Annual Editions Juvenile Delinquency, 2000

UNIT 1. Juvenile Population: Definitions and Perceptions 1. Juvenile Population Characteristics , Howard N. Snyder and Eileen Poe, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A National Report , 1995. More than one in four U.S. residents are under 18 years of age. To give us perspective about the nature and extent of delinquency, we have to know first the basic facts about the size, composition, and characteristics of the U.S. juvenile population. 2. Juvenile Arrests 1996 , Howard N. Snyder, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, U.S. Department of Justice , November 1997. The preceding article set the parameters for the entire juvenile population. Now it is easier to understand the latest statistics available from the Uniform Crime Reports and to keep them in perspective. Despite perceptions, there is a gradual decrease in many types of juvenile delinquency. 3. The Coming Crime Wave Is Washed Up , Jacques Steinberg, New York Times , January 3, 1999. With the recent fall in juvenile crime, many experts are at a loss as to what has caused the decrease in felonies perpetrated by youths. Jacques Steinberg considers some of the theories. 4. The Crackdown on Kids: The New Mood of Meanness toward Children--To Be Young Is to Be Suspect , Annette Fuentes, The Nation , June 15/22, 1998. The statistical facts about juvenile misbehavior and delinquency simply do not support the public perception of the problem, contends Annette Fuentes. She analyzes the definitions of delinquency today compared to those of other times and discusses some of the reasons, including high-profile cases, for the state of affairs. 5. Part I: The Nature and Severity of Juvenile Crime and Part II: Juvenile Justice System History and Development , Privacy and Juvenile Justice Records: A Mid-Decade Status Report , May 1997. This report notes that while crime in general is decreasing, delinquency of several types is increasing. This may contradict other articles that indicate that some types of delinquency are decreasing. It appears that many of the problems in such discrepancies stem from issues of measurement. 6. The Extent of Female Delinquency , Meda Chesney-Lind and Randall G. Shelden, from Girls, Delinquency and Juvenile Justice , Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1992. The various measures of delinquency, including self-report and official police and court statistics, are used to compare and contrast the delinquent behavior of girls over time and for comparison with the behavior of boys. The manifestations of female delinquency differ from the usual male manifestations. 7. Juvenile Offenders: Should They Be Tried in Adult Courts? , Michael P. Brown, USA Today Magazine (Society for the Advancement of Education) , January 1998. Our fear of crime and our evolving fear of violent juveniles is causing us to rethink the definition of who is delinquent and criminal and to reexamine the use of criminal sanctions for those youth who threaten us. This selection presents a concise history of our thinking from before the seventeenth century to today. The concept of parens patriae is considered as well as the dimensions of the perceived threat to society. UNIT 2. Causes and Correlates of Juvenile Delinquency 8. Frustrated Officials Find Standard Answers Don''t Suffice , Christie Parsons, Chicago Tribune , April 25, 1999. In a clear and even-handed presentation, Christine Parsons captures the failure of our prior policies and procedures for dealing with juveniles. While under many states'' laws shootings similar to those that occurred in Littleton, Colorado, in April 1999 would have been addressed in regular criminal court, the youth of the offenders still shocks us. The frustration and confusion point to the need to develop good theory in order to have good policy. 9. Why the Young Kill , Sharon Begley, Newsweek , May 3, 1999. The reasons why the young are turning to violent and deadly behavior over the last few years have been of intense interest to psychologists, peace officers, and indeed, the rest of the world. The killings that have taken place at high schools such as Littleton, West Paducah, and Jonesboro have raised the preeminent question of "why?" Sharon Begley reviews possible answers to this question. 10. Of Arms and the Boy , John Cloud, Time , July 6, 1998. The culture in which one lives shapes the motivations for behavior. John Cloud examines the moral environment of the society that produced the youthful killers who have garnered a disproportionate share of headlines recently. It also introduces the possibility that biological tendencies may be triggered by select aspects of the changing cultural environment. 11. Early Violence Leaves Its Mark on the Brain , Daniel Goleman, New York Times , October 3, 1995. The biology of the brain is examined as a possible factor influencing misbehavior--in this case, violence. Daniel Goleman reports that researchers are careful to avoid the pitfalls of anthropomorphism. The results of work with animals are used to identify behaviors and conditions that would be possible to observe and measure in humans. 12. The Real Root Cause of Violent Crime: The Breakdown of the Family , Patrick Fagan, Vital Speeches of the Day , February 5, 1995. Patrick Fagan''s address has earned national attention. It is a vigorous critique of social policy based on social welfare concepts and a vigorous defense of emerging views concerning parental responsibility. This essay can be compared with a more moderate, humanitarian view in the next article. 13. When Our Children Commit Violence , Ann F. Caron, Loyola Magazine , 1998. Ann Caron, a psychologist and parent, addresses the issue of parenting and particularly parents'' responsibility for the conduct of their children. The article asks, "Who is teaching the children?" and examines the role of parents in raising civilized children. There may be some who disagree with the opinion offered, but the article must be read and understood in the context of a humanist perspective. 14. From Adolescent Angst to Shooting up Schools--Where Rampages Begin , Timothy Egan, The New York Times , June 14, 1998. Much analysis is done about the celebrity cases that appear in written and broadcast media. It would be an error in logic to assume that these cases are symptomatic of an isolated set of causes and pressures. The teens who exhibit less spectacular juvenile misbehavior, "ordinary" delinquency and disorder, are exposed to like causes and social pressures. Understanding the celebrity cases helps us understand the ordinary ones. UNIT 3. Drugs, Sex, Law, Policy, and Other Compounding IssuesStruckhoff, David R. is the author of 'Annual Editions Juvenile Delinquency, 2000' with ISBN 9780072333718 and ISBN 0072333715.