While we may see adults committing the bulk of the crimes in New York, it is a good idea to remember that not all children are innocent. Teens under the age of 18 have been known to commit crimes, as well. These crimes are often referred to as delinquent acts. A child who engages in these illegal acts is considered a juvenile delinquent. Children are typically tried as juveniles, but if the crime is very serious—such as murder—the child can be tried as an adult.
Juvenile delinquency falls under family law, like divorce and child custody issues. A child convicted of a crime can see their lives impacted in many ways. A criminal charge can affect the child’s future schooling and college plans. It can also affect job opportunities. Therefore, understanding these crimes and knowing how to defend against them and reduce the penalties are essential.
Types of Juvenile Delinquency
There are four main types of juvenile delinquency — individual, group-supported, organized and situational. Individual delinquency refers to one child committing an act on his or her own, with the argument that the delinquency is caused by family problems. Group-supported delinquency occurs when multiple children get together and commit delinquent acts in their neighborhood. Organized delinquency dates back to the 1950s. These are almost like gangs when members would encourage others in the group to commit crimes and reward them accordingly. Situational delinquency refers to acts that are committed with little thought. The person simply has little impulse control and committed the act on a whim.
Juvenile Delinquency Examples
There are many acts that are considered crimes in the juvenile court system. Many of the cases seen in these courts are minor, such as tobacco or alcohol use, curfew violations, and school disciplinary issues. Others are more serious in nature and can lead to injury or death to others, such as driving without a license, reckless endangerment, possession of a weapon, assault, rape, and murder.
The top crime seen in juvenile delinquency courts is theft. This may include shoplifting from a store or stealing a bike, backpack, or other possession from a classmate. Vandalism is also common among teens. This includes keying cars and using graffiti. Even writing on bathroom walls or classroom desks can be considered vandalism.
Alcohol use is also common among teens. Even though the legal age to consume alcohol is 21 years old, many teens experiment with it before they reach that age. A teen can be arrested for purchase, consumption, and possession of beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages. The same goes for marijuana and tobacco.
Disorderly conduct is another top crime among juveniles. This may include fighting, indecent exposure or cursing at a teacher or other authority figure. Many juveniles are also charged with assault, which includes pushing or shoving a person. Certain types of bullying can also be classified as assault.
Contact a Brooklyn Family Law Attorney Today
It is important to understand the various types of delinquency and the various crimes in which your child may engage. Brooklyn family law attorney Theodore Alatsas ESQ can help you and your child understand juvenile delinquency and the court system. To learn more, schedule a consultation today. Call our office at [718] 233-2903.
Juvenile delinquency or juvenile offending refers to the commitment of crime or unlawful acts by children, usually from 10 to 17 year of age. Other than crime, if a child is involved in disobedience or mischievousness [Constantly], he can also fulfill the criteria. Different countries have different age limits and legal obligations for juvenile delinquency. The actions committed by these minors can be as serious as a proper crime committed by an adult or can be simple though still illegal such as running out of school etc.
Who is Juvenile Delinquent?
Children who are involved in criminal or illegal action but are less than 18 years are called juvenile delinquents.
Examples:
As it is discussed earlier that some crimes are serious and some are minor. Some acts are unlawful only for children such as skipping schools, purchasing alcohol, using or purchasing cigarettes.
Sometimes minors commit crimes which are considered crimes for adults as well for example: fighting, robbery, destruction etc. children sometimes commit even more serious crimes like murder. Whatever the crime is, it can’t be handled in adults’ law system. These kind of cases are handled in juvenile court system. If the crime or act is minor, a child can get the benefit of poor home environment.
‘’Life-Course Persistent offenders’’ are children who repeatedly commit crime. They show the tendency of committing further crimes along with antisocial behavioral tendency.
Four Main Types:Juvenile delinquents commit different kinds of crimes which are distributed in four categories according to social context.
- Individual Delinquency:
When a single individual is involved in delinquency, it is called individual delinquency. Psychiatrists argue that individual delinquency is caused by inappropriate environment, parenting and social environment. Sometimes the interaction pattern of family also promotes the tendency of individual delinquency.
- Group-Supported Delinquency:
As the name suggests, in this type crime is not committed by a single individual. It gets the support of a group from surroundings. In this kind of case, the crime is not the part of juvenile’s nature but is inculcated by the group. Researches revealed that some children become delinquents because they are living in the community of delinquents.
- Organized Delinquency:
This type of delinquency occur in organized, formally developed groups. This concept of ‘’delinquent subculture was introduced in US IN 1950s. in this kind of delinquency, norms are settled and values are developed to encourage delinquent behavior of people in group. Awards and honors are decided on basis of such acts.
- Situational Delinquency:
In all previously mentioned categories, delinquency has a base root and is very strong nature. Situational delinquency has a different nature. In this case, delinquency is not deep rooted and is the result of some contemporary or current motivation. The child gets involved in delinquency because he loses impulse control in some situation or his family is behaving less supportively.