Juvenile Delinquency And Crime Essay

According to a national report from the National Center of Juvenile Justice in 1991, 25% of all serious violent crimes involved a juvenile offender. This included 11% of these crimes that were committed by a juvenile alone, 6% were committed in juvenile groups, and lastly another 8% were committed by groups of offenders with at least one juvenile (United States Department of Justice). Since then, youth violence has increased largely and has posed as a national concern. A juvenile offender is a minor who is under the age of 18 and has committed a crime. Juvenile delinquency is more than ding dong ditching or throwing water balloons. In fact, some crimes committed are drug related, property crimes, or crimes against another person. Thes crimes committed by minors are called “delinquent acts.” The juvenile offender has an

Juvenile offenders who get sentenced based off the severity of their punishment will be less likely to continue offending in adulthood. For example, according to an article titled “From Juvenile Delinquency to Young Adult Offending”, “Continuity of offending from the juvenile into the adult years is higher for people who start offending at an early age, chronic delinquents, and violent offenders. The Pittsburgh Youth Study found that 52 to 57 percent of juvenile delinquents continue to offend up to age 25. This number dropped by two-thirds — to 16 to 19 percent — in the next five years. However, there are large individual differences at play. Juveniles who start offending before age 12 are more likely to continue offending into early adulthood¨ (“From Juvenile Delinquency to Young Adult Offending”). Plainly, juveniles who start offending at a young age get into a habit to offend. Juveniles are treated in juvenile court and since they do not receive adult