Juvenile Delinquency

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University

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Abstract

Every society is made up of people who have different interests and desires . No human being can live and work in isolation to satisfy all his /her needs without involving other people . This means that we all need each other . As a result people must learn to co-exist with each other by maintaining peace and harmony in the society . It is due to this that different societies develop rules and regulations that guides it members as they undertake their daily activities . Every member of

the society is expected to conform to the norms that govern the society in which they live . Those who do not conform become deviants and are therefore subjected to social sanctions (Brym R , Lie J , 2005 , pp .165 The intensity of the sanctions depends on how grievous the offense that an individual commits . Norms therefore include mores and folkways Breaking of mores leads to severe punishment (Brym R , Lie J , 2005 , pp 64 . When folkways are broken by an individual , it may not necessarily mean that the victim must be punished (Brym R , Lie J , 2005 , pp . 12 , 60 Other than norms , laws are also important in social central . They are just norms but unlike norms , laws enjoy the right of use of physical force in enforcing them . Laws operate within a territorial framework and they are enforced by the states law courts and the police among others Brym R , Lie J , 2005 , pp .168

Norms and laws apply to all members of the society in which they are intended . It should therefore be noted that even children commit crimes I such cases , the cases are referred to as juvenile delinquency Different scholars have come up with different theories to explain deviant and delinquent behavior . Among these theories is the delinquent control theory by Hirschi (Crutchfield R , Weis J , Bridges G , 2001 pp .374 . This examines theft as a juvenile crime as explained by the delinquent control theory

Delinquent control theory was developed by Hirschi . This theory associates deviant and delinquent behaviours with weak social bonds in the society . The theory explains that there is a high positive correlation between delinquent behaviours and weak social bonds According to this theory , people engage in criminal activities because they lack social strong bonds in their respective societies . In cases where the bonds are strong crime state is negligible . As the social bonds become weaker crime rate increases since people are freed to deviate . This theory identifies four main types of bonds . These are attachment bond , commitment bond , involvement bond and belief bond (Crutchfield R , 2000 , pp 247-266

Taking the first factor of the bond , the opinions of friends , family members and other people are very important and people should be sensitive to them . Being sensitive to them will strengthen the attachment bond and deter any deviant behaviour . In many societies people condemn theft and openly criticize the vice when the young people ignore what the rest of the society say about this...