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June 22, 2014

Soc 369

California State University Dominguez Hills


Juvenile Delinquency
Alyssa Mohr
The Juvenile Courts
6-22-14

Juvenile delinquency acts take many forms in society. It can be anywhere from bullying
or harassing a fellow classmate, to murdering someone in cold blood. These are just some of the
examples of cases dealing with delinquent behavior. Whether these young adults should be
charged as adults is an ongoing controversy. Some argue that trying a delinquent as a juvenile is
just, but others feel that juveniles should be tried as adults. I believe that juveniles should be tried
as adults depending on the severity of their crime.
Though some cases are circumstantial, those who are put on trial know the difference
between right and wrong. Misdemeanors and lighter crimes should not be treated as seriously as
an individual who commits a murder or violent crime. In order to differentiate between these
crimes, they are separated into two parts: violent crimes and property crimes. The latest data of
crime trends states that 13.6 million arrests are made every year and there are Part I and Part II
crimes. Fifteen percent of Part I crimes are made by juveniles. Another statistic is that 85% of
these serious violent crimes or Part I crimes are committed by young adults over the age of 18
(Siegel and Welsh, 2009). This just explains how most violent crimes are not committed by
juveniles but are committed by young adults. Since young adults commit the majority of these
crimes, then juveniles under the age of 18 should that commit these Part I crimes should be tried
as adults. Those whom commit a violent crime no matter the age should be tried as adults. If not,
then they become indifferent to the idea of what is right and what is wrong.
Juvenile court processes compared to adult court processes help explain how the courts
handle juveniles with much more leniency. Compared to adult court processes, juvenile court
processes have informal court procedures rather than trial by jury. The juveniles have separate
detention from adult criminals, and juvenile court processes tend to be more confidential. Due to
the Gault decision in 1967, juvenile court procedures were seen as less progressive and should

have the same aspects as adult proceedings (Fagan and Zimring, x). Another issue with the
juvenile court system is whether or not the system proceedings are appropriate to the case on
hand (Fagan and Zimring, x). This means that the juvenile court system does not have the
resources to have different proceedings for different types of cases. Today, most juveniles are not
tried as adults because of the unnecessary costs it takes to send an adult to trial or even prison. If
a juvenile is tried as an adult, it will cost the state more money to provide the necessary resources
of the court proceedings. With serious cases, the issue of money is worth it because the result
will be that a serious criminal is put away if they are convicted. This is where the idea of
circumstantial cases comes into play. For example, a juvenile who is accused of robbing a
convenience store should not be tried as an adult because his or her crime is a misdemeanor and
not a critical felony. They should be tried but not through an adult proceeding.
An example of a serious crime would be the recent case in Wisconsin where two 12-yearold girls are facing attempted murder charges for brutally stabbing their classmate nineteen
times. Also, it was proven that this act of violence was pre-meditated and the two girls wanted to
prove their devotion to a fictional character on a horror myth website. Both girls are on trial and
are being tried as adults. Now, if they were tried as juveniles and they were convicted, they
would only spend twenty-five years in prison. However, since the crime was pre-meditated and
both girls knew what they were doing, they were automatically tried as adults for first-degree
intentional homicide. If they are convicted they will be facing sixty-five years in prison.
Juveniles, who are involved in serious crimes such as this, deserve to be automatically tried as
adults. However, this is not always the case except in some states.
In most cases, juvenile delinquency is a direct consequence of where one comes from.
For example, an individual can be pushed them into a life of crime and immoral behavior when

they come from destitute areas. Researchers Henry McKay and Clifford Shaw emphasize the fact
that individuals who reside in large American cities tend to turn to delinquent behavior,
compared to individuals who live in suburban areas. They state, The low-income communities
near the centers of commerce and heavy industry had the highest rates of crime (McKay and
Shaw, 106). Low-income communities have trouble surviving off of what they make on a day-today basis, so they turn to what ever they can to get by financially and sometimes the children get
involved and have to turn to delinquent behavior.
Individuals such as juveniles should know the difference between right and wrong and if
they are old enough to know this, then they should be old enough to take responsibility for their
actions. Though some do not have a choice when it comes to living a life of poverty, committing
crimes is not questioned because crimes are necessary for survival. On the other hand, those who
are driven into a life filled with crime also get involved with gangs. Gangs are common in urban
cities. In addition, gangs take in members when they are young and teach them to ignore the law
and commit unforgivable crimes. Therefore, a good number of juvenile delinquents are involved
in gangs and choose to ignore the law and should be tried as adults if committed for a serious
crime.
There are many characteristics that can define a juvenile delinquent. Demographics pretty
much highlight which juveniles are most likely to commit a crime and be tried for a crime.
Demographics include age, race, and gender. In a study conducted to provide statistics for
juvenile cases, it was proven that demographics do play a large role in who is most likely to
commit a crime. For example, studies show that seventeen-year-olds are twice as likely to be
tried as adults than younger children. It was also proven that case trial rates are twice as likely in
seventeen year olds than in younger kids because of drug offenses. Pertaining to gender, males

are almost four times more likely to commit a crime as a juvenile than females. That also
includes delinquency case rate and whether they were tried as well. As for race, the case rate for
black males was higher than all other race groups regardless of the crime. The same goes for
black females as well. Both outweigh the other races in the amount of juvenile case trials they
hold per year. Now, these offenses are not typically serious crimes such as murder, but they do
include person or property offenses, drug offenses, and public order defenses. However, all the
offenses stated above are serious enough for juveniles to be punished under adult proceedings.
This is because they know the difference between right and wrong and should be accountable for
it. They know the direct effect of taking drugs and their consequences and should be treated like
an adult if they know the difference between what is socially acceptable in todays society.
Besides the fact that trying juveniles as adults can be difficult because of economic
issues, it is also impossible to try every juvenile crime as an adult crime due to the fact that jails
are already overcrowded. It has been a growing concern in the United States. There have been
many cases over the years that have proven overcrowding to be cruel and unusual punishment
(Prison Overcrowding is a growing concern in the U.S.). This is called double ceiling. Inmates
are allotted a certain amount of space. Basically, overcrowding prisons not only causes economic
problems but it also causes social problems between inmates. Though prison overcrowding can
decrease, if convicted juveniles are thrown into prison along with other criminals the problem
will only increase.
For a serious crime, juveniles should be held accountable for what they have done.
Though they are in an early stage of their life, the sooner they are held responsible for their
actions, the sooner they will learn the consequences of those actions. In addition, teaching a
juvenile the results of their actions will halt future occurrences in the future. In order to halt these

reoccurrences, sometimes trying the juvenile as an adult is necessary. If they get away with doing
crimes early in life, they will only make a habit out of putting their own lives in danger as well as
the lives of innocent victims.

Works Cited:
http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/239114.pdf
http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-violent-juveniles-be-treated-as-adults-in-court
Fagan, Jeffrey, and Franklin E. Zimring. The Changing Borders of Juvenile Justice: Transfer of
Adolescents to the Criminal Court. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2000. Print.
Shaw, Clifford R., and Henry D. McKay. Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas; a Study of
Rates of Delinquency in Relation to Differential Characteristics of Local Communities in
American Cities. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1969. Print.
Siegel, Larry J., and Joseph J. Senna. Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. St. Paul:
West Pub. 1981. Print.

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