Chapter 43: Juvenile Delinquency

CLEMENS BARTOLLAS

Juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency—crimes committed by young people—constitute, by recent estimates, nearly one-fifth of the crimes against people and one-third of the property crimes in the United States. The high incidence of juvenile crime makes the study of juvenile delinquency vital to an understanding of American society. The Uniform Crime Reports , juvenile court statistics, cohort studies, self-report studies, and victimization surveys are the major sources of data used to measure the extent and nature of delinquent behavior. These forms of examination have generally agreed on the following findings: Juvenile delinquency is widespread in the United States. The majority of youths have committed some form of delinquency during their adolescent years. Three out of four juvenile arrests are arrests of males. Lower-class youths tend to commit more frequent and serious offenses than do higher-class youths. Minority youths, especially African American, tend to commit more serious delinquent acts than do white ...

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