Juvenile Delinquency
It was a crime that shocked Chicago, that seemingly unshockable city - the murder of 11 year-old Ryan Harris in fall 1998, who had been bashed on the head with a rock, dragged into the bushes and sexually assaulted (Adler and Annin 28). We're used to seeing greed, jealousy and dashed hopes turn adults into murderers. But why would boys of 7 and 8 boldly murder one of their piers? How could such young hearts turn that cold? Any psychologist can recite a litany of good hints, and yet we're still not convinced. "The world has wronged me" Explains 16 year old Luke Woodham after killing two classmates and stabbing his mother to death. Which world is he referring to? Is it possible that the world we live in could possibly turn a teenager into a heartless murderer? It's clear that kids who grow up surrounded by violence - on the street, in the home, on the tube, in electronic games - become less sensitive to it (Cowley 24; Lacayo 38). Society shares the blame on such acts but is not! solely responsible; parents, media and even the nature of the person are also accomplices. Such an issue is highly sensitive, and arouses confusion, shock, shame and even pity. Is murder now a child's play? To answe
Princeton criminologist John Diulio Jr. The Psycho-Analytical Approach to Juvenile Delinquency. "The signals of boys tend to be discipline problems," says Micheal Gurian, author of "The Wonder of Boys" (Richard 39). Genetics plays a role, and Raine suggests that possible damage to the brain caused by early physical abuse or birth complications may be a factor. Not to mention the strong impact that other youngsters have on those who commit delinquency. For example, most youngsters who engage in delinquent behavior do so with other juveniles and often in organized gangs. What about girls? This question cannot be ignored because female involvement in the juvenile justice system continues on a steady course upward. Between 1992 and 1996 the number of juvenile females arrested for Violent Crime Index offenses increased 25 percent, with no increase in arrests of male juveniles for the same offenses.
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