Juvenile Delinquency

An integrated approach

James Burfeind, Dawn Bartusch

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781317550945
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to juvenile delinquency by defining and describing juvenile delinquency, examining explanations for delinquent behavior, and considering contemporary efforts to control delinquency through prevention and juvenile justice. The text cultivates an understanding of juvenile delinquency by examining and linking key criminological theories and research. Coverage includes:

• the historical origins and transformation of "juvenile delinquency" and juvenile justice;
• the nature of delinquency, addressing the extent of delinquent offenses, the social correlates of offending and victimization (age, gender, race and ethnicity, and social class), and the developmental patterns of offending;
• theoretical explanations of delinquency, with insights from biosocial criminology, routine activities, rational choice, social control, social learning, social structure, labeling, and critical criminologies;
• evidence-based practice in delinquency prevention and contemporary juvenile justice.

Fully revised and updated, the new edition incorporates the latest theory and research in the field of juvenile delinquency and provides expanded discussion of contemporary juvenile justice reform, evidence-based practice in delinquency prevention, and disproportionate minority contact throughout the juvenile justice process. This book is essential reading for courses on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice.

The book is supported by a range of compelling pedagogical features. Each chapter includes key terms, learning objectives, an opening case study, box inserts that provide practical application of theory and research, critical thinking questions, suggested reading, useful websites, and a glossary of key terms. A companion website offers an array of resources for students and instructors. For students, this website provides chapter overviews, flashcards of key terms, and useful websites. The instructor site is password protected and offers a complete set of PowerPoint slides and an extensive test bank for each chapter—all prepared by the authors.

Part I

Studying juvenile delinquency

Chapter 1

The study of juvenile delinquency

Chapter preview

Topics:

•Understanding juvenile delinquency

•Developing and evaluating theories of delinquency

•Purposes of delinquency research

•Causal analysis

Terms:

•juvenile delinquency

•theory

•concepts

•propositions

•level of explanation

•inductive theorizing

•deductive theorizing

•association

•temporal order

•spurious

Chapter learning objectives

After completing this chapter, students should be able to:

•Understand the approach and structure of this book.

•Describe the key components of theory.

•Describe the relationship between theory and research.

•Identify the purposes of research.

•Describe the criteria for establishing cause-and-effect relationships.

Case in point: Rick, a “delinquent youth”

The youth court “adjudicated” 14-year-old Rick a “delinquent youth” for motor vehicle theft and placed him on formal probation for six months. He and a friend took a car that belonged to Rick’s father without permission. They were stopped by the police for driving erratically – a classic case of joyriding.

Rick was already a familiar figure in the juvenile court. When Rick was 12, he was referred to the court for “deviant sex” for an incident in which he was caught engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl. The juvenile court dealt with this offense “informally.” A probation officer met with Rick and his parents to work out an agreement of informal probation, but no petition into court. Not long after this first offense, Rick was taken into custody by the police for curfew violation and later for vandalism – he and his friend had gotten drunk and knocked down numerous mailboxes along a rural road. In both of these instances, Rick was taken to the police station and released to his parents.

Rick was a very personable and likable kid. He expressed a great deal of remorse for his delinquent acts and seemed to genuinely desire to change. He had a lot going for himself; he was goal-directed, intelligent, and athletic. He interacted well with others, including his parents, teachers, and peers. His best friend, an American Indian boy who lived on a nearby reservation, was the same age as Rick and had an offense record very similar to Rick’s. In fact, Rick and his friend were often “companions in crime,” committing many of their delinquent acts together.

Rick was the adopted son of older parents who loved him greatly and saw much potential in him. They were truly perplexed by the trouble he was in, and they struggled to understand why Rick engaged in delinquent acts and what to do about it. Rick seemed to really care about his parents, and he spent a good deal of time with them.

Rick attended school regularly and earned good grades. He was not disruptive in the classroom or elsewhere in the school. In fact, teachers reported that he was a very positive student both in and out of class and that he was academically motivated. He was also actively involved in several sports.

Rick’s six months of formal probation for auto theft turned into a two-year period as he continued to commit delinquent acts. Through regular meetings and enforcement of probation conditions, his probation officer tried to work with Rick to break his pattern of delinquency. Yet Rick continued to offend, resulting in an almost routine series of court hearings that led to the extension of his probation supervision period. The continuing pattern of delinquency included a long list of property and status offenses: minor in possession of alcohol, curfew violations, continued vandalism, minor theft (primarily shoplifting), and continued auto theft.

Rick’s “final” offense was criminal mischief, and it involved extensive destruction of property. Once again, Rick and his friend “borrowed” his father’s car, got drunk, and drove to a suburb of Minneapolis. For no apparent reason, they parked the car and began to walk. Eventually, they started throwing small rocks toward buildings and ended up breaking numerous windows, causing thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.

Because of the scale of damage, Rick faced the possibility of being placed in a state training school. As a potential “loss of liberty case,” Rick was provided with representation by an attorney. This time, the juvenile court’s adjudication process followed formal procedures, including involvement of a prosecutor and a defense attorney. In the preliminary hearing, Rick admitted to the petition (the formal legal statement of charges against him), and the case was continued to a later date for disposition (sentencing in juvenile court). In the meantime, the judge ordered a predisposition report.

The predisposition report is designed to individualize the court’s disposition to “fit the offender.” The investigation for the report uses multiple sources of information, including the arresting officer, parents, school personnel, coaches, employers, friends, relatives, and, most important, the offending youth. The predisposition report tried to describe and explain Rick’s persistent pattern of property and status offending, and it offered a recommendation for disposition based on the investigation. The probation officer recommended that Rick be committed to the Department of Corrections for placement at the Red Wing State Training School. Rick was viewed as a chronic juvenile offender, with little hope for reform.

It was one of those formative experiences. I [co-author Jim Burfeind] was fresh out of college and newly hired as a probation officer. I was meeting with two experienced attorneys – one the defense, the other the prosecutor. Almost in unison, they turned to me and asked, “Why did Rick do this? Why did he develop such a persistent pattern of delinquency?” They wanted to make sense of Rick’s delinquency, and they wondered how the juvenile court could best respond to his case.

I had become familiar with Rick only in the previous few weeks when his case was reassigned to me as part of my growing caseload as a new probation officer. Now, meeting with the attorneys to gather information for the predisposition report, I was being asked to explain Rick’s pattern of delinquency to two legal experts who had far more experience in the juvenile justice system than I did. How could I possibly know enough to offer an explanation? I also had the daunting responsibility of making a recommendation for disposition that the judge would most likely follow completely. Rick’s future was at stake, and my recommendation would determine the disposition of the juvenile court.

As I tried to respond to the attorneys, my mind was flooded with questions. The answers to these questions became the basis for my predisposition report. The questions with which I wrestled included the following:

•Is involvement in delinquency common among adolescents; that is, are most youths delinquent? Maybe Rick was just an unfortunate kid who got caught.

•Are Rick’s offenses fairly typical of the types of offenses in which youths are involved?

•Will Rick “grow out” of delinquent behavior?

•Is Rick’s pattern of offending similar to those of other delinquent youths?

•Do most delinquent youths begin with status offenses and then escalate into serious, repetitive offending? (Status offenses are acts, such as truancy and running away, that are considered offenses when committed by juveniles, but are not considered crimes if committed by adults.)

•Is there a rational component to Rick’s delinquency so that punishment by the juvenile court would deter further delinquency?

•Did the fact that Rick was adopted have anything to do with his involvement in delinquency? Might something about Rick’s genetic makeup and his biological family lend some insight into his behavior?

•What role did Rick’s use of alcohol play in his delinquency?

•Are there family factors that might relate to Rick’s involvement in delinquency?

•Were there aspects of Rick’s school experiences that might be related to his delinquency?

•What role did Rick’s friend play in his delinquent behavior?

•Did the juvenile court’s formal adjudication of Rick as a “delinquent youth” two years earlier label him and make him more likely to continue delinquent offending?

•Should the juvenile court retain jurisdiction for serious, repeat offenders like Rick?

•What should the juvenile court try to do with Rick: punish, deter, or rehabilitate?

•Should the juvenile court hold Rick less responsible for his acts than an adult because he has not fully matured?

Perhaps this list of questions seems a little overwhelming to you now. We don’t present them here with the expectation that you will be able to answer them. Instead, we present them to prompt you to think about what causes juvenile delinquency and to give you an idea of the types of questions that drive the scientific study of delinquent behavior. Throughout this book, we address these types of questions as we define delinquency; consider the nature of delinquent offenses, offenders, and offending; and present a variety of theories to explain delinquent behavior.

Understanding juvenile delinquency

An understanding of delinquency builds upon explanations offered in theories and findings revealed in research. The primary purpose of this book is to cultivate an understanding of juvenile delinquency by integrating theory and research. Throughout the book, we focus on the central roles that theory and research play in the study of delinquency. These two components form the core of any scientific inquiry.

Before we go any further, we must define “juvenile delinquency.” This definition is far more complicated than you might think. In Chapter 2, we discuss the social construction and transformation of the concept of juvenile delinquency. Here we offer a brief working definition of juvenile delinquency as actions that violate the law, committed by a person under the legal age of majority.

The questions that shape the scientific study of juvenile delinquency constitute attempts to define, describe, explain, and respond to delinquent behavior. Our exploration of juvenile delinquency reflects these four basic tasks. The first two parts of this book are devoted to defining and describing juvenile delinquency, the third part to explaining delinquent behavior, and the final part to contemporary ways of responding to juvenile delinquency. Responses to delinquent behavior, however, should be based on a thorough understanding of delinquency. Thus, an understanding of juvenile delinquency must come first.

Studying juvenile delinquency

The first part of this book describes the historical transformation of the concept of juvenile delinquency and the methods and data sources researchers use to study delinquent behavior. We begin by developing a working understanding of what we commonly call “juvenile delinquency” (Chapter 2). This includes not only the social, political, and economic changes that led to the social construction of juvenile delinquency as a legal term, but also the contemporary transformations that have dramatica...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Endorsement
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• About the Authors
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Part I Studying juvenile delinquency
• Part II Describing the nature of delinquency
• Part III Explaining delinquent behavior
• Part IV Responding to juvenile delinquency
• Index