Juvenile delinquency is a growing problem worldwide. There are a variety of causes and solutions to this problem in each society. The reasons for the increase in this problem all have to do with industrialization and changing society. The root causes are an increase in preoccupied parents, income inequalities, children’s independence and lack of funding for schools and after school programs. Societies that are being challenged with juvenile delinquency are faced with the need to find a way for their particular society to intervene effectively on the issue.
In the examination of a variety of different approaches to juvenile delinquency, it was concluded that some of them are good and work well, and some do not. Out of the countries that we studied the most, India’s approach to the problem was deemed to be the least effective of the countries that we examined. Their fight against juvenile delinquency, as well as Japan’s, is focused upon police intervention. This is not a good way to deal with the problem of juvenile delinquency, as the police have a bad reputation with the juveniles, and it is not effective at preventing crimes from occurring. Another part of India’s problem in solving juvenile delinquency is their economy. They have other social problems that are more important, such as child labor, which they must solve first. Because they can’t afford to solve their primary social problems, it is near impossible for them to solve their juvenile delinquency issues.
Our cross-cultural analysis and the information from our interviewee agree that the more successful solutions are the ones that focus on prevention. Preventing juvenile delinquency could be achieved in many societies by educating people, restructuring social institutions, and getting children involved in good after school activities. The only way any change can take place is by educating the people of the society.
Society must know that it is a real and growing problem in order for them to make any effort to change it. They need to know that it’s the society that is causing the problem, not the kids. They also need to know that it would be beneficial to have some government intervention, as more change would be possible if government programs and non-government programs would work together. People should also be educated on some of the specifics of why juvenile delinquency has become a problem. Education could be achieved through media and community meetings.
The next step in prevention is to restructure who has power and where money gets spent. The ethnic minorities and the lower class, whom are responsible for a large percentage of juvenile delinquency, need to have better representation. This representation needs to push for the things the children of that particular society need. Things that the representatives could push for are more funding for schools, more bilingual teachers and staff, and after school activities. The countries that we studied in our cross-cultural analysis use some of these steps, but need to improve upon some of their methods in carrying them out.
Reducing juvenile delinquency is a challenging process that requires a lot of time and work by a lot of people, but is an obtainable goal. If the necessary steps described in the paragraphs above were taken, juvenile delinquency would be reduced to a small fraction of what it is now. Not all communities have the resources to make the change necessary in stopping juvenile delinquency, but the ones that do should make them, because it will make drastic improvements in many lives.
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