In the 21st century, juvenile delinquent behavior is one of the significant issues that the United States is currently facing. The increasingly younger ages of juvenile delinquents and the sophisticated nature of juvenile crimes are quite alarming. Thus, it is necessary examine and analyze the five dimensions of juvenile law-violating behaviors.
▪ Age of onset: The age when juveniles begin committing delinquent acts, violating the law is known as the age of onset. Most criminal careers studies agree that juveniles who engage in delinquency and law-violating behavior at an early age are more likely to commit more serious crimes when they grow up. This suggests that “early onset” can lead to longer criminal careers (Farrington, 1992) and during the age of onset, juvenile offenders may commit a wide variety of delinquent offenses (LeBlanc & Frechette, 1989).
▪ Escalation of Offenses: As juvenile offenders age, they may start committing more crimes, and this aspect is known as the escalation of offenses. Patterns of escalation in the number and even the seriousness of juvenile offenses have been studied to a minimal extent, and thus, there is limited evidence (Davis & Howe, 1992). Personal background characteristics, such as behavioral and personality indicators, and social characteristics, such as family relationships (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), are among factors that influence the escalation of offenses among juveniles.
▪ Specialization of Offenses: The specialization of offenses is the stage during which juveniles end up specializing in one type of crime, and begin repeating it. The escalation of offenses as they continue to age causes juveniles offenders to gain more experience in committing a variety of crimes, until they become proficient at a certain type of crime or crimes, and are more likely to begin repeating those crimes that they have committed more successfully. At this point, juvenile offenders may also become proficient at a more serious and severe type of crime.
▪ Desistence from Crime: Desistence from crime is when juvenile offenders stop committing delinquent crimes and offenses, permanently or in some cases, temporarily. While criminology thrives to find why individuals start committing crime, it has not been able to adequately answer why they stop. The simplest and perhaps the most logical explanation is the concept of “maturational reform” (Matza, 1964). According to this concept, juvenile offenders leave delinquency behind as they grow up and mature. However, this is not always a positive sign.
▪ Transition to Adult Crime: Transition to adult crime is when juvenile offenders, now in adulthood, continue committing crimes. This transudation usually occurs as individuals continue aging, or in rare cases, can also occur after temporary desistence from crime. As mentioned, adults are more likely to continue to committing crimes if they began partaking in delinquent crimes and offenses at an early age. Moreover, juvenile delinquents in out-of-home care are also more likely to make the transition to continue committing crimes even in adulthood (Barth, 1990).
Paying attention to these dimensions of juvenile law-violating behaviors can help respective authorities to prevent the early onset of juvenile delinquent behavior and reduce the risk of juveniles transitioning to adult crime and likelihood of a longer criminal career.
References
Barth, R. P. (1990). On their own: The experiences of youth after foster care. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 7(5), 419-440. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00756380?LI=true
Blanc, M. L., & Frechette, M. (1989). Male criminal activity from childhood through youth: Multilevel and developmental perspectives (research in criminology). (1st ed.). Springer.
Davis, G. J., & Howe, R. W. (1992). Juvenile dispersal, limited breeding sites, and metapopulation dynamics.Theoretical Population Biology, 42(1), 184-207.
Farrington, David P. "Juvenile Delinquency." Coleman, J. (2012). The school years. (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis.
Gottfredson, M., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. (1st ed.). Stanford University Press.
