What causes juvenile delinquency?

Answer 1

Classical criminology stresses that causes of crime lie within the individual offender, rather than in their external environment. For classicists, offenders are motivated by rational self-interest, and the importance of free will and personal responsibility is emphasised[1]. Rational choice theory is the clearest example of this approach. It states that people weigh the pros and cons of committing a crime, and offend when the former outweigh the latter. [3] A central deficiency of rational choice theory is that while it may explain when and where people commit crime, it can't explain very well why people choose to commit crimes in the first place. [2] Neither can it explain differences between individuals and groups in their propensity to commit crimes. James Q. Wilson said the conscience and self-control of a potential young offender must be taken into account, and that these attributes are formed by parental and societal conditioning. [1] Rational choice does not explain why crime should be committed disproportionately by young people, males, city dwellers, and the poor. (Walklate: 2003 p.2)[2] It also ignores the influence a young choice theory does not take into account the proven correlations between certain social circumstances and individuals' personalities, and the propensity to commit crime. [4] Current positivist approaches generally focus on the Culture, which would produce the breakdown of family relationships and community, competing values, and increasing Individualism.[2] Studies also show only 16 in every 100 kids will do something bad opposed to adult 26 in 100 will do something bad or illegal.

Answer 2

Fortune Magazine - Fatherless Families & Crime

"Ominously, the most reliable predictor of crime is neither poverty nor race but growing up fatherless."

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