Juvenile Delinquency Is Defined As A Legal Term - 1435 Words

Juvenile delinquency is defined as a legal term describing the behavior of a youth that is marked by violation of the law and antisocial behavior. Delinquent acts fall under two categories: adult-committed crime and â€Å"age-related† crime. Adult related crimes are crimes that an adult would be punished for had they committed the crime. Adult related crimes are considered more serious and may include burglary, drug use, and murder. Sometimes children may get charged as adults depending on the severity of the crime. The only difference is the child does not receive a trial; they instead receive adjudication and later disposition and sentencing. Age-related crimes are acts that would not be punishable had an adult committed these crimes.†¦show more content†¦Juvenile delinquency is at a steady decline; however it is still a problem. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention said an estimated one million arrests were for people under the age of 18 . The arrest rate is 50% less than it was in 2005. How is the problem defined? According to Lentz, â€Å"some parents do not provide adequate supervision for a number of reasons (Lentz 25).† When parents stay in low income based housing they may have to work overtime at their jobs to provide for their families. They may also have to work a certain amount of hours to receive healthcare benefits from their jobs. They do not get the luxury to see their children off to school or have the chance to be home when their child gets out of school. Some parents may not have enough money to afford day care of afterschool services. This causes their children to become â€Å"latchkey kids†. Latchkey kids are children â€Å"who spend their after-school hours unsupervised (Lentz 25).† This gives children the opportunity to do things that they would not typically do when if their parents were around. They may leave the house and roam the streets trying to find something to do which can include crimes such as burglary. Some parents also may not show their children â€Å"parental warmth†. Lack of parental warmth can be for a number of reasons. Some parents that work