What is juvenile delinquency?
This is a violation of law that is committed by a person who is under the age of 18 which is considered a crime if it was committed by a person who is aged 18 or older.
What does delinquency mean?
While the term means failure to do what the law requires with committing an offense, when it is put together with the word juvenile, it literally means failure of parents and society to raise the child.
What age of youth is considered juvenile?
All persons 17 years of age and under are considered by federal standards to be juveniles. In some circumstances, there are youths tried in criminal courts where the youthful offender may be tried as an adult depending on the crime committed.
What types of crimes do juveniles commit?
Youths can be involved in crimes and have behavior that they can be arrested for with violent crimes like assault, homicide, rape, robbery, arson etc. They can also commit drug and alcohol violations like driving under the influence, drunk and disorderly conduct, drug abuse, liquor law violations, drug possession and intent to sell drugs. They can commit crimes related to sexual offenses like prostitution and rape or commit a status offense like curfew violation, running away, truancy, underage alcohol consumption or refusal to obey parents.
What is the juvenile justice system?
This is a legal system through which cases that involve minors are handled. It is the system implement into US policy in 1899 under the pretext that young people are different from adults in their ability to make decisions, understand the consequences of their actions and how they comprehend the irreversible reality of committing a criminal action. Young offenders are viewed as people having a better chance of changing their criminal behavior patterns than adult offenders.