Introduction
This paper provides a basic understanding of juvenile justice in reference to the steadily rising figures relating to youth or juvenile violence. The paper also touches on various aspects of youth and juvenile delinquency: a historical perspective, trends and response by the government, children-rights groups, and society in general (Pinckney-Edwards, 2008). The author writes that risk factors that may expose children and youth to violence contradict the “protective dynamics” that positively affect a youth‘s ability to evade self-destructive behaviors (Pinckney-Edwards, 2008). Studies show that problem behaviors related to these risk factors tend to cluster, for instance, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and school dropout are closely linked. The paper further discusses the role of Juvenile law in reforming juvenile delinquents and assisting victims of the same.
Personal Response
This paper is accurate as it presents evidence from peer-reviewed publications, information from reliable organizations, and books that focus on juvenile delinquency. For instance, statistics on the percent of all arrests involving minors are drawn from the FBI database while journals such as the Congressional Quarterly and the US Constitutions are numerously cited. The strength of the paper lies in the way the author addresses the risk factors that may cause young persons to engage in criminal activity. The author arranges these factors into categories: individual, family, school, peer, and community, each category comprising of the individual factors. However, one weakness of the paper is that it presents few comprehensive strategies for fighting delinquency other than from a legal perspective, i.e. the role of society and other non-legal institutions in fighting the vice.
First Quotation
To illustrate the shortcomings of the juvenile justice system in combating juvenile delinquency, Pinckney-Edwards (2008) writes that “our urban cities nationwide feel the brunt of a system that has fallen short of meeting the challenge presented during the past decade.” The statement implies that despite being enacted nearly three decades ago, the juvenile law has failed to meet the expectations of the public, instead, the problem has persisted and has gone on to affect almost every family, community, and the entire city around the US (Pinckney-Edwards, 2008).
Second Quotation
While expounding on the risk factors that young people face, Pinckney-Edwards (2008) writes that “risk factors function cumulatively; that is the greater the number of risk factors, the greater the likelihood that youth will engage in delinquent or other risky behavior.” This statement implies that when the number of factors that expose the youth to delinquent behaviors increases, the youth become more likely to engage in criminal behavior, for instance, a youth who performs poorly in school and comes home to a violent or broken family may experience psychological problems that may cause him to engage in violence or other illicit activities (Pinckney-Edwards, 2008).
Reference
Pinckney-Edwards, J. M. (2008). Introduction to Juvenile Justice. A Research Paper Presented to The Academic Department of the School of Business and Economics In partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate in Business Administration.