PSYC39H3 Chapter 6: PSYC39 Ch. Six- Juvenile Delinquency
Document Summary
Juveniles may well be the most maligned age group in our society. Since the mid-1990s, there is a decrease in crime committed by youths across most crime categories, including both property and violent crime, but there are periodic upward spikes; and drug use has seen significant increases. A significant number of juveniles do victimize one another, drug use persists, and the problem of youth violence has not disappeared. Juvenile delinquency is an imprecise and vague term for a wide variety of law- and norm- violating behaviour it can be viewed from a legal, social, or psychological perspective, and its definition varies according to the perspective. Youths processed in juvenile courts have the same 6th amendment constitutional rights as adults except for the right to a jury trial, although some states allow jury trials in these courts too. A youth processed in criminal court" faces the glare of publicity and the possibility of a long prison sentence if convicted.
