Aaliyah Arrington

UWRT 1102
Mr. Cary
December 1, 2015
Juvenile Delinquency

To describe a child as a delinquent, offender, criminal can

sometimes SEEM a bit extreme. Unfortunately thats the label
some kids have before even entering high school at times. Why
though? What factors cause children to act out or perform
offenses? Can there be help to deter them from heading down
the wrong paths? What can AMERICA do What is AMERICA
doing? So many questions that lead to even more questions; not
every answer is a good one though.
During the 1970s after the increase of child crime, The
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) was
established. This act is based on a broad consensus that children,

youth, and families involved with the juvenile and criminal courts
should be guarded by federal standards for care and custody,
while also upholding the interests of community safety and the
prevention of victimization. This act was then again re visited in
the year 2002 and the most recent reestablishment was April
2015. Although this is one very successful program child crime
has not even been close to being eliminated. This is just a small
part of what America is trying to do to help prevent crimes. That
act is an example of what the federal government is instilling, but
it takes much more than just acts on paper; it takes PHYSICAL
actions to change the way things are.
Sometimes a child is born with certain disorders that cause
them to behave in ways that are not normal but for the other
children who are named normal in the mental state can really be
changed and assisted into becoming better citizens. But what are
things that may cause them to act out? The reason experts feel
juvenile's commit crimes is because of risk factors when they
were younger but experts still have not found the main reason
why juvenile's commit crimes. Some risk factors associated with
juvenile crime are poverty, repeated exposure to violence, drugs,

easy access to firearms, unstable family life and family violence,

delinquent peer groups, and media violence. Living in poverty is a
HUGE factor, more than half of the delinquents come from poor
backgrounds and this seems to play an important role in them
leading lives of crime. Being kids of low income households may
cause them to act out in school and in the community where it is
probably seen as normal or okay. Growing up with parents who
neglect them, they act out for attention getting it in a way that
follows them forever. The demise of the family life and the
increase in family violence has been the biggest factor in the
increase of juvenile crime.
Turning to the affect media plays in teen violence is also a
big factor. From the video games that are sold to children to the
shows that are meant for awareness; turn into mockery and pure
entertainment for American Television. Video games such as
Grand Theft Auto, Bully, and Saints Row- display violence and kids
play it all of the time, havening access to it at ages as young as
seven years old. These games show kids scenes of stealing cars,
fighting and shooting, sex and drugs. Because it is not against the
law for kids to play these games, it is up to the parents to control

what types of games their kids are exposed to. Video games have
been found to lead to aggression in adolescences that ultimately
lead to even worst forms of behavior issues.
Besides video games being a media tool that is leading to
delinquency, also television plays a role too. The most popular TV
show that displays juvenile behavior and is supposed to be used
as awareness and prevention is Beyond Scared Straight on A&E.
This show follows programs around the country that have jail
programs that are meant for deterring teens from the life of
crime. It shows different teens from all sorts of backgrounds the
problem is that it has been turned into public ridicule. Social
networks have been outlets for these shows to gain ratings, but
not always for the right reasons. Certain scenes of the shows have
been turned into reoccurring jokes and people watch it mainly for
the use of laughs and not for the fact that it was made for the
reasons of changing lives.
When I asked what could AMERICA do to help the rates of
child crime go down, or how could AMERICA help prevent the rise
of juvenile delinquency I should have asked what could I do. I

myself have been in situations where I was heading down the

wrong path, and it took losing a friend to a bullet to help change
my life. Not much research or tests were needed to change me,
no prevention programs or anything of that sort. All kids do not
have the same mindset or experiences so what do we do still
a question that has yet to have a for sure answer. I want to make
it a goal of my life to help as many troubled kids go down the
right path, give them the tools to change and not have them
experience what I did or worst.

CITATIONS

"APA Review Confirms Link Between Playing Violent Video Games and
Aggression." American Psychology Association. Sandra Calvert, PhD; Kenneth
Dodge, PhD; Sandra Graham, PhD; Gordon N. Hall, PhD; Sherry Hamby, PhD;
and Larry Hedges, PhD, 03 Aug. 2015. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
"Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act." <i>Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act</i>. Coalition for Juvenile Justice, n.d. Web. 02
Dec. 2015.
"Reasons for Juvenile Crime." <i>Novelguide</i>. Social Issues, n.d. Web. 02
Dec. 2015.