The Development of Delinquency as a Historical Phenomenon

The treatment of children as a distinct social group with special needs and behavior is a product of modern urbanization and a relatively new concept. This is not saying that the youth prior to the 19 Century were perfect law-abiding citizens, however their criminality was classified and statistically viewed as a whole population, never having to deal with high demands of personal attention and treatment. So how did this great concern for children develop?

            During the middle ages in England the concept of childhood as we know it did not exist. In paternalistic families of that time, the father was “the final authority on all family matters and exercised complete control over the social, economical, and physical well-being of his wife and children” (The Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law by Siegel and Welsh, Childhood and Delinquency).  Any children in these households who would rebel against their father or did not do as he said would have to deal with a severe physical punishment and in some occasions even death. Since these children were harshly punished at home and at school, it is no surprise that they were treated the same when they broke the law.

            During the first half of the 19th century the United States experienced a rapid population growth due to the increase of immigrants. Most of these immigrants wanted to live in urban commercial areas where they were close to their promised manufacturing jobs. As more and more people crowded the cities, the younger working males began to lose their jobs leaving a high amount of youth at risk of committing criminal behavior with in the area. At this point, the children were becoming victims of the environmental decay around them and parents began to lose control of their children.

Ex. Higher crime within the inner cities. 

          
The activist movement known as the Child Savers served as a significant turning point for delinquency. People were joining forces to assist those in need in cities all around the nation. They put together community programs to serve those adolescents at risk, and lobbied for a separate legal status for children. The Child Saver developed the facility House of Refuge, which can now be related to as a group home. The progressives of this era provided protection to the potentially criminal youth by providing them with a family-like environment. (Anthony Platt, 1969).

            Change for this reform came slow in 1912 when the U.S Children’s Bureau was formed; it was the very first federal child welfare agency. Since its origin the juvenile court system denied children procedural rights that were available to adults, such as due process, since the juvenile court system’s primary purpose was not to punish, but to rehabilitate. Even though this took a step forward it didn’t do much for juveniles, until 1962 when New York created the first family court system. This new court assumed responsibility for all matters involving family life with an emphasis on delinquent and neglected children, but these reforms were soon followed by a due process revolution. In the 1970’s the U.S. Supreme Court altered the juvenile justice system by establishing due process for adolescents and giving them the same rights as adults in courts.

            The last important turning point in history that shaped delinquency today was the creation of the federal commission. In the late 1960’s the government helped shaped the juvenile justice by establishing the Commission of Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, which suggested and provided help with developing effective law enforcement procedures to control serious offenders. Thanks to this implication other administrations such as Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Administration and Law Enforcement Assistance Administration where funded to help with guidance of crime control and prevention.

            These significant events in history are what paved the way for our juvenile justice system today. A revitalized juvenile justice system now incorporates both a comprehensive strategy to prevent and control delinquency and a consistent program of federal funding.

References:

Juvenile Justice History | Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Juvenile Justice History.                                                                        Retrieved  October 5, 2012, from http://www.cjcj.org/juvenile/justice/juvenile/justice/history/0

Platt, A. (1969). The Rise of the Child-Saving Movement: A Study in Social Policy and    Correctional             Reform. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social          Science, 389(1), 21-38.

Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. (2012). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law (11th ed.).      Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.