Teenage crime

Teenage crime is crime committed by teenagers.

Reform schools

Hamlin goes on to say that during the Industrial Revolution, the increase in child labor led to such things as weakening family ties and a loss of family control.

In 1818, the first report on the causes of juvenile delinquency was published. The report hypothesized that placing delinquent children in adult jails would turn them into criminals, and said that children should not be exposed to the horrible conditions in prisons.

Before the American Civil War, it became common to send delinquent children to reform schools, but those too had their problems. The Children's Aid Society of Pennsylvania, in 1891, said reform schools tempt parents to shrug off their duties and were very different from life outside the schools.

Legislation

In 1899, the first child welfare laws were passed in Illinois, and a Juvenile Court was established in Chicago. Hamlin writes that a child was judged to be delinquent if:
*He or she violated local or state laws
*If he or she was truant or lacked parental supervisionThe children were put into institutions, placed into orphanages or foster homes, or placed on probation. The first juvenile probation officers were unpaid. The court case, "Commonwealth V. Fisher" ruled as follows::"TO SAVE A CHILD FROM BECOMING A CRIMINAL, OR CONTINUING IN A CAREER OF CRIME, TO END IN MATURER YEARS IN PUBLIC PUNISHMENT AND DISGRACE, THE LEGISLATURES SURELY MAY PROVIDE FOR THE SALVATION OF SUCH A CHILD, IF ITS PARENTS OR GUARDIANS BE UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO DO SO, BY BRINGING IT INTO ONE OF THE COURTS OF THE STATE WITHOUT ANY PROCESS AT ALL, FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBJECTING IT TO THE STATE'S GUARDIANSHIP AND PROTECTION."

There are many advocates of the idea that if a child is exposed to violence, he or she will be much more likely to end up as a criminal him/herself. Indeed, according to, a University of Michigan study found that exposure to gun violence greatly increases adolescents' chances of committing serious crimes.

A UM student, Jeffrey B. Bingenheimer, analyzed five years of data of teenagers and crime in neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois, and found that violence can be transmitted from person to person, so to speak. Overall, he found that there was a fourfold increase in gun violence by teenagers if they were exposed to gun violence evil. However, he cautioned that other factors such as demographic and socioeconomic differences could skew the results.

Drugs

More and more teenagers are being arrested for drug crimes. According to the FBI, 11.7% of all people arrested for drug-related crimes are juveniles, and since 1994, over two million juveniles have been arrested. More than eighty percent, however, were arrested for possession of drugs, rather than the making or distribution of them. Also, the FBI found that arrests relating to drugs such as cocaine and opium have declined, while arrests relating to marijuana have increased about 60.5%. Also, as was expected, the age of teenagers with the highest percent of arrests were 17-year-olds, and the age with the lowest percent of arrests were in the age 12-and-under category. Overall, white teens accounted for 74.9% of arrests, black teens with 23.1%, and teens of Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander descent accounting for less than two percent.

Prevention of Delinquency

The program "Safe Kids/Safe Streets" is designed to break the cycle of juvenile victimization and subsequent crime. This program provides some funding to the child welfare, juvenile justice, and criminal justice programs to better serve the community. The program also provides for improving the policies and improving information sharing of these groups. Lastly, education programs are also funded to help keep children off the streets.

External links

* [http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/3315/history.html History of Juvenile Deliquency] - Hamlin, University of Minnesota
* [http://crime.about.com/b/a/172878.htm Exposure to Gun Violence Increases Teen Violence] - About, Inc.
* [http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/special_reports/arrest_juveniles.html Arrests of Juveniles for Drug Abuse Violations] - FBI report
* [http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/Programs/ProgSummary.asp?pi=24&ti=4&si=14&kw=&strItem=&strSingleItem=&p=topic&PreviousPage=SearchResults Safe Kids/Safe Streets Program] - overview of the program