[Ebook PDF] Juvenile Delinquency: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 3rd Edition

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Juvenile Delinquency: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 3rd Edition

ISBN-13: 978-0190275570
ISBN-10: 019027557X

Author: John Randolph Fuller (Author)

Offering a highly analytical yet balanced approach, Juvenile Delinquency: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, Third Edition, encourages students to think critically about important real-world issues including the effects of inequality, race, class, and gender on juvenile delinquency and the juvenile justice system. Lively, engaging, and accessible, it is ideal for juvenile delinquency courses in both criminal justice and sociology departments.

FEATURES

A critical approach highlighting issues of race, class, gender, and inequality

Straightforward explanations of theory, history, gender, and international issues

“Crosscurrents” boxes on engaging and controversial challenges in the field

Rich pedagogical featuresincluding critical-thinking questions as captions for photos, “Focus on Ethics” boxes, and Learning Objectives that are keyed to the Summary tables

An online Ancillary Resource Center (ARC) containing an Instructor’s Manual, a Computerized Test Bank, and PowerPoint-based lecture slides

An open-access Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/fuller that provides additional resources for students

PREFACE
Who is responsible for a child’s actions? If the child is intelligent, kind, creative, talented, or industrious, then there is a long line of adults ready to own up to having a hand in the child’s development, including parents, teachers, coaches, religious leaders, friends, relatives, and siblings. And this is likely true. As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
But what about the “bad kids”? Who claims the responsibility for a child who has broken the law? Often- too often maybe- the child bears the responsibility alone. If the offense is serious enough, or even heinous, the legal system may treat a youth as an adult. If the offense is less serious, then the youth, who may be a child or who may be an adolescent, is treated as a juvenile delinquent. It might take a village to raise a child, but who raises a juvenile delinquent?
The current attitude toward delinquency is both harsh and sympathetic, often depending on the crime rate and the political climate. The very use of the word “delinquent” reflects this. Its usage to describe lawbreaking youths was coined early in the 20th century, a ti1ne of vigorous social reform.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines delinquency as “Failing in, or neglectful of, a duty or obligation … guilty of a misdeed or offense.” This is an interesting way to describe youths who break the law. Why didn’t the founders of the juvenile court simply call wayward youths “juvenile criminals” or “juvenile offenders”? Instead, youths who broke the law got their own designation of” delinquent.” This is not the same as “criminal,” which has far more serious connotations. “Criminal” is “having the nature of a grave offense,” and a “crime” is “an act punishable by law.”
Why did lawbreaking youths get a more lenient term than lawbreaking adults?
This discussion is at the heart of the study of juvenile delinquency. 1hat is, youths who stray out of society’s legal boundaries, whether they participate in something as minor as spray-painting graffiti or as heinous as homicide, are considered to be less morally responsible than adults. In the process of growing and learning, young people make mistakes. 1hey aren’t considered to have the life experience to know the consequences of their behaviors as well as an adult. A young child who deliberately touches a hot stove will get far more sympathy (and probably a lecture from mom or dad) than an adult, who will get little or none at all.
In our society, life experience is key. Another issue is control. Youths aren’t allowed much control in our society, and often for good reason: They have little life experience with which to make wise decisions. Adults have the task of controlling children’s experiences and environments in the way that will benefit them most.
Unfortunately, adults sometimes fail in this responsibility and not only neglect youths but also victimize them, using the naivete of youngsters to their own advantage. This is when the state steps in.
The purpose of this book is to explore the nature of delinquency, as well as the closely related issue of youth victimization. 1he text does this in two ways. First, the mainstream approach helps the student understand what issues are currently thought to be at the basis of juvenile delinquency, as well as the mechanisms society has created to deal with delinquency. Second, the crosscurrents approach takes an analytical point of view of what we currently believe to be true of juvenile delinquency and how society should deal with it.
juvenile Delinquency: Mainstream and Crosscurrents is intended to give students a fresh look at the behavior of young people and why it is classified as delinquent when that behavior runs afoul of the law or simply what society believes is acceptable behavior from a youth.