When a society has developed an understanding of the functions and goals of criminal justice, there is a significantly higher level of citizens’ awareness of their security degree. Due to this, complete development of the individual, social stability, and observance of the interests of each resident of the country is possible. Otherwise, if several problems in society are not being resolved, an unfavorable situation is observed, leading to even more significant problems due to a certain distrust of power and justice. The problem of crime is not a problem of one particular country but all mankind. Criminality damages normal social relations and therefore is considered a negative phenomenon for the field of criminal justice; such a specific contemporary issue as juvenile delinquency is one of the most pressing social problems worldwide.
According to statistics, juvenile delinquency has not tended to decrease over the past three years (Taylor, 2017). If at the beginning of the 1980s, most of the juvenile crimes were attributed to the so-called “leisure crimes, ” and they had a “childish” motivation associated with age-related frivolity. Today, a significantly high proportion of “juvenile group crimes” exists, in contrast to adult criminals. (Singer et al., 2019, p. 831) Thus, every year almost half of the juveniles who committed crimes acted in a group. Experts express different opinions about the reasons for the rise in juvenile delinquency. The breakdown of families, abuse of children, violation of the inalienable rights of children to receive upbringing and education, living in normal conditions all these factors significantly affect early delinquency.
For this, there are policies aimed at preventing crime and juvenile delinquency. For example, US juvenile law is characterized by a punitive model of justice (Chaiken & Huizinga, 1995). According to the opinion of many foreign scientists, the sphere of prevention of juvenile delinquency is based on the concept of crime control (Singer et al., 2019). US prevention programs based on “organizational coercion” are effective in reducing juvenile delinquency. However, there are also more loyal restorative justice models aimed at preventing juvenile recidivism after or during the rehabilitation process in other countries.
The theory of social disorganization, which formed the basis of many criminological theories, explains crime as a social phenomenon. It is directly related to the analyzed social issue that affected the sphere of justice. According to Durkheim’s theory of anomie, the crime may be related to social causes rather than the offender’s individual characteristics (Clifford & McKay, 1942). A person’s residence is a significant factor in determining the likelihood of being involved in illegal activities. Thus, the theory suggests that young people from disadvantaged areas participate in a subculture that favors crime and that these young people thus acquire crime in this social and cultural environment. Crime is primarily “the product of adverse conditions in certain communities.” (Lynch & Barrett, 2018, p. 102)
The phenomenon of anomie, that is, the absence of solidarity, which is the source of most negative social manifestations, lies at the basis of the theory and explains the mechanisms of crime. Previously existing social stereotypes lose their value, and individual judgment is separated from the public. Anomy is a lack of normality and a crisis that happens in society if specific mechanisms do not work, leading to crime and juvenile delinquency.
To conclude, the contemporary issue of crime and juvenile delinquency has a negative impact on the field of criminal justice since it contributes to disorganization and anomie, a phenomenon that Durkheim defines in his theory. The theory of social disorganization explains the reasons that force a criminal to commit illegal actions; an individual’s behavior is determined by the conditions and social environment in which a person lives. In different countries, there are various preventive measures to eradicate this problem. Based on “organizational coercion” or a more loyal approach to the situation, they bring results and help rid humanity of the existing problem.
References
Chaiken, M. R., & Huizinga, D. (1994). Early prevention of and intervention for delinquency and related problem behavior. The Criminologist, 20(6), 4-5.
Clifford, S. & McKay, H. (1942). Social Disorganization Theory and Juvenile Delinquency. Web.
Lynch, M. J., & Barrett, K. L. (2018). Social disorganization theory. In A. Brisman, E. Carrabine & N. South (Eds), The Routledge Companion to Criminological Theory and Concepts (pp. 100-104). Routledge.
Singer, A. J., Chouhy, C., Lehmann, P. S., Walzak, J. N., Gertz, M., & Biglin, S. (2019). Victimization, fear of crime, and trust in criminal justice institutions: A cross-national analysis. Crime & Delinquency, 65(6), 822-844.
Taylor, M. (2017). USA. In Decker S. & Marteache N. (Eds), International handbook of juvenile justice (pp. 135-152). Springer.