Juvenile Delinquent

Three Major Crimes of Juvenile Delinquency

• Murder
• Robbery
• Gang Affiliation

Murder is affecting the youth today because kids are scared to just fight it out. Everything is about trying to outdo the other person. You have more young men killing each other than people dying of natural causes. They think that it’s cool to say that you killed somebody. For example, in Pennsylvania a teenager named Maxwell Morton, 16, killed his classmate at his home and then took a picture with the body and put it on snapchat. This is a prime example that kids think it’s cool to kill someone and brag about it to others

Robbery is another thing that’s affecting our youth today. Teens tend to commit robberies because of the lack of the things they need. Teens rob others to get money or things they can pawn or sell to get money. I believe that robbery is a crime of need or sometime even want. Another thing that contributes to teens committing robberies is peer pressure. For example, 13, Jobe Kilbride was charged with armed robbery for robbing shopkeepers and taxi drivers. Kilbride committing those robberies to get money. This case proves my point as to why kids commit robberies as on a need bases. They need the money to support or provide things for themselves that they aren't getting from their parents.

Lastly gang affiliation is another thing that’s affecting our youth today. Gangs have become more popular in our youth community because they’re looking for sense of belonging. The most popular gang that young kids like to say they’re apart of is the Bloods. Teens see rappers portraying to be apart this gang so they think that it’s cool to represent something they have no clue about. You also have teens that make their own gangs and have their own rules and policies. Gang violence is a serious and also scary crime because when one get in a fight they all fight. There is no such thing as one person from a gang fight and the others not jumping on.

This statistics of each crime speaks volume of how serious each crime is.

Murder
Jan - Dec # of Murders % of Change 09-13 % of Change 12-13
2009 83 3.61% 3.61%
2010 83
2011 84
2012 83
2013 86

The murder rates really didn’t have a dramatic change of the past five years. The rate actually stayed the same over the years excluding 2011 when it went up by one homicide and 2013 when it went up by three homicides. So the statistic report has actually been the same 3.61% over the past five years.

Robbery
Jan – Dec # of Robberies % of Change 09-13 % of Change 12-13
2009 2,324 -21.08% 11.22%
2010 1,787
2011 1,879
2012 1,649
2013 1,834

The number of robberies started out so high which wasn’t surprising considering the area. The thing that was actually shocking was the decrease in robberies because that’s something I felt that would increase instead of decrease

Gangs
% of Males % of Females % Under 18 Ethnic %
94 2 37 Hispanic 47
African American 31
White 13
Asian 7

Gang violence cost more than $100 billion a year. I thought that women would have made up more than just 2% of the gang percentage because you have a lot of young girl gangs that they make up by themselves every day. Also the percentage of gang member under the age of 18 was shocking as well because I believe that there is more than what’s report in this report. At that the ages between 13-18 is when young teens are trying to fit in and impress each other.

Another thing about juvenile delinquents there is a lot of programs out here that's willing to help them after being in trouble with the law.

In Miami-Dade County there are two programs put in place to reduce juvenile delinquency. There is JASS and J-DAP.

Miami-Dade County

• JASS
• J-DAP

JASS
Juvenile Alternative Services Sanctions (JASS) provide services for first time nonviolent misdemeanor offenders. This program is for both male and female 18 years and younger. Upon entering the program the juveniles are individually assessed for the development part of their treatment. Program services include: case management, victim/offender mediation, restitution coordination, community work service, and referrals to: psycho-educational groups, substance abuse counseling, and family and individual counseling. JASS clients will be monitored at home, school, and also field visits. Each delinquent will be in the program for approximately 90-120 days. There are three different locations in Miami-Dade, north, south, and central. By having so many locations its makes it easier for the case workers to have accessibility to their clients and their family. Also county cars are provided during work hours so that workers can get to families in need. JASS also provide transit pass to those with transportation issues.

JASS
Juvenile Alternative Services Sanctions (JASS) provide services for first time nonviolent misdemeanor offenders. This program is for both male and female 18 years and younger. Upon entering the program the juveniles are individually assessed for the development part of their treatment. Program services include: case management, victim/offender mediation, restitution coordination, community work service, and referrals to: psycho-educational groups, substance abuse counseling, and family and individual counseling.

JASS clients will be monitored at home, school, and also field visits. Each delinquent will be in the program for approximately 90-120 days. There are three different locations in Miami-Dade, north, south, and central. By having so many locations its makes it easier for the case workers to have accessibility to their clients and their family. Also county cars are provided during work hours so that workers can get to families in need. JASS also provide transit pass to those with transportation issues.

J-DAP
Juvenile Delinquency Alternative program (J-DAP) is a diversionary alternative to formal court involvement and supervision. This program serve those youth who are determined to be at most risk of re-offending based on the pre-eligibility criteria identifying issues with school behavior and performance problems, family concerns substance abuse, pre-delinquent behaviors and who are less than fifteen years of age at the time of offense.

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