Criminologists have long studied juvenile crime and developed a number of theories explaining it. Some of these theories explain crime in terms of socialization, social bonding, Association, social, this organization, conflict, or strain. However, the most useful theory is:
Life-course theory
This theory states that much cruel behavior begins at an early age. As a result, of exposure to multiple interwoven social, economic, and educational problems.
Life-course theory
A multitude of factors that can contribute to delinquency and crime include:
- Community
- Family
- School
- Peers
- Individual factors
When developing juvenile crime prevention programs, where should CPO’s they first concentrate on:
those areas where the problem is concentrated
Two out of the top three reasons for being bullied were:
Because people were perceived the victim as either gay, lesbian, or bisexual, or by how masculine or feminine they seemed.
There seems to be some agreement about why kids are attracted to and join gangs. Howell has identified several reasons:
- First, gangs provide juveniles with prestige or status that otherwise is not available through conventional means.
- Second, gangs provide an opportunity for juveniles to be with others who are like themselves, causing girls to be attracted to gangs.
- Third, gangs provide excitement.
- Finally, gangs provide mentor members; they help members adjust to social problems.
These are court orders obtained by the police that prohibit specifically identified gang members from associating with each other, prevents them from being in specific places, and prohibits them from engaging in certain activities such as possessing drugs.
Civil injunctions
Ruiz and Miller (2204) have identified five reasons why people with mental disorders are likely to be combative when confronted by police officers:
- People with disorders become fearful because they are often put under the control of people they do not know
- People experiencing a mental health crisis tend not to cooperate with police officers or other officials
- They become fearful of the police officer’s uniform or the officers overpowering attitude
- Officers often do not understand the mentally ill or have compassion for them
- Many officers fear persons with mental illness, which had a tendency to escalate the situation.
If community policing is to be effective in improving minority relations, it must be well-planned. For the plan to be effectual, it must:
- Include residents so that the police fully understand the problems and residents expectations. Community policing requires the involvement of civilians.
- Neighborhood goals should be identified as well as strategies to achieve those goals.
- More importantly, officers involved in the programs must be committed to community policing in the neighborhood they are policing.
- Finally, all officers should be given additional training on the divergent cultures in their communities and community policing practices and goals.
The purpose of this is to give immigrant victims of certain crimes temporary legal status as well as temporary work eligibility in the United States.
U-visa
These are where large numbers of police officers are assigned to an area to check the immigration status of anyone who appears to be an undocumented immigrant.
Roundups
The primary concerns of the immigrant community with the police include:
- Fear of deportation
- Concern about local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement
- Negative impact of news reports about ICE actions. The media sometimes distort and sensationalize the facts surrounding ICE actions.
What percentage of homeless children report being the victim of sexual assault at home?
80%
The police must take an active role in discovering, investigating, and prosecuting child abuse cases. The police can deploy three general strategies to accomplish this objective:
1st: police must become more active in attempting to identify abused & exploited children
2nd: It is important for the police to cooperate with social agencies who can help.
3rd: CPO can link families to public and private agencies who can help.
Because child abuse is more common in homes where other forms of domestic violence occur, the police should always do this:
Check on the well-being of any children, even though they may not be part of the original complaint.
The National Coalition of State Juvenile Justice Advisory report 4 casual factors as causes of violence among young people:
- abuse and neglect
- economic, social and educational conditions
- gangs, and
- accessibility to weapons
Martin suggest :other causes” for violence among young people:
- hopelessness and exposure to violence
- weakening of the family unit
- media celebration of violence
- drug culture leading to a gun culture
The causes of violence have direct implications for community policing. First, and perhaps most importantly, it seems that:
Violence begets violence
CPO’s can work with neighborhood leaders to develop cohesiveness in the neighborhood when this occurs there is more placement whereby citizens are more likely to report problems to the police and take proactive actions themselves. There are a number of activities the police can facilitate. This can include:
- neighborhood rallies
- block watches
- citizen patrols
- increased police presence
Felson attributes a great deal of the problem (school violence) to the fact that school systems for the past several decades have been:
Merging smaller high schools into larger cost-efficient high schools.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has identified three components of an effective school-based gang control strategy:
- the development of a school gang code…
- …positive relationships and open communication…
- a clear distinction between gang and non-gang-related activity so as not to exaggerate the scope of the problem.
It is difficult to accurately define a gang. Miller offers the following definition: (8)
- Self-forming association of peers
- mutual interests
- identifiable leadership
- well-developed lines of authority
- who act in concert
- to achieve specific purpose
- generally includes illegal activity
- Has control over a particular territory, facility, or enterprise
Sanders has perhaps developed the best criteria to be used by the police in identifying gang members:
- admits being a gang member
- has tattoos, clothing, or other paraphernalia which is associated with a particular gang
- police records or observations…
- has been arrested with gang members while committing a gang related crimes: and
- a reliable informant confirms memberships in a gang
Skolnick et al. point out that urban youth gangs are cultural or entrepreneurial in nature. These gangs are those which evolve in a particular neighborhood. They seem to originate as a result of social needs.
Cultural
