% of all violent crime arrests and 33% of all property crime arrests in 1998.

Slide 21

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Court Processing of Delinquency Cases 1987-1996

FIGURE 2-3

Slide 22

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Correctional Statistics• Another official measure of delinquency in

the U.S. is based on correctional statistics: the tabulated number of juveniles committed to public and private facilities.

• These counts accurately indicate how many juveniles have been incarcerated for delinquency.

Slide 23

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Problems with Official Records and MeasuresThe chief strength of official records is that they are reliable counts of juveniles who have been arrested, processed, and incarcerated by the justice system. • Summary counts give a clear idea of the workload the

system must handle.• Official statistics present the national picture of juvenile

crime and allow comparisons between jurisdictions.• Official statistics can clearly show trends in arrests and

processing.

Slide 24

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Problems with Official Records and MeasuresThese statistics are limited by the fact that many juvenile dispositions occur outside formal processing and very few juvenile offenders are ever sent to a secure correctional facility.

Slide 25

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Problems with Official Records and MeasuresThe UCR depends on accurate counts from law enforcement agencies. • Yet not all enforcement agencies report to the UCR. • Sometimes counts are inaccurate, and do not include the

dark figure of crime.

dark figure of crime: The phrase used to describe the number of crimes committed but undiscovered or

unreported.

Slide 26

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Problems with Official Records and Measures

The UCR underestimates crimes for several reasons:• Not all crimes are reported to police, particularly victimless crimes.

• Crimes go unreported because incidents are handled informally.• The UCR uses a hierarchy rule.• The broad discretion and variety of dispositional options leave

incidents undocumented or unreported.

victimless crimes: Crimes in which the victim is often a willing participant, for example in crimes of

prostitution and drug use.

hierarchy rule: Rule used in collecting data for the UCR that states only the most serious crime in any one criminal event will be counted. For example, if a person kidnaps, rapes, and then murders another

person, the crime is counted as one murder.

Slide 27

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Problems with Official Records and Measures

Victimization surveys document that less than 40% of all serious crime is reported to the police.

Slide 28

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Percentage of Violent Percentage of TheftCrime Reported To Reported To

Victim’s Age Police Others Police Others

12 20% 28% 7% 36%

13 22 23 8 35

14 26 17 12 32

15 31 13 11 30

16 33 9 10 23

17 38 6 14 17

SOURCE: Snyder, Howard N. and Melissa Sickmund. 1999. “Children as Victims,” Juvenile Justice Bulletin May 2000. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.c

Percentage of Crime Reported by Juveniles Aged 12-17

FIG

UR

E 2

-5

Slide 29

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Problems with Official Records and MeasuresA new system of data collection that solves many of the problems with official statistics is the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS): Data collection system implemented to

collect individual-level data on offenders, victims, and crime from police departments. It is designed to address

many of the problems with the UCR.

Slide 30

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Victimization Statistics and Measures

Another way juvenile crime is measured is through victimization surveys. • People are randomly selected throughout the

country to be surveyed about any criminal victimizations they have experienced over the last 6 to 12 months. The statistics gathered are then used to generate estimates of the amount of crime that occurs.

Slide 31

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Victimization Statistics and MeasuresThe longest and most well-known victimization survey presents a better picture of the dark figure of crime. It is the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): A national survey of households on the subject of victimization,

conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Slide 32

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Victimization Statistics and Measures

A better measure of juvenile crime comes from data taken from self-reported victimization at schools.

Slide 33

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Weaknesses of Victimization Statistics and

Measures• Victimization studies do capture the dark

figure of crime.

• They also tend to show a more realistic picture of the total number of crimes committed annually.

Slide 34

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



Measures• The main drawback in the measurement of

juvenile crime is that victimization surveys are sent to homes, asking that the head of household complete the survey.

• Because juveniles rarely report victimization, it is unlikely that the head of household knows the true extent of victimization affecting their children.

Slide 35

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



Measures• For victimization studies to be accurate

measures of juvenile crime, the victim must know the offender was a juvenile.

• For most crimes reported in the NCVS, the offender is unknown.

Slide 36

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Self-Report Statistics and Measures

• Self-report statistics are gathered from surveys of youths who volunteer information about their criminal and drug histories. These are the only research projects specifically targeted at juveniles.

• These probably provide the most accurate picture of juvenile crime.

Slide 37

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Self-Report Statistics and MeasuresAn important self-report research endeavor is the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency Program, a combination of three surveys:

• Denver Youth Survey

• Pittsburgh Youth Study

• Rochester Youth Development Study

Denver Youth Survey, Pittsburgh Youth Study, and Rochester Youth Development Study: Three interrelated studies designed to assess the level

and correlates of juvenile crime.

Slide 38

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Self-Report Statistics and Measures• The study is designed to improve the

understanding of serious delinquency, violence, and drug use by examining how youth develop within the context of family, school, peers, and community.

• It constitutes the largest shared-measurement approached ever achieved in delinquency research.

Slide 39

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Strengths and Weaknesses of Self-Report Statistics and Measures

• Self-report data has shown that individuals commit many more offenses than those for which they are arrested.

• Self-reports allow researchers to probe juveniles’ backgrounds for reasons they may have for committing delinquent acts.

• The data allow an examination of trends in juvenile offending and juvenile risk-taking behavior.

• Self-reports give a detailed picture of juvenile crime and offenses.

Slide 40

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



• One common criticism of self-report research is that the data may not be exact because of inaccurate memory, exaggeration, confusion over definitions, and lying.

• Another problem is that chronic truants and habitual delinquents are excluded from surveys taken in schools.

Slide 41

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



Questionnaires can cause problems with self-report research:• Questionnaires focus on non-serious offenses• People confuse crimes, such as robbery and

burglary• Responses such as “often,” “sometimes,”

“occasionally,” and “never” can be interpreted differently.

Slide 42

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Comparison of the Three MethodsNotable differences between self-report data and official statistics are:• Self-report data show that nearly all juveniles

break the law at one time or another. However, only a small percentage go on to become serious or habitual delinquents.

serious or habitual delinquents: Juveniles who persist in delinquency. Research has shown that a small number of habitual

delinquents commit a disproportionate amount of crime.

Slide 43

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Comparison of the Three Methods• Self-reports show less impact on juvenile

offending of gender, race, and social class than official statistics show.

• The best measure of juvenile crime and juvenile offending comes from self-reports. Victimization surveys are probably the worst.

Slide 44

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



1. Explain the concept of victimless crime.

2. Why do you think the report percentage for crimes involving juveniles is low compared to that of crimes involving adults?

Slide 45

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


2.3 Juvenile Victimization Rates and Trends

Determining the level of juvenile victimization is as difficult as determining the amount of juvenile crime.

Slide 46

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Victimization Rates and Trends

• Juveniles are more likely to be victims than to commit crime.

• Recently, the number of serious violent victimizations involving juveniles has decreased.

Slide 47

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Homicide and Serious Violent Victimization in the U.S.

FIGURE 2-7

Slide 48

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Crime, Criminals, and Victims Juvenile Homicide and Serious Violent Victimization in the U.S.

FIGURE 2-7 continued

Slide 49

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



• Juveniles were the victims in 25% of all violent crimes and 20% of all family violence incidents in 1998.

• 66% of the violent crime committed by juveniles was committed against juvenile victims.

• Juveniles were twice as likely as adults to be victims of serious violent crime and three times as likely to be the victim of a simple assault.

Slide 50

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Juvenile Victimization by Type of Crime, Percentage of All Crimes Against Juveniles

FIGURE 2-9

Slide 51

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



Many crimes committed by and against juveniles occur at school.• In a recent survey, nearly 75% of students reported

being aware of a crime being committed at school.

Slide 52

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Proportion of Students in Grades 6-12 Reporting

Victim of Aware of Witnessed Worried AboutCrime Crime Crime Crime

Total 12% 70% 57% 25%

Gender

Male 14 71 58 25

Female 9 70 54 26

Race/Ethnicity

White 12 72 57 24

Black 12 69 56 27

Hispanic 11 65 51 30

Other Race 12 64 48 26

SOURCE: Poe-Yamagata, Eileen. 1993. Student Victimization by Sex and Race. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Juvenile Victimization at School (Physical Attacks, Robbery, Bullying)

FIGURE 2-10

Slide 53

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



There are few differences based on race or gender in awareness, witnessing a crime, or being worried about crime.

Slide 54

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


MYTHMYTH FACTFACTMost crimes committed against juveniles are reported to police.

Only a small

percentage of crimes against juveniles are ever reported.

Slide 55

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



Between 1985 and 1995, what was the percentage of juveniles in the number of victims of violent crimes?

Slide 56

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


2.4 Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile Delinquency

What’s wrong with kids today?It’s a question that adults have asked for generations.

Slide 57

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile DelinquencyIn the U.S., the answers have typically been simplistic: • rock and roll, rap, and punk music

• pornography• the Internet• television violence• violent video games• media coverage of crimes• crime and violence in movies

Slide 58

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile Delinquency

• The fact is that juveniles have always been crime-prone. However, in recent years, the trend toward violent juvenile crime has increased.

• Juvenile crime should be considered multivariate; there is no single variable, such as music and television, that causes a juvenile to commit crime.

Slide 59

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile Delinquency• A new area of research focuses on risk and

protective factors, as well as causal factors.causal factor: A factor that is said to cause another factor or outcome.

• A risk factor is a variable that, by its presence or absence, is correlated with the youth’s becoming delinquent, but does not cause the delinquency.

• A protective factor is a variable or characteristic that correlates with not committing delinquent acts.

Slide 60

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



It is important to remember that:

•Risk factors do not cause delinquency.

•Protective factors do not prevent delinquency.

Slide 61

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile DelinquencyResearch has attempted to identify risk and protective factors in an effort to design a delinquency prevention program. These factors may be:

• Variables out of the child’s control: race, gender, socio-economic status, school district

• Behaviors juveniles display when very young: hyperactivity, lying, acting out

• Activities juveniles engage in: substance abuse, unprotected sex, dangerous driving

Slide 62

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



An at-risk youth may be defined in several ways.Boys Town has this definition:

Any youth who is in danger of placement outside of the home; has had negative contact with law enforcement, schools, churches, or other agencies; or who has been impacted directly by substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, or physical abuse.

at-risk youth: A youth who is in danger of becoming a delinquent.

Slide 63

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile Delinquency• Researchers are not able to say that certain

factors cause or prevent delinquency. • For every at-risk youth who becomes a

delinquent, another does not.• Risk and protective factors are best

understood as being interrelated.

Slide 64

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile DelinquencyIn general, risk and protective factors can be categorized into six areas:

• Biology and genetics• Personality• Family

biology and genetics: A set of hereditary factors correlated with juvenile

delinquency.

personality: A set of factors focusing on psychological make-up and attitudes correlated with

juvenile delinquency.

family: A set of factors focusing on parents, siblings, extended family members, and the inner-workings of the family, correlated with juvenile

delinquency.

Slide 65

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



• Social environment• Ecological environment• Educational environment

social environment: A set of factors focusing on the juvenile’s peers, social

class, and activities and interests, correlated with juvenile delinquency.

ecological environment: A set of factors focusing on the community and

neighborhood correlated with juvenile delinquency.

educational environment: A set of factors focusing on the juvenile’s school, attitudes

toward education, and academic behavior and performance, correlated with juvenile

delinquency.

Slide 66

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Risk and Protective Factors in Juvenile Delinquency• Research has shown that risk and protective

factors are predictive of who will and who will not become delinquent.

• The model should be viewed as predictive and not causal.

Slide 67

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Biology and GeneticsResearchers are still studying biological and genetic explanations for delinquency.• Low IQ has been found to be related to

delinquency independently of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, neighborhood, and impulsivity. How we develop IQ is not understood.

IQ: Intelligence Quotient. Standardized test score used for measuring intelligence.

Slide 68

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Biology and GeneticsAnother area of contention has been the connection between race and crime.

• Some research has shown that African-American boys are more likely to commit delinquency than Caucasian boys at age 6.

• Differences gradually developed as the boys aged, with African-American boys 8% more likely than Caucasians to be seriously delinquent.

Slide 69

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Biology and Genetics• Gender is a genetic risk factor that is clearly

a predictor of delinquency. Boys are more involved in more serious forms of delinquency than girls.

• However, in recent years there has been a marked increase in female involvement in delinquent acts.

Slide 70

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


FamilyA large body of research has assessed many family characteristics and found that several are related to delinquency and drug use, including:

• Parental criminality• Child maltreatment• Poor family practices• Absence of parental supervision• Parental rejection• Lack of parental involvement with the juvenile• Parental marriage status and relations• Parental discipline• Parental health

Slide 71

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Family• The presence of a father reduces the

chances of a delinquent son.• First-born children are less likely to be

delinquent.

• The larger the family size, the more likely it is that a child in the family will be delinquent.

Slide 72

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Family• A large study found that there was a

minimal impact from a broken home on delinquency.

• The factor that best explained delinquency was poor supervision.

broken home: A home that is plagued by a variety of serious problems such as abuse or neglect; a correlate of juvenile delinquency.

Slide 73

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


FamilyThe Rochester Youth Study found that:• Children more attached to and involved with their parents

were less involved in delinquency.

• Poor parenting increased the probability of delinquent behavior and delinquent behavior further weakened the relationship between parent and child.

• The impact of family variables appeared to fade as adolescents became older and more independent from their parents.

Slide 74

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Family

A link has also been found between childhood victimization and delinquent behavior.

Slide 75

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Family

• The overall effect of family on delinquency is difficult to assess definitively.

Slide 76

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Most research is still in its infancy in the area of personality characteristics and their relationship to youths being at risk. Some personality characteristics are common to delinquents: • Hyperactivity

• Restlessness• Risk-taking behavior• Aggressiveness

Personality

Slide 77

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Social EnvironmentA young person’s social environment includes peers, social class, and activities and interests.• Associating with

delinquent peers is strongly and consistently related to delinquency.

• Accordingly, having peers who disapprove of delinquency is a protective factor.

peers: Classmates, friends, and associates.

Slide 78

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Social Environment• The idea that social class influences

delinquency has been hotly contested.

• Findings from self-report research show that youths from all backgrounds participate equally in delinquency.

social class: The socio-economic level of a juvenile’s family, typically sorted as underclass, lower class, working class, middle

class, upper-middle class, upper class, etc.

Slide 79

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Social Environment

An old proverb says, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” In other words, the more time juveniles are involved in extracurricular activities, the less time they have to be delinquent.

Slide 80

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Ecological EnvironmentThere is a strong correlation between community crime rates and delinquency. Particular risk factors in delinquency are areas with:

• High crime rates• High poverty rates• Easy access to drugs and firearms• Social disorganization

Slide 81

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


EducationThere are three broad areas related to education that are either risk or protective factors related to delinquency:

• The school itself• The juvenile’s attitude toward education• The juvenile’s behavior and performance at

school

Slide 82

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


EducationOne study found that:• Weak school commitment and poor school

performance were associated with increased involvement in delinquency and drug use.

• School success was associated with resilience.

• Involvement in delinquency reduced commitment to school.

Slide 83

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Behavior and Lifestyle

Juveniles who possess risk factors tend to engage in different behaviors than juveniles who possess protective factors.

Slide 84

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Behavior and LifestylePittsburgh Youth Study researchers identified three developmental pathways in which progressively more serious problem behaviors are displayed:

• Authority conflict Stubbornness prior to age 12, then defiance and avoidance of authority.

• Covert Minor covert acts, such as lying, followed by property damage and moderately serious delinquency, then by serious delinquency.

• Overt Minor aggression followed by fighting and violence.

Slide 85

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Behavior and Lifestyle• The progression to more serious

delinquency leads to a certain lifestyle.

• Once a juvenile has adopted a particular lifestyle, the lifestyle reinforces itself and leads to subsequent risky or protective behavior, depending on the lifestyle.

lifestyle: Pattern of individual behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes.

Slide 86

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Behavior and Lifestyle• The risk and protective factors involved in a

lifestyle also relate to the odds of becoming the victim of crime.

• Juveniles who adopt a risky lifestyle also put themselves at greater risk of being victims of assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Slide 87

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Drugs and AlcoholThe question of whether drug use or delinquency comes first is still unanswered.

• Drug use has been found to be a risk factor in a variety of delinquent and violent behaviors.

• Drug use is a risk factor in becoming a victim of violent behavior at school.

Slide 88

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Contact with the System

The early initiation of the juvenile into criminal or drug-using behavior, accompanied by early serious contact with the criminal justice system, is one of the most predictive risk factors associated with delinquency.

Slide 89

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Social Behavior

How juveniles behavior in society and how they interact with others is also a risk factor.• Those who lie, cheat, and steal are at more risk

than those who don’t.• Anti-social and aggressive behavior in young

children is a risk factor for future delinquency.

Slide 90

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Social Behavior• Youths who join gangs, regardless of the

reasons, are substantially more at risk for becoming arrested or becoming a victim of crime.

• Those who remain in gangs for a long time have extraordinarily high rates of delinquency.

Slide 91

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Other Behaviors

Other risk factors include:

• Sexual promiscuity

• Poor diet and health care, including smoking, drinking, and using drugs

• Unsafe conduct, including carrying a weapon

Slide 92

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Cumulative Effects of Risk Factors

It is not any one risk or protective factor that determines delinquency. Instead, the cumulative effect of risk or non-risk behavior, background, and attitude is more important.

cumulative effect: The total result of combined risk factors.

Slide 93

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Cumulative Effects of Risk Factors

• The probability of delinquency increases as the number of risk factors increases.

• When the number of risk factors exceed the number of protective factors, the juvenile’s chance of having a delinquency-free adolescence will be small.

Slide 94

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Outcomes and OpportunitiesEngaging in risky behaviors or lifestyles typically leads to certain outcomes and opportunities or the lack of them.

outcomes and opportunities: The consequences of a person’s particular lifestyle; low-risk lifestyles lead to different outcomes and opportunities than high-risk lifestyles.

Slide 95

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Outcomes and OpportunitiesFor juveniles already involved in risky behavior, serious and bad outcomes may be likely:

• Teenage pregnancy• School failure• Trouble with the criminal justice system• Unemployability• Poor self-concept• Chemical dependency

Once a youth adopts a certain lifestyle, it tends to either open or restrict access to opportunities.

Slide 96

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice


Outcomes and Opportunities• Risk and protective factors do offer a partial

explanation for delinquency.• For this reason, identified risk and

protective factors have found their place in programmatic interventions and initiatives designed to reduce juvenile delinquency and violence.

Slide 97

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice



What is the difference between a causal factor and a risk factor?

Slide 98

CHAPTER

Juvenile Justice

END OF CHAPTER

Ch2 Juvenile Crime Criminals and Victims

Documents

Transcript of Ch2 Juvenile Crime Criminals and Victims