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Juvenile Justice Systems and Processes

Part 1: Data Visualization

Juvenile delinquency is widespread among youth of blacks and non-Hispanic origins. There is a huge difference in the involvement of minority adolescents, especially black youths. The presence of disproportionate racial representation in youth justice raises the question of basic justice and equal treatment of these youth by police, courts and other officials involved in youth justice. Also, what happens in the interactions with youth and youth justice can have serious consequences for subsequent development and future prospects. However, racial and ethnic characteristics vary widely from state to state, with Blacks, and Hispanic youths making up the majority of the youth delinquent population in the 45 states in 2018. According to EZAPOP, in every 100,000 black juveniles in the U.S., 151 were held in detention in 2017, and the Hispanics were held at a rate of 44, while the non-Hispanic whites at 26 (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). This demonstrates that a large population of juvenile delinquents in the states of California, Texas, and Arizona were mostly Blacks, and Hispanic youth.

Interestingly, New Mexico’s adolescent populace was 60% Hispanic (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). The high rate can be related with the way that its general populace is for the most part Hispanic and Latino. Somewhere in the range of 2010 and 2019, the U.S. populace expanded by 18.9 million, and Hispanics represented the greater part (52%) of this development, as indicated by a Pew Research Center examination of new U.S. (Krogstad, 2020). In 2019, the quantity of Hispanics arrived at a record 60.6 million, making up 18% of the U.S. populace. This is up from 50.7 million of every 2010, when Hispanics were 16% of the populace. The quantity of Hispanics is developing more gradually than it recently did, because of a decrease in the yearly number of births to Hispanic ladies and a drop in movement, especially from Mexico. From 2015 to 2019, the Hispanic populace developed by a normal of 1.9% each year, down altogether from a pinnacle of 4.8% from 1995 to 2000.

Different states with enormous Hispanic adolescent populaces such as California (52%), Texas (49%), Arizona (44%), and Nevada (41%) (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). In 2019, the greater part (52%) of all Hispanic adolescents lived in California, Texas, and Florida (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). In the four states – Illinois, Connecticut, West Virginia and Vermont – the Latino populace expanded from 2010 to 2019, despite the fact that the general state populace declined during this time. The abatements happened as a rule among the white populaces of these states, whereby both Black and white populaces declined in Illinois. In 21 different states, Hispanics represented over half of statewide populace increments from 2010 to 2019. In six of these states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Mississippi, Latino populace development surpassed that of the general populace during this time, again to a great extent because of decays among the white populace.

The states with the best extents of non-Hispanic black adolescents in their populaces in 2019 were Mississippi (43%), Louisiana (38%), Georgia (35%), Maryland (33%), South Carolina (31%), and Alabama (30%) (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). Black youth represented 55% of the adolescent populace in the District of Columbia (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). The new gauges show that almost four of 10 Americans relate to a race or ethnic gathering other than white, and propose that the 2010 to multi decade will be the first in the country’s set of experiences wherein the white populace declined in numbers (Frey, 2020). The previous a few censuses have shown expanded racial and ethnic variety among the U.S. populace. Most critical is the expanded variety in the more youthful bit of the populace. In 2019, interestingly, the greater part of the country’s populace under age 16 recognized as a racial or ethnic minority. Among this gathering, Latino or Hispanic and Black occupants together involve almost 40% of the populace.

Figure 1. Juvenile Delinquency in the state of California in 2018 (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020).

Part 2: Executive Summary

In California, the rate of juvenile crimes between the Black Non-Hispanic youths, and the Hispanic youth is very high with 14,629,620 juvenile delinquents (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). Among these the Hispanic youths top the list with 51.2% followed by the African American Blacks at 27.4% (Puzzanchera, Sladky & Kang, 2020). The difference in the numbers means that Hispanic juvenile crime in California can be associated with different social experiences. Aculturation and crime go hand in hand in that Latino immigrant youth come from certain neighborhoods that exposed them to delinquent peer groups resulting in the generational crime status among the Latino adolescents.

Juvenile crime prevention programs include educational programs in prevention and early intervention, and parent child interaction. Early prevention and intervention includes periods similar to normal youth development. Studies have shown that there are two types of criminals. It begins with the development of serious antisocial behavior in infancy and adolescence (Krogstad, 2020). In any case, these development pathways allow families, communities and systems to prevent and intervene in antisocial behavior and the involvement of the judicial system. Intervention at an early stage prevents deviant behavior and promotes the development of youth skills and resilience. Although many previous approaches have focused on disruptive and/or long-term behavior, studies have shown that prevention and early intervention are more effective. Therefore, it is most effective in preventing juvenile delinquency in California and reducing crime among African American and Hispanic youth.

Parent-child interaction training programs are also essential in preventing juvenile delinquency. The program takes about 12 weeks to prepare parents and children. The goal is to teach parenting skills to parents of children aged 2 to 7 with serious behavioral problems. This application puts parents and children in an interactive situation. The therapist guides parents and teaches them how to best respond to their child’s positive or negative behavior. It has been shown to reduce hyperactivity, attention deficit, aggression, and anxiety in children. Thus, it would do a lot in reducing the high numbers of juvenile criminality in the state of California.

Families, schools, and the community of California can interact with these youths in various ways to help reduce their risk for delinquency. Communicating with them through recreational activities could do a lot in reducing delinquency among the youth in California. The direct advantage of recreational activities is the ability to carry out additional activities without supervision. The Ministry of Education shows that young people are more likely to commit crimes in the afternoon and early evening. Entertainment programs allow young people to interact with adults and other children in the area. These positive friendships can help children later in life as they get to interact with each other and spend a lot of time together leaving them no time to engage in crime. Youth programs meet a variety of children’s personalities and abilities and can include sports, dance, music, rock climbing, theater, karate, bowling, arts, and other activities.

Community involvement is also another way to communicate with the youth that would help reduce juvenile delinquency. Encouraging the youth to engage in activities such as girl scouts, girl guides, church youth groups, and volunteer groups include young people in the community. Participation in social groups gives young people the opportunity to interact with each other in a safe social environment. Employment opportunities for young people, improving social skills, and providing role models for young mentors and adults are also key elements of juvenile crime prevention. Increased opportunities for success, meaningful activities, positive role models, consistent ethical standards, feasible education and employment opportunities play an important role in a state’s crime management strategy. 

Hence, the young African American Blacks, and Hispanics are the focus of this study as they are the main criminal offending racial and ethnic groups in California. With the Hispanics leading as the largest juvenile offending group in the state followed closely by African Americans, it is vital for the state to do something about it and help reduce the cases of juvenile delinquency. Hence, through youth opportunities, social involvement, and early education, California can be successful in reducing the crime rates among the youths in the state.

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