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Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Delinquency: The Core 4th ed. by Larry J. Siegel, Brandon C. Welsh (Wadsworth Publishing) Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) has become a global social problem. CSEC involves youth (aged 17 years old and younger) who engage in the performance of sexual acts in return for a fee, food, drugs, shelter, clothing, gifts, or other goods. The sexual conduct may include any direct sexual contact, such as prostitution, or live or filmed performances (e.g., stripping, pornography) involving sexual acts or for the sexual gratification of others. The United States Department of Justice estimates that as many as 100,000 children are currently involved in prostitution, child pornography, and trafficking, but the true number may be in the millions.
To learn more about CSEC, Linda M. Williams and Mary E. Frederick, two researchers at the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, have been conducting The Pathways Project, a research endeavor aimed at tracking the pathways into and out of CSEC. To reach their goal, Williams and Frederick have conducted interviews in Boston and in Washington, D.C., with adolescents (aged 14-19) who experienced sexual violence via teen prostitution or who were runaways at risk for such commercial sexual exploitation.
As might be expected, Williams and Frederick found that social reality for many of these abused youths involves extreme personal and economic hardship. Many grew up in impoverished households where it was common for them to have encountered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Not only were they abused, but so too were their siblings, and many report having to protect younger brothers and sisters from abuse. It was also typical for CSEC kids to be on the run, moving from street to street and town to town. Many mentioned specific locations where they would seek shelter (e.g., a street, store, neighborhood hangout); others used institutional community resources (e.g., a homeless shelter, drop-in center, health clinic). When possible, CSEC kids would call upon family members or members of their peer network for help.
Helping these kids can be a challenge. One suggestion Williams and Frederick make is to have law enforcement focus on the purveyors of sex with a child—the pimps—and also on the demand side, focusing on the "customers" of the prostitute rather than rousting and arresting young prostitutes who, in reality, are crime victims themselves.
The research by Williams and Frederick identifies just one of the many social problems facing youth today, ranging from bullying in school to income inequality. Kids today face problems unknown to their parents: transnational gangs, cyberporn, designer drugs. It is a tragedy that so many young people, living in the world's richest nation, have little hope of achieving the American Dream. All too often social, political, and economic problems are overwhelming and difficult to overcome; these personal deficits eventually lead at-risk youth down a path to delinquency, drug abuse, and gang membership.
Because this topic is so critical, many students are interested in the study of juvenile delinquency as well as helping at-risk youth. Some plan a career in human services, law, or law enforcement. We have written Juvenile Delinquency: The Core to help students understand the nature of juvenile delinquency, its cause and correlates, as well as the current strategies being used to control or eliminate its occurrence. Our text also reviews the legal rules that have been set down to either protect innocent minors or control adolescent misconduct: Can children be required to submit to drug testing in school? Can teachers search suspicious students or use corporal punishment as a method of discipline? Should children be allowed to testify on closed circuit TV in child abuse cases? Should a minor be given a death penalty sentence? We have written this fourth edition of Juvenile Delinquency: The Core in an attempt to help answer these questions in a concise, forthright, and objective manner.
The study of juvenile delinquency is a dynamic, ever-changing field of scientific inquiry in which the theories, concepts, and processes are constantly evolving. We have, as such, updated this text to reflect the changes that have taken place in the study of delinquent behavior during the past few years. This new edition includes a review of recent legal cases, research studies, and policy initiatives. It aims to provide a groundwork for the study of juvenile delinquency by analyzing and describing the nature and extent of delinquency, the suspected causes of delinquent behavior, and the environmental influences on youthful misbehavior. It also covers what most experts believe are the critical issues in juvenile delinquency and analyzes crucial policy issues, including the use of pretrial detention, waiver to adult court, and restorative justice programs. And because we recognize that many students are career oriented, we have included a new feature called Professional Spotlight, which aims at giving students a glimpse of what professionals are now doing to help troubled youth.
Excerpt: Our primary goals in writing this edition remain the same as in the previous editions:
To be as objective as possible, presenting the many diverse views and perspectives that characterize the study of juvenile delinquency and reflect its interdisciplinary nature. We take no single position nor espouse a particular viewpoint or philosophy.
To maintain a balance of research, theory, law, policy, and practice. It is essential that a text on delinquency not solely be a theory book without presenting the juvenile justice system or contain sections on current policies without examining legal issues and cases.
To be as thorough and up-to-date as possible. We have attempted to include the most current data and information available.
To make the study of delinquency interesting as well as informative. We want to encourage readers' interest in the study of delinquency so that they will pursue it on an undergraduate or graduate level.
We have tried to provide a text that is both scholarly and informative, comprehensive yet interesting, well organized and objective, yet provocative and thought provoking.
The fourth edition of Juvenile Delinquency: The Core has 14 chapters:
Chapter 1, Childhood and Delinquency contains extensive material on the history of childhood and the legal concepts of delinquency and status offending. This material enables students to understand how the concept of adolescence evolved over time and how that evolution influenced the development of the juvenile court and the special status of delinquency.
Chapter 2, The Nature and Extent of Delinquency covers the measurement of delinquent behavior, as well as trends and patterns in teen crime. It also discusses the correlates of delinquency, including race, gender, class, age, and chronic offending.
Chapter 3, Individual Views of Delinquency: Choice and Trait covers individual-level views of the causes of delinquency, which include choice, biological, and psychological theories.
Chapter 4, Sociological Views of Delinquency looks at theories that hold that economic, cultural, and environmental influences control delinquent behavior. These include structure, process, reaction, and conflict theories.
Chapter 5, Developmental Views of Delinquency: Life Course and Latent Trait covers developmental theories of delinquency, including such issues as the onset, continuity, paths, and termination of a delinquent career.
Chapter 6, Gender and Delinquency explores the sex-based differences that are thought to account for gender patterns in the delinquency rate. Chapter 7, The Family and Delinquency covers the influence of families on
children and delinquency. The concept of child abuse is covered in detail, and the steps in the child protection system are reviewed.
Chapter 8, Peers and Delinquency: Juvenile Gangs and Groups reviews the effect peers have on delinquency and the topic of teen gangs.
Chapter 9, Schools and Delinquency looks at the influence of schools and the education process as well as delinquency within the school setting.
Chapter 10, Drug Use and Delinquency reviews the influence drugs and substance abuse have on delinquent behavior and what is being done to reduce teenage drug use.
Chapter 11, The History and Development of Juvenile Justice gives extensive coverage to the emergence of state control over children in need and the development of the juvenile justice system. It also covers the contemporary juvenile justice system, the major stages in the justice process, the role of the
federal government in the juvenile justice system, an analysis of the differences between the adult and juvenile justice systems, and extensive coverage of the legal rights of children.
Chapter 12, Police Work with Juveniles discusses the role of police in delinquency prevention. It covers legal issues such as major court decisions on searches and the Miranda rights of juveniles. It also contains material on race and gender effects on police discretion as well as efforts by police departments to control delinquent behavior.
Chapter 13, Juvenile Court Process: Pretrial, Trial, and Sentencing contains information on plea bargaining in juvenile court, the use of detention, and transfer to adult jails. It contains analysis of the critical factors that influence the waiver decision, the juvenile trial, and sentencing.
Chapter 14, Juvenile Corrections: Probation, Community Treatment, and Institutionalization covers material on probation and other community dispositions, including restorative justice programs and secure juvenile corrections. There is an emphasis on legal issues such as right to treatment and innovative programs such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
As noted, new Professional Spotlight features offer personal insights from real people in the field, providing students an up-close, real-world view of a variety of exciting professions in the juvenile justice system: probation officer, judge, Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), school resource officer, and more. We have also thoroughly updated the text's popular Focus on Delinquency boxes to reflect the most cutting-edge issues and research from the field, including sexting, cyberbullying, waivers, and many more. We also emphasize intervention strategies for at-risk juveniles in our Juvenile Delinquency: Prevention/Intervention/Treatment boxes. These boxed features explore the successes behind programs like Communities That Care, a comprehensive community-based delinquency prevention program that follows a rigorous, multilevel planning process; Homeboy Industries, founded by a Jesuit priest who believed people are happier when employed; G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education And Training), a curriculum Miami officers teach to middle school kids; and more. Finally, we have made the following key changes to each chapter of the text:
Chapter 1 covers the most recent data on child well-being, housing, health care, and education. A new exhibit called From Cradle to Prison identifies the problems, policies, and systems that feed the pipeline that takes kids from the cradle and leads them to prison. A new section called Dealing with the Modern World discusses how teens are now being forced to deal with problems
and issues ranging from sexting to cyberstalking. The issue of being sentenced to life without parole for children ages 14, 15, and 16 is introduced here. Chapter 2 updates recent trends and patterns in delinquency and juvenile victimization. It contains new information on the victim—offender relationship and new sections on the compatibility of juvenile delinquency data sources and the time and place of delinquency. It covers alternative sources of delinquency data such as meta-analysis and systematic review. And there is new information on the critical concepts of racial profiling and chronic offending. Chapter 3 contains new research findings on crime as problem solving, false expectations and delinquency, mental illness and delinquency, twin studies, conduct disorders, disruptive behavior disorder, diet and delinquency, and the genetic basis of delinquency. A new Focus on Delinquency feature, "Live for Today, Tomorrow Will Take Care of Itself," addresses the issue of whether risk-taking kids believe they will have a relatively short life and whether perceptions of early mortality translate into a "live for today" mentality. There
is analysis of Bernard Rimland's 2008 book, Dyslogic Syndrome, which links antisocial behaviors to genetically determined physical or mental traits and/or the effects of a toxic environment. A section called "Teenage Brains" addresses whether there is something about teenage brains that make their owners crime prone. We have included coverage of psychologist John Bowlby's attachment theory, which holds that the ability to have an emotional bond to another person has important lasting psychological implications that follow people across the lifespan.
Chapter 4 covers the most recent developments in social theory. Research is discussed that shows many delinquent crimes are committed by individuals acting alone rather than in groups. Delinquents may indeed be lone wolves. A Prevention/Intervention/Treatment feature called "A Caring Community Can Make a Difference" discusses community-based treatment efforts. Another Prevention/Intervention/Treatment feature called "Homeboy Industries" covers a program in Los Angeles that helps kids leave gangs.
Chapter 5 includes new research showing that poor parental discipline and monitoring seem to be keys to the early onset of criminality and that these influences may follow kids into their adulthood. The psychic scars of childhood are hard to erase. A new section called "Love and Delinquency" looks at the effect brought about by romantic relationships leading eventually to a good marriage. Another new section, "Improving Parenting Skills," covers programs that aim to prevent delinquency by helping and supporting parents. We cover the Guiding Good Choices (GGC) program, which is designed to aid parents on many fronts, including teaching them about the risks and protective factors for substance abuse. Another new section, "Multisystemic Programs," discusses efforts to provide at-risk youth with a mixture of services ranging from health care to parenting skill improvement.
Chapter 6 has new data on gender differences in cognition and socialization. A new section called "Not so Different After All" explores the fact that not every social scientist agrees that there are significant differences between the genders in such traits as personality, cognition, communication skills, and leadership
ability. Psychologist Janet Shibley Hyde found that men and women are basically more alike than different on these critical psychological variables. New data show that while males still commit more delinquency than females, there are indications that the gap is narrowing. It is also possible that girls today are committing the more serious types of crime that result in arrest and court processing. This important issue is discussed in a Focus on Delinquency feature titled "Girls Are Getting More Aggressive, or Are They?" We cover research that found that the effect of running away is greater on girls than boys. The issue of adolescent socialization, the risks it presents, and its effect on female delinquency is the subject of a Focus on Delinquency feature called "Resilient Girls Can Avoid a Life of Crime." We also cover Jody Miller's landmark study Getting Played, which focuses on the life of African American girls in the
urban environment. We discuss an important study by Paul E. Tracy, Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, and Stephanie Abramoske-James that used national data to determine whether girls have received harsher treatment than boys in the juvenile justice system during the past two decades.
Chapter 7 includes new data on family structure. A new section called "Teen Moms/Single Moms" looks at the effect of living in a single-parent home, especially one headed by an unmarried teenage mother. The effect of economic stress on families is the topic of a new Focus on Delinquency box, "The Ef-
fects of Economic Stress Can Be Overcome," which reviews the research of Rand Conger, one of the nation's leading experts on family life. Another new section, "Bad Parents or Bad Kids?", answers the question, Does parental conflict cause delinquency, or conversely, do delinquents create family conflict? Another new section on harsh discipline looks at the effects of using corporal punishment on children. Because inadequate family life may produce delinquent children, it might be possible to prevent delinquency by offering a substitute. A Prevention/Intervention/Treatment feature, "Mentoring Troubled Kids Does Work," looks at efforts being made to help prevent delinquency by mentoring kids who are at risk. We also cover the forms of intervention that are helpful in abuse and neglect cases. A new exhibit sets out the consequences of child abuse and neglect.
Chapter 8 updates data on gang numbers, location, and migration. A new section, "Gangs in Cyberspace," reviews how gang communications have now entered the cyberage, as gang members often use cell phones and the Internet to communicate and promote their illicit activities. There is updated mate-
rial on African American gangs as well as a new section, "Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)," which describes one of the most feared Latino gangs, which was started in Los Angeles by immigrants from El Salvador fleeing a civil war.
A new Prevention/Intervention/Treatment feature discusses how the City of Miami has employed several programs to target at-risk youth in order to intervene in their lives and help them leave the gang culture.
Chapter 9 contains the latest data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on math achievement and also cross-national surveys that compare academic achievement in the United States with that of other nations. The effects of young people dropping out of school is updated. There is new research showing that a significant portion of all juvenile crime and victimization occurs during the school day. A new section covers teacher victimization and shows that students are not the only victims of school crimes. A new Focus on Delinquency box, "School Crime and Neighborhood Delinquency," suggests that it may be futile to attempt to eliminate school crime without considering the impact prevention efforts will have on the community. There are three new sections on legal issues
in the school. "Limiting Drug Searches" reviews how far school officials can go in their efforts to preserve a safe school environment and covers the important Supreme Court finding in Safford Unified School District
v. Redding. Another new section, "Off-Campus Speech," looks at whether the school has a right to control off-campus speech and reviews what has come to be known as the "Bong Hits for Jesus" case. Another new section, "Speech in Cyberspace," shows how the cyberage provides numerous opportunities for students to test the limits of free speech, whether it be through personal websites, Twitter messages, texts, or emails that are quickly spread among the student body.
Chapter 10 updates recent trends and patterns in juvenile drug use based on three national surveys, including the large-scale Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey. New research is presented on the association between juvenile drug use and youth problem behaviors and delinquency. We have added new material reviewing the most up-to-date evidence on what works to reduce juvenile drug use, including new box features on multisystemic therapy and the program known as the "new D.A.R.E."
Chapter 11 has a new Focus on Delinquency box on public support for delinquency prevention. We present new evaluation studies on the effectiveness of a comprehensive juvenile justice strategy. The latest developments and research on teen courts and juvenile drug courts are also provided.
Chapter 12 includes a new Focus on Delinquency box on juveniles' attitudes toward police, coverage of the new Supreme Court ruling on warrantless searches (Arizona v. Gant), and new legal research on juveniles' understanding of the Miranda warning. The chapter also brings together the latest findings on what works when it comes to police efforts to prevent delinquency, including the national evaluation of the G.R.E.A.T. program. We added a new section that looks at the future of policing juveniles.
Chapter 13 includes up-to-date statistics on the juvenile court case flow, from the decision to release or detain to juvenile court dispositions, a new section on juveniles sentenced to life without parole, and a new Focus on Delinquency box that examines the effectiveness of transfers to adult court. The chapter ends with a new section on key issues facing the future of the juvenile court.
Chapter 14 presents new information on disproportionate minority confinement, the latest trends in juvenile probation and incarceration, and new research findings on what works in treating juvenile offenders. A new Focus on Delinquency box examines the mental health needs of incarcerated juveniles. There is also new material on juvenile aftercare and reentry. The chapter ends with a new section on the future of juvenile corrections.
The text contains the following features designed to help students learn and comprehend the material:
Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives Each chapter begins with an outline and a list of learning objectives.
Case Profile Each chapter opens with a vignette describing a real-life situation in which an at-risk youth worked his or her way out of delinquency. These stories are then tied to the material in the chapter with thought-provoking critical thinking boxes called "Looking Back to 's Story."
Concept Summary This feature is used throughout the text to help students review material in an organized fashion.
Checkpoints These are within-chapter summaries of key points from preceding sections.
What Does This Mean to Me? These are short yet provocative discussions designed to provoke student interest, interaction, and analysis.
Focus on Delinquency As in previous editions, these boxed inserts focus attention on topics of special importance and concern. For example, in Chapter 4, a Focus on Delinquency feature entitled "The Code of the Streets" reviews Elijah Anderson's widely cited view of the interrelationship of culture and behavior.
Professional Spotlight These new guest perspective boxes provide students with an up-close picture of a variety of careers in the juvenile justice system. Juvenile Delinquency: Prevention/Intervention/Treatment As noted, these boxes discuss important new initiatives and programs.
Weblinks In the margins of every chapter are links to websites that can be used to help students enrich their understanding of important issues and concepts found within the text.
Chapter Summary Each chapter ends with a summary list of key concepts from the chapter. These correlate with the learning objectives.
Applying What You Have Learned Each chapter ends with a hypothetical case for the student to analyze that is tied into the chapter.
Key Terms Key terms are defined throughout the text as they appear. Questions for Discussion Each chapter ends with thought-provoking discussion questions.
Running Glossary A glossary is included which sets out and defines key terms used in the text. The definitions appear in the text margin where the concept is introduced, as well as in the comprehensive glossary at the end of the book.
This book is guided by the basic premise that juvenile delinquency is inherently social in nature. It is a social concept, part and product of the society in which it occurs. Thus, any meaningful discussion of delinquency must be expressed in a sociological framework that views it in relation to the normative processes and societal responses that define it. More specifically, this book approaches delinquency as it relates to and emerges from the youth's family, neighborhood, school, peer group, social class, and overall cultural and social environment.
Rather than aligning this analysis to any particular theoretical perspective, we use an eclectic sociological approach that integrates elements from a wide spectrum of causal theories. Thus, we present delinquency in its broadest sociological context. This approach should give the reader a growing awareness of and sensitivity to the social nature of human behavior, whether it be socially adjudged as conforming or nonconforming, normative or deviant, acceptable or unacceptable, good or bad, or some paradoxical mixture of these seemingly antithetical evaluations.
This sociological work has been enhanced by the inclusion of some important contributions of social workers, criminologists, psychologists, and other specialists who have sought to understand, explain, control, and prevent juvenile delinquency. The reader will note that each section of the book is carefully grounded in knowledge and research and unified by the sociological theme that delinquency must be viewed within its social context.
The book is organized in a format that guides the reader through an unfolding sequence of interrelated dimensions of the study of juvenile delinquency: conformity, causes, collective behavior, and social control. Each part begins with a brief introduction which includes basic sociological concepts and ideas related to the topical theme of that section. For example, Part One Conformity, Deviance, and Juvenile Delinquency, before addressing the problem of juvenile delinquency, incorporates a brief introduction to sociology and the sociological perspective. The normative system of society and the concepts of conformity and deviance are introduced and explained. In Part Two Causes of Juvenile Delinquency, students are first introduced to the nature of scientific theory and the theory building process. Then, they are presented with specific theories which attempt to explain the causes of delinquency. Part Three Juvenile Delinquency in a Social Context begins by looking at the nature of social groups and their impact upon individuals. It then proceeds to explore the influence of family, schools, youth subculture, and gangs on juvenile behavior. The social control of juvenile behavior is presented in the last two sections of the text. Part Four, Social Control: The Juvenile Justice System, includes detailed coverage of those arenas of social confrontation encountered by recalcitrant youth: police contacts, juvenile courts, and community correctional agencies. Part Five, Strategies for Dealing with Juvenile Delinquency, begins with a systematic evaluation of the major classic and contemporary programs developed for the prevention and treatment of delinquency in the United States. Part Five concludes the book with a challenging call for innovative revisions in the social and legal status of young people and in our approach to the problem of juvenile delinquency.
Each of the five parts is divided into topically related chapters. Again, as in earlier editions of this book, each chapter begins with a list of Reading Objectives for that particular unit of content. These alert the readers in advance to the specific learning expectations for that chapter so that they may identify, extrapolate, and integrate major concepts while proceeding through the chapter. The learning objectives are reemphasized at the end of the chapter through the use of Questions and Topics for Study and Discussion designed to help prepare students for examinations and to stimulate class discussion. These teaching and learning aids are reinforced by a comprehensive glossary at the end of the book that includes definitions of key terms and concepts.
We continue our use of three types of innovative and instructive boxes or sidebars entitled: Concept Application, Cross-Cultural Focus, and Controversial Issue. Each chapter contains one to three of these boxes, which have proved to be popular with students. The Concept Application boxes apply abstract theoretical concepts to concrete situations facing young people today. Cross-Cultural Focus boxes incorporate an international dimension providing examples of delinquency in other societies, cultures, and subcultures. Controversial Issue boxes address some of the critical juvenile delinquency questions facing society.
Several important changes and additions are included in this seventh edition. For example, all data on delinquents and delinquency derived from FBI Uniform Crime Reports, plus corresponding statistical analyses, have been updated. Moreover, we have inserted a Department of Justice Internet Website where assiduous scholars may derive the most currently available crime and delinquency data. Every chapter has undergone revision of numerous references and incorporation of new substantive content. Our objective has been to focus and integrate the seminal, foundational contributions of classical theorists with contemporary etiology and treatment initiatives.
From 1995 to 2004 there were significant declines in the number of juvenile arrests for most crime categories. These trends as well as the recent series of violent school assaults committed by teenagers are closely examined in several relevant chapters of this edition. Extensive new material on the motivation, activities, and numbers of gangs and gang members have been incorporated into Chapter 13. Chapters 16 and 17 have been revised and augmented with expanded sections on juvenile probation and aftercare, as well as creative new treatment and prevention strategies for dealing with delinquents and their antisocial conduct.
Rather than compartmentalizing gender and racial involvement in
delinquency in isolated chapters, we have chosen to integrate these
important topics throughout the book. In sum, this book provides a
comprehensive examination of juvenile delinquency in a pedagogical
style designed with our readers and students in mind.
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