Juvenile Offender

Juvenile Offender
Marlys Schrandt
03/30/2015
CJS/ 221
Instructor Gilford
University of Phoenix

In this paper I will discuss the types of crimes and the difference on which juvenile offender group committed the crimes more. This will cover the main crimes that the white juveniles commit the most and the three crimes that the other predominant race also commit as well. The juveniles that commit majority of the crimes happen to be predominantly white. These juveniles seem to like to commit forcible rape, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny- theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and so many other crimes the list seems endless. The juveniles that are committing these crimes are ones coming from homes of offenders or are wanting to rebel against their parents. This can also be the neighborhood that juveniles grow up in. Coming from a small town only 1/3 of my graduating high school class made it to college. The rest are repeat offenders and have been since high school. There was nothing better to do than drink and do drugs to some people in the small town. Most juvenile offenders are trying to fit in or act “cool” but really look stupid. There are so many other things they could have been doing with their lives other than committing crimes. I found myself with friends from out of town and this kept me out of trouble and away from the bad crowd. With the few crimes that were committed by another race this race is the African Americans. There were only about 3 crimes that they were predominant in compared to the white race. The three crimes are murder, robbery, and gambling. There was and 18% increase in the number of African Americans that committed murder compared to whites. This may be more in part to the high number of gang violence in areas. There are more drive by shootings in the areas and these are at times given to the younger members to prove themselves. There is a 36% increase for the robberies committed. The information doesn’t fully say if these are gang members or low income areas. If they are from both that would make more sense as they would need to steal to get through the month or to get food or something along those lines. The last crime is gambling and this is almost a 90% difference. There are areas in San Diego, California that these juveniles have stations set up trying to earn money or trick people so they can get their money. If you were to go into a regular casino you would see way more white adults than you would see anything else, or at least that is how the Chinook Winds Casino Resort always seemed to be. If all of these juvenile offenders had more things to do and keep them off the streets the number of crimes would decrease. There are Boy and Girls clubs and the YMCA, but they only take the kids until a certain age and then they are back out to roam the streets again. If there were more programs available for older juveniles this may decrease the crimes. Locally there are two Boys and Girls clubs, but you have to be first grade through sixth grade and no older. If the communities had things for the older juveniles they wouldn’t be as bored and tempted to commit the crimes. In conclusion the white juveniles seem to commit majority of the crimes and the crimes are anywhere from assault or rape to drug charges. There are very few that are predominant by another race. The other race only has about 3 crimes that they commit more than the white juveniles, which are murder, robbery, and gambling. I believe that if these kids had other things to do in the areas that they are growing up in may help to prevent the crimes from increasing. There are club for the younger, but maybe creating some for the older juveniles may help more. Having more things for these juveniles to do would prevent these crimes from happening. I think there would be happy parents if their children were not getting arrested for crimes ranging from murder to drug crimes.

References:
Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2012). The color of justice: race, ethnicity, and crime in america (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
U.S. Department of Justice, (2013) Juvenile Arrests 2011, http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/244476.pdf

References: Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2012). The color of justice: race, ethnicity, and crime in america (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. U.S. Department of Justice, (2013) Juvenile Arrests 2011, http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/244476.pdf