dissusion board questions
ismails95
4WhoisMostLikelytoEngageinDelinquency.pptxWho is Most Likely to Engage in Delinquency
JD: Causes and Control (4)
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Social Class
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most people assume lower-class juveniles are more delinquent than middle-class juveniles
large number of studies yields contradictory findings
How do we determine the relationship bt social class and delinquency?
Relationship bt Social Class & Delinquency
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Until 1960’s primary measure of relationship bt class and delinquency was arrest data
1. lower-class communities had higher arrest rates than did higher-class communities
2. criminologists concluded social class strongly associated with delinquency
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During 1960s, early self report studies were widely used
1. data indicated little or no relationship so criminologists concluded social class was unrelated to delinquency
2. explanations for discrepancy between arrest data and self-report data
lower-class offenses are more likely to come to attention of police and result in arrest
Chambliss’ study showed visibility, demeanor, and bias affected perceptions
middle-class and lower-class youth have different reasons for engaging in delinquent acts
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Criticisms of early self-report studies
1. focused on status and minor offenses, and provided little information on serious delinquency
2. used truncated response categories that failed to accurately measure high-rate offenders
3. failed to examine very poor juveniles or the length of time that juveniles had been poor
Later self-report studies such as National Youth Survey (NYS)
1. few or no class differences for most types of minor delinquency
2. lower-class juveniles are more likely to engage in serious delinquency
3. more high-rate offenders in lower class
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So WHAT IS the relationship between class and delinquency?
Depends on the seriousness of the delinquency
1. no relationship between social class and minor delinquency
2. social class moderately related to serious delinquency, due to more high-rate offenders in lower class than in working and middle class
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Race
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Arrest data focuses on whites and African Americans
FBI does not report arrest data on Latinos and non-Latinos
African Americans disproportionately involved in delinquency, with larger differences for serious crimes
race differences declined in recent years
arrest rates for African Americans have been falling faster than those for whites
criticisms
crimes committed by African Americans may be more likely to come to attention of police
African American offenders more likely to be arrested than white offenders
Arrest Data (race)
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early self-report studies find little or no relationship
later self-report studies find more complex relationship, similar to that of social class
African Americans and whites commit similar levels of minor delinquency
African Americans more likely to engage in serious delinquency, but not to extent reported in arrest data
average rate of serious crime higher among African Americans because more high-rate offenders
recent immigrants have lower crime rate that U.S. natives
first-generation immigrants have lower crime rates than second-generation immigrants
second-generation immigrants have lower crime rates than third-generation immigrants
Self Report Data (race)
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African Americans more likely than whites to be both offenders and victims of violence
African American juvenile rates of serious violent offending 2.4 times higher than whites
African American juveniles about five times as likely as white juveniles to be victims of homicide
most crime intraracial so higher victimization rates suggest higher offending rates
Victimization Data (race)
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Overall conclusions
1. little or no relationship between race and minor delinquency
2. African Americans more likely than whites to engage in serious delinquency
3. race differences in serious delinquency declined in recent years
Race and social class in relation to serious delinquency
1. comparison of delinquency of lower-class African Americans to lower-class whites and of middle-class African Americans to middle-class whites indicates that social class explains some but not all of relationship
2. remaining differences likely due to community context—African Americans more likely to be poor and to live in high-poverty communities .
Overall Conclusions
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Age
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All three data sources show that crimes peak during mid- to late adolescence
1. rates for property crime peak in mid- to late adolescence and then decline rapidly
2. rates for violent crime peak in late adolescence and early adulthood and then decline more slowly
3. rates of illicit drug use peak in late teens and early 20s; peak varies somewhat by type of drug
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Primary reason for peak is increase in number of juveniles that start committing crimes during adolescence
Different patterns for females and African Americans
1. female offending, especially violence, peaks slightly earlier
2. African Americans less likely to stop offending when they become adults
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Gender
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Relationship between gender and delinquency
All data sources show
1. males have higher rates of delinquency than females
2. gender differences greatest for serious violent and serious property crimes
3. reasons for differences
greater number of male offenders than female offenders
male offenders committing more offenses than female offenders
All Data Shows (gender)
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1. arrest data
males more likely than females to be arrested for every crime except prostitution and running away
males and females tend to be arrested for same types of crimes
most often arrested for minor crimes
greater portion of all male arrests for serious crimes
greater portion of all female arrests for larceny theft and status offenses
trends in male and female delinquency
arrest rates increased faster for females from mid 1980s to mid 1990s
arrest rates declined more slowly for females from mid 1990s to 2002
Arrest (gender)
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self-report data
findings in agreement with arrest data
males have higher rates of delinquency
even though males commit more serious acts, males and females tend to commit similar types of crimes
contrary to arrest data show gender ratio in delinquency fairly stable since 1960s
Self Report (gender)
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Summary of gender differences in delinquency
1. males have higher rates, especially for serious violent and property crimes
2. males commit more offenses, but females also commit a broad range of offenses
3. some evidence that difference becoming smaller
Summary (gender)
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Different Types of Delinquents
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Non-offenders, low-rate offenders, and high-rate offenders
1. small percentage (10 percent or less) of juveniles do not engage in delinquency
2. large percentage (majority) commit small to moderate number of delinquent offenses
3. small percentage (5–15 percent) commit an enormous number of offenses
Non Offenders, Low Rate and High Rate
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Types of offenses committed by juvenile offenders
1. small number specialize in a particular type of crime
2. large majority of juveniles commit range of minor offenses
3. small percentage commit mixture of minor and serious offenses
Types of Offenses Committed
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Age at which juveniles start and stop delinquent behavior
1. most common pattern is “adolescent-limited” offenders
start offending in late childhood to mid-adolescence and stop offending in late adolescence
2. smaller group of “chronic” offenders
often begin delinquent or antisocial behavior as young children
more likely to offend at high rates, commit serious offenses, and continue offending as adults
Age of Onset and Desistance
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Common patterns of juvenile offending
1. tendency to move from less serious to more serious offending
2. tendency for frequency of offending to increase during early to mid-adolescence and decrease during late adolescence and adulthood
Different types of delinquents
1. high-rate, serious, chronic offenders who commit enormous amount of crime
2. low-rate, minor, adolescent-limited offenders
3. other groups fall in between
Common Patterns/ Types
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