Introduction
The discussion about the nature and causes of juvenile delinquency is one of the hottest in the sphere of criminal justice. It is important to give a comprehensive definition of this notion. The major factor in applying delinquency jurisdiction is the age of the offender which should be lower than the so-called “age of majority” – the age considered by state authorities to become an adult (usually eighteen). In addition to age, a more specific scope is given by Shoemaker – it should be either offenses that are considered a crime in the state legal code or any offenses specified in the juvenile codes (20). This paper will elaborate on the sociological theories which describe the reasons and factors of criminal cases involving juvenile delinquent acts. Focusing on the real criminal case, it will be argued that rational choice theory is a well-designed paradigm for discussing juvenile delinquency because it discloses the deep meaning of this problem.
Criminal Case
The case used is the typical minor crime that happens in every state of the US. Two teenagers, 19 and 16 years old, stole approximately $8,000 during their workday at Walmart (Sobotka, “Worthington Teenagers Accused”). It will be beneficial to focus on 16-year-old Lucas Schneider because his age is lower than 18. As an independent actor from his friend, he had stolen $4,082 during his 18 days as a cashier. Surveillance showed that Schneider repeatedly placed the cash money in his pocket instead of putting it in the register.
As a result, these teenagers faced criminal charges in court. Initially, Schneider was charged with felony theft, which implied five years imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine for an adult (Sobotka, “Worthington Teenagers Accused”). However, because of Schneider’s age, the final judgment was far less harsh than it could be for adults. After roughly two months, “[Schneider] was placed on supervised probation until his 19th birthday and ordered to perform 20 hours of community work service” (Sobotka, “Teenagers’ Walmart Theft Cases”). In addition, Schneider was obliged to pay $4,082 compensation to Walmart (Sobotka, “Teenagers’ Walmart Theft Cases”). Thus, it is seen how juvenile delinquency works in real court practice.
Sociological Theory
With the aim of understanding the real reasons that stand behind delinquency, policy analysts and scholars elaborate specific theories. Nevertheless, such theoretical arguments cannot exist in a pure vacuum because sociological theory should have predictictible power and empirical validity (Siegel and Welsh 77). The reason is that policymakers can manipulate their unjustified theoretical assumption to implement action and use policy instruments that correspond to their ideological predispositions. Besides, it seems that different kinds of offenses can be explained from strikingly different paradigms. For example, there is a huge discrepancy between the causes of economic and violent crimes.
Concerning the case under study, it seems that an individual-level explanation will be the most appropriate. These explanations tend to value the individual reasons for the decision-making rather than the impact of the environment or social habits (Siegel and Welsh 79). In order to understand the causes of Schneider’s crime, it is necessary to analyze his behavior, psychological traits, and possible motives. He lived in the small town of Worthington, Ohio, and worked at Walmart. During the little period of time spent on work, Schneider had stolen a great amount of money. It seems that his behavior was rational because one can clearly trace Schneider’s willingness to earn more money than in the cashier position. Thus, the trait theory, which values the psychological conditions of individuals, can be eliminated.
The main premise of this paper is that choice theory greatly suits the discussed case. Siegel and Welsh explain this theory, indicating that “youths will engage in delinquent and criminal behavior after weighing the consequences and benefits of their actions” (80). To develop the theoretical impact of this theory, it will be useful to have a brief study of other countries’ experiences. For example, the group-oriented culture of China was not the barrier for juvenile offenders being overwhelmingly individually oriented in deciding whether the benefits of offense outweigh the costs (Zhao et al. 15). Although Chinese culture is constructed around the notions of discipline and collective responsibility, teenagers were still sure that they should concentrate on their personal needs. Therefore, a large part of Chinese juvenile offenders relied on their understanding of rational choice.
Schnieder also relied on his belief in rationality in specific circumstances. It was not the impulsive decision that appeared because his psychological conditions “favored” this offense. Also, the decision to steal the money does not appear to have been driven by a desire for the greater good of the Worthington community. The reason is that Ohio is not a rich state with a high income for the average citizen. As a result, Schneider falsely assumed that the ultimate punishment would outweigh the cost of theft.
Conclusion
To sum up, the rational choice theory is a well-equipped explanation of some kinds of economic crimes like juvenile theft. The choice theory assumes that teenagers under 18 are also rational when they decide to commit a crime. Lucas Schneider, who stole $4,082 in Walmart, assumed that the temporal richness outweighed the possibility of punishment. This theory should guide policymakers whose main goal is to reduce the number of juvenile delinquent acts. For example, they can introduce an education program that will explain to teenagers that their “rationality” is false. In fact, a criminal record can have detrimental effects on the future adulthood of juveniles, so the costs bring the damage that outweighs the benefits.
Works Cited
Shoemaker, Donald J. Juvenile Delinquency. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
Siegel, Larry J., and Brandon C. Welsh. Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. Cengage Learning, 2018.
Sobotka, Alyssa. “Teenagers’ Walmart Theft Cases Advance in Court“. The Globe, 2022. Web.
—. “Worthington Teenagers Accused of Stealing Cash from Walmart“. The Globe, 2019. Web.
Zhao, Jihong, et al. “Rational Choice Theory Applied to an Explanation of Juvenile Offender Decision Making in the Chinese Setting.” International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, vol. 65, no. 4, 2021, pp. 434-457.