Given the various sources of data on juvenile delinquency, and the means by which these statistics are collected and recorded, there is reason to believe that these statistics and sources do not provide an accurate picture of the type and frequency of delinquent behavior present in the youth population. The Uniform Crime Report, for example, which is an aggregate of data from all law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, have many questioning its accuracy. According to research, fewer than half of all victims of crimes, whether property or violence related, actually report the incidents to the police. This is due to the victim not wanting to take the trouble, not deeming it important enough to report, or not wanting to involve the police (Siegel and Welsh, p. 42). This leads to a significant underreporting of crimes that makes these figures slightly less than accurate.
Given the reticence of many to report criminal activity, whether adult or juvenile, and the common phenomenon of misreporting lesser conduct as assaults, it is possible that nearly all sources, whether official or unofficial, do not paint an accurate picture of the extent and nature of juvenile delinquency in this country. This makes taking measures to address these problems more difficult, as the problem itself is not reported, analyzed or studied accurately.
In the past two decades, juvenile delinquency has become a much different animal than what was experienced prior to the 1970s. Serious youth violence has increased since then, as younger and younger children as exhibiting antisocial behavior. Crimes have increased, with the majority in the past being vandalism and increasing to full-on violence and murder. While most crimes committed by adolescents include theft and vandalism still, the number of violent youth crimes has increased steadily, peaking somewhat in 1994 with 500 arrests per 100,000 juveniles, ages 10-17 (Jensen et al., p. 49).
Mental health and substance abuse issues are also rampant among juvenile delinquents, quantifying the problem much more coherently than has been explored before. Many youth crimes today also have distinct racial lines, just as with adult crime; African-Americans are typically overrepresented, accounting for nearly half of all violent crime arrests and arrests for forcible rape, as well as aggravated assault arrests (Jensen et al., p. 53).
One substantial change in the last few years has been the substantial increase in female delinquency among juveniles. In the past decade, arrests for female delinquents has increased more than their male counterparts; this is attributed to the increase in "girls gone wild" and "bad girl" violence in the media, fetishizing and glamorizing this aggression (Feld, p. 242). This is argued as not being a necessarily dramatic change in girls' behavior, but a change in the policies of law enforcement officers and a need to further the "culture of control" - these policies include charging as assaults events that are not as serious as previously determined, increasing criminalization of domestic violence and disputes, and a less lenient social attitude towards women acting out (p. 242).
One of the most important means of reducing levels of juvenile delinquency is ensuring that offenders are not allowed to repeat offenses, and that appropriate punishment happens early enough in the process to discourage them successfully from becoming repeat offenders. Chronic offenders are different from most delinquent youths, in that the latter typically only offend once - for joyriding or shoplifting - while chronic offenders tend to start their careers at age ten or younger, and exert substantially violent behavior in their repeated encounters with law enforcement. (Siegel and Welsh, p. 63). This type of behavior is extremely hazardous, and this early interaction with the police tends to lessen its impact as a deterrent for delinquent behavior.
In order to successfully prevent the type of property damage and violent physical toll a repeat juvenile offender can have over a potentially long and substantial history of crime, steps must be taken to determine whether or not a juvenile will become a chronic offender. Response to defendants in juvenile cases and monitoring of offenders to check for signs of repeat behavior may be a potential solution (Siegel and Welsh, 2011). Chronic offenders tend to have several deficits in their environment and social life, as well as their personal lives, that lead to these behaviors. These deficits include low intellectual development, poor family relations, issues with learning and motor skills, and potential for alcohol and drug abuse (p. 66). The less effect punishment and being apprehended by law enforcement has on a juvenile, the more likely it is that they will be repeat offenders. Barring all of these things, allocating the most resources to those offenders who threaten to become chronic offenders, even into adulthood, creates a greater chance to successfully rehabilitate said offender and turn them into a productive member of society.
References
Feld, B.C. (2009). Violent girls or relabeled status offenders? An alternative interpretation of the
data. Crime Delinquency 55: 241.
Jenson, J.M, Potter, C.C., and Howard, M.O. (2001). American juvenile justice: recent trends
and issues in youth offspring. Social Policy and Administration 35(1): 48-68.
Siegel, L.J. and Walsh, B.C. (2011). Juvenile delinquency: theory, practice, and law. Cengage
Learning.
