Assignment 2: Course Project Task II

Argosy University

Treatment of Juvenile Offenders

Year after year, the bulk of reported street crime is attributed to youths more than any other demographic. A dangerous trend where juveniles engage in offenses as wide-ranging as minor drug charges to homicide could lead to a significant youth-fueled crime wave in the United States if a stop is not put to it. There are those who believe that the individual is responsible for the choices he or she makes and that their environment cannot be blamed. The proponents of this rational choice theory argue that juvenile delinquents and other criminals will usually consider the costs and benefits of engaging in criminal behavior before making the decision that provides the best risk-to-reward ratio. Others believe in the social structure theory where the cause of juvenile and other crime is due to external factors and not within the person. Whatever the case, however, juvenile delinquency costs America both money and morally. As government pays more for increased policing and the judicial system processes, medical costs escalate on the other hand, and high prices are sustained because of property theft and vandalism in both the public and private sectors. It is critical; then, those juvenile offenders are exposed to intervention strategies such as family systems, peer group counseling, parent and social skills training, boot camps, and wilderness programs to mitigate the effects of their detrimental impact.

References

Garbarino, J., & Plantz, M.C. (2017). Child abuse and juvenile delinquency: What are the links? In C. Schellenbach (Ed.) Troubled Youth, Troubled Families: Understanding Families at Risk for Adolescent Maltreatment (pp. 14-). New York, NY: Routledge.

Hirschi, T. (2017). Causes of delinquency. New York, NY: Routledge.

May, J., Osmond, K., & Billick, S. (2014). Juvenile delinquency treatment and prevention: a literature review. The Psychiatric Quarterly, 85(3), 295-301. doi:10.1007/s11126-014-9296-4.