REDUCING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS: A Case Study of Preventive Delinquency Programs in Illinois
Juvenile delinquency in America is growing, as fast as a newborn baby. Children enter the juvenile justice system through a revolving door that sometimes traps them for life. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's 1999 National Report Series, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, "Overrepresentation of black juveniles occurs at all stages of the juvenile justice system. They represent: 26 percent of juvenile arrests, 45 percent of cases involving detention, 32 percent adjudicated cases, 40 percent of juveniles in residential placement, 44 percent were arrested for violent crime, and 45 percent were confined" (The United States Department of Justice, 1999, pg. 2).
The subject of juvenile delinquency is broad and affects millions of American families everyday, especially the African American family. Yet, there are programs in the United States, particularly in Illinois that seek to address the problem of juvenile delinquency. These programs are called preventive delinquency programs. There is a good deal of literature on these programs, and juvenile delinquency with regard to African American youth. This paper is qualitative and will explore this literature and illustrate the importance of preventive delinquency of African American youth. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice provide an overview of crimes committed in schools by African American students, and a list of contributing factors of juvenile delinquency. These studies focus on how and why juveniles should be punished once they have committed a crime.
The subject of juvenile delinquency is broad and affects millions of American families everyday, especially the African American family. Yet, there are programs in the United States, particularly in Illinois that seek to address the problem of juvenile delinquency. These programs are called preventive delinquency programs. There is a good deal of literature on these programs, and juvenile delinquency with regard to African American youth. This paper is qualitative and will explore this literature and illustrate the importance of preventive delinquency of African American youth. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice provide an overview of crimes committed in schools by African American students, and a list of contributing factors of juvenile delinquency. These studies focus on how and why juveniles should be punished once they have committed a crime.
School:
University of Illinois at Springfield
Department:
Legal Studies
Research Advisor:
Christopher Span
Department of Research Advisor:
Educational Policy Studies
Year of Publication:
2003