Abstract
The given exploratory paper is devoted to the policy change regarding families and the role they play in the juvenile delinquency sphere. It outlines the central causes that might precondition the emergence of negative effects and deteriorate relations between parents and children. They are discussed from the social perspective applying the situational action theory to demonstrate the importance of this institution in terms of the discussed problem and how environments can affect children. The possible ways to resolve the issue via implementing the policy change are also discussed. The proposed reconsideration focuses on providing on-time financial help, assisting families in coping with challenges, and protecting children. It is expected that due to the effective prevention measures, the change will help to reduce tension and make the burden of juvenile delinquency less significant.
Introduction
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major concerns of contemporary society. A significant number of young people involved in crime signalizes the need for action and measures to improve the situation. The scope of the question is substantial, and multiple relevant topics can be discussed; however, the major purpose of the given paper is to investigate the role of the family in the sphere of juvenile delinquency and its impact on young people’s behaviors that might precondition increased crime rates. The question can be analyzed by evaluating the major social concerns associated with the topic and factors preconditioning the deterioration of the situation. Moreover, the possibility of reforming the work with problematic families to attain better outcomes can be discussed.
Background
In a family, parents play a critical role in the growth and development of the child. The lack of proper ways of resolving family affairs can result in the emergence of severe problems for a child or adolescent. Family affairs vary and might include devoting little time to other members, poor economic state, and violent or aggressive behaviors (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020). Parents can be limited in time to watch over and supervise their kids. In a cruel or unfavorable environment, children might acquire undesired ideas or thoughts promoting violence. For this reason, problematic family life can be associated with the rise of crime among the youth. The existing juvenile delinquency system gives little attention to working with families, focusing on managing the aftermath of this institution’s poor functioning. For this reason, there is a need for a radical change in the existing policy to provide support to families and avoid undesired outcomes.
Possible Causes and Theoretical Framework for Change
Discussing the family’s role in juvenile delinquency, it is vital to outline possible causes and social concerns associated with this sphere. The family has always been viewed as the central institution responsible for growing children and guaranteeing their ability to live in a particular community and succeed (van der Put et al., 2021). For this reason, the existing social expectations demand parents to raise their children appropriately and provide them with things necessary for their evolution. However, discussing the outlined problem, it is possible to state that today many parents fail to perform their traditional roles and follow existing models.
It constitutes a serious problem and threatens the future of society. The relevant data shows that numerous families experience significant social pressure because of the increased complexity of interactions (Liu & Miller, 2020). In some cases, they cannot handle the problems independently and demand assistance from various agencies, including governmental ones. It justifies the need for policy change and makes the existing juvenile delinquency framework more supportive. Complex relations between family members, inability to perform traditional roles, and failure to create a positive environment for children are critical aspects influencing high crime rates among adolescents and proving the need for intervention aimed at establishing a new paradigm in working with problematic families.
In such a way, the policy suggestions should cover these issues to ensure a significant improvement in working with families. The changes should focus on the major spheres, such as financial, social, and psychological ones. Because these elements are interconnected and might promote the critical deterioration of the situation, it is vital to introduce a policy change aimed at helping families with children who face a high risk of becoming young criminals. The intervention should also be effective in detecting such households because of various signals, such as criminal records among parents, drug addiction, poverty, or similar social concerns (Liu & Miller, 2020). Moreover, a situational action theory can explain the effectiveness of the planned change. It states that criminal intentions result from a perceptional decision-making process influenced by the people and environment surrounding an individual (Kleinewiese, 2020). Under these conditions, the positive change in families will cultivate a better environment and minimize the risk of children becoming young offenders.
Financial Pressure and Families
The financial concerns should be discussed as the most important ones. The relevant research outlines the correlation between income level peculiar to a household and crime incidence rates among children (Lee et al., 2020). In other words, families experiencing a lack of money devote low attention to young people. Moreover, they face higher risks of being involved in crime to earn money (Lee et al., 2020). The feeling of being inferior to their peers and poor socioeconomic status leads to depression, complexness, fears, and aggressiveness which trigger peers to commit crimes (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020). Under these conditions, the role of the family in the growth of crime rates among adolescents is linked to the financial pressure parents experience and their ability to earn money needed to support their children and protect them from crime.
Moreover, poverty is one of the facilitators of crime among adolescents. Statistics show that in low-income and poor societies, children have a least twice higher risk of becoming offenders compared to wealthy ones (Lee et al., 2020). For this reason, one of the central aspects of the proposed policy change is the provision of financial support to families with complicated financial conditions and a high risk of becoming poor. It will help to avoid deterioration of relations between family members, the establishment of an undesired environment, and provide parents with resources to ensure the upbringing of a child, his/her protection, and education.
The government can execute the policy in several ways to ensure its effectiveness. In most cases, financial support should be followed by the guarantees of employment to avoid waste of funds and guarantee that money help to survive during the most complex periods, while a job will contribute to the improvement of family status. Furthermore, the household should be monitored by a social worker to avoid inappropriate use of provided funds. This approach will increase the effectiveness of the current juvenile delinquency framework and reduce the number of young criminals who have to engage in illegal actions because of poverty and factors preconditioned by it.
Streets’ Influence and Families
Another social factor is the influence of streets or external influences. Parents have always been viewed as people protecting a child from the negative impact of other factors and creating a favorable environment. However, children who spend most of their time in the streets due to economic and social factors belong to the risk group (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020). Because of the aggressive and cruel environment, violence is seen as the only way to survive, which creates the basis for the emergence of new problems (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020). For this reason, the role of the family can be decreased because of strong social factors.
From the perspective of a situational action theory, street violence and children’s behavior are two interconnected issues. Observing inappropriate actions, children might follow these models and face the risk of becoming criminals (Kleinewiese, 2020). For this reason, the role of the juvenile delinquency system and government increases as they become responsible for providing children with positive examples. The proposed policy change presupposes the organization of social activities, games, or clubs to minimize the negative impact of streets. The most problematic areas with the highest crime rates should be given the top priority because of the higher chances for children’s engagement in crime. This action will help families to resist the adverse effects of the environment and protect their children.
Drugs and Families
Drugs are another factor affecting the sphere of juvenile delinquency. At the same time, it should be discussed from the perspective of a family as substance abuse might also impact the functioning of this institution. The existence of at least one addicted parent significantly increases the risk of becoming a criminal for a child (Gearhart & Tucker, 2020). Most adolescents who experience inappropriate behaviors have a high risk of being aggressive or becoming abusers (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020). They become offenders and even make their lifestyle more criminal-oriented, while the drug-addicted parents have no time and resources to work with their children.
In such a way, there is a direct correlation between parents’ drug addiction and crime rates among their children. Moreover, by applying the situational action theory, it is possible to justify the need for struggling with drug addiction among adults as it influences adolescents’ decision-making (Schepers, 2017). Under these conditions, the proposed policy should register drug-addicted parents or parents with previous experience of using substances to control their families and behaviors (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020). It will serve as the barrier preventing the youth from acquiring crime-oriented lifestyles under the impact of their parents. The given measure can be effective and cost-saving enough because of several reasons. First of all, preventing crimes committed by addicted parents or their children is cheaper than managing their aftermath (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020). Second, by monitoring the life of families with the experience of using drugs, authorities and social workers will be able to acquire relevant information about their states and use it to justify specific interventions or actions. Under these conditions, enhanced work with families demands effective reporting and monitoring practices to respond to cases of drug use and introduce effective solutions.
Crime and Families
Analyzing the problem of juvenile delinquency from the family perspective, there is a necessity to delve into current trends. Jacobsen and Zaatut (2020) outline the correlation between the existence of family members with criminal records and the frequency of crime commitment among children. In some instances, the authority of a parent might expose children to more crimes and create norms of taking high-risk crimes that might lead to their death or being injured (Jacobsen & Zaatut, 2020; Olsen, 2020). It becomes a nagging problem for the given sphere. It also means that specialists need to address this problem, trying to find a solution to the issue.
Speaking about the proposed change, an approach similar to working with drug-addicted parents should be employed. At the moment, little attention is devoted to children living in this environment, although to the situational action theory, they have a high chance of becoming criminals. For this reason, the policy should focus on households with at least one adult who has a criminal record. Regular checks will help to outline the current conditions, whether they are appropriate for children, and what actions should be done to improve their state and minimize chances of becoming young offenders.
Social Structure, Processes, and Policy
The existence of factors mentioned above demonstrates some problematic issues in the current social structure and processes. Family as the central institution responsible for preparing a new generation fails to perform its leading function because of multiple reasons. These also include diverse social processes, such as the rise of violence, crime, drug addiction, and poor life quality (Liu & Miller, 2020). It means that the reconsideration of the approach to the problem demands structural social change affecting various institutions and promoting the stronger families’ impact on the sphere of juvenile delinquency.
Currently, most households experience strong pressure from society which might result in their inability to protect children and failure. For instance, recent research shows that disappointment, inability to succeed, and failure to meet communities’ expectations are the leading causes of changes in family structure, and deterioration of relations between members (Hoffmann & Dufur, 2018). For problematic or low-income couples, these aspects become even more challenging as they have to look for additional resources to overcome them, which might result in the deceased attention given to children and their problems (Hoffmann & Dufur, 2018). It creates the basis for the growing crime rates among young people and their becoming offenders.
From this perspective, the major function of the government and juvenile delinquency system is the provision of support for families to help them avoid critical deterioration of their states and transformation into problematic ones. Households limited in their resources to resist crime and the negative impact of streets will fail to perform their major function (Guarnaccia et al., 2020). For this reason, the proposed policy change is, first of all, focused on empowering and monitoring families to guarantee they will not face challenges that cannot be resolved. It presupposes better government involvement and increased awareness about the current state of households.
Structural social change is one of the demands for the effective work of the policy. It is vital to ensure that local agencies and social workers devote more attention to cooperating with the most problematic families, recording their problems and issues, and gathering other information to create a database vital for the improvement work juvenile delinquency and the justice system. Possessing this information, the government will be more effective in struggling with high juvenile delinquency rates as it will distribute resources appropriately and support families who need them at the moment.
Solutions
Crime prevention incentives play a fundamental role in the development and management of juvenile delinquency programs as they help to mitigate the negative influence of a family and reduce the risk of becoming an offender. Today, adolescents under 20 can commit serious crimes and become punished; however, such campaigns supported by information about current family affairs can give young people a chance (Liu & Miller, 2020). However, it is vital to consider the fact that families should be taken as one of the major factors that should be analyzed to find a practical solution to the problem.
Under these conditions, the creation of appropriate social projects considering the current families’ needs and problems is a key to the attainment of better outcomes. The government should play an active role in monitoring the juvenile delinquency sphere and introducing measures to help parents. It presupposes financial, social, educational, and training resources as they are needed to assist households in complex states and prevent them from causing harm to young people. The proposed policy change offers a radical reconsideration of the existing approach to struggle not with the results but with the causes of high crime rates among the youth.
The effectiveness of the proposed policy change is explained by its cost-effective nature and the ability to promote better outcomes. At the moment, the juvenile justice system spends about $407 per person per day (Hoffmann & Dufur, 2018). Because the number of young criminals grows, it constitutes a serious burden for the government. At the same time, the outlined programs cost less and help to reduce the number of incidents in the future, which indicates their advantageous nature and the ability to be applied to the existing setting.
In such a way, the solution to the problem rests on the situational action theory and the idea that the appropriate development of a child can be guaranteed if a family remains capable of performing its central functions, such as protecting a young person and educating him/ her. For this reason, better attention to financial issues, street impact, drugs, and criminal records are the core elements of the proposed policy change. Consideration of these elements will help to resolve the problem and attain desired results.
Conclusion
Altogether, it is vital to delve into the role families play in the juvenile delinquency sphere. This social institution has a strong effect on children and might promote either positive or adverse influences. For this reason, it is vital to address the issues affecting households to improve their functioning and guarantee they can perform the central function of preparing the next generation that can succeed in communities and contribute to their evolution.
The proposed policy change focuses on the most important aspects influencing families regarding juvenile delinquency issues. These include finances, drugs, crime, and streets with multiple adverse effects caused by them on children. Under these conditions, prevention of juvenile crimes presupposes the application of situational action theory stating that children might follow examples peculiar to the environment. That is why it becomes critical to eliminate all factors that might precondition the deterioration of the environment and the emergence of negative trends in a child’s surroundings. The government should focus on providing financial aid and other assistance to households with specific problems to ensure they remain capable of performing their major function and helping children to evolve. It will become a key to better outcomes and a reduction in juvenile crime rates.
References
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