“What makes the revolt of modern youth serious,” explains Judge Elijah Adlow of Boston’s Municipal Court, “is that it bears little resemblance to what was once viewed as juvenile delinquency.” He explains that “today the crimes of violence in which the young indulge can never be mistaken for boyish pranks” of previous ages (Jensen, 2006, 21). “The fact of the matter is,” says psychologist Dr. Robert Lindner, “that the mutiny of the young is not an ordinary social ailment, but a virulent epidemic affecting the race of man” (Goldstein, 2004, 14). Thus each country has its own terminology for today’s youthful delinquents; and in the United States they have become known as “rebels without a cause.” Youthful rebels have been divided into two general classes. One group makes up those delinquents inclined toward violence. The other group is made up of those who rebel against restriction so that they can live by their sensual desires, enjoying the excitement of the moment. This latter group has been termed the “Beat Generation.” Since the Soviet sputniks went into orbit these youthful rebels are commonly called “beatniks.” Authorities differentiate between the juvenile delinquents and the so-called beatniks, since the latter have certain beliefs, attitudes and convictions about life and society. The beatniks’ living-for-the-moment way of life is their religion. (Howell, 2006, 21)
Certainly, there are different sets of reasons behind the fact of why the young offenders do what they do and commit the crimes that are posted against them. From this particular analysis, it could be observed too that the major reasons contributing to the aggravation of the rates of young generation who commit offenses against the law. Hence, treating the roots of the reasons behind the crime offences should particularly be the focus of the reeducating procedures that are designed to be given to the offenders.
Dealing with the Situation
To be able to meet the different issues concerning the growing rate of incarcerated juvenile delinquents in the United States, the authorities who are in charged in taking care of the situation proposed a certain procedure that could help in the journey of solving the issues of dealing with the situation. The said procedures are as follows:
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Community leaders must recognize the presence of gangs and seek to understand the nature and extent of the local gang problem through a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the gang problem.
The combined leadership of the justice system and the community must focus on the mobilization of institutional and community resources to address gang problems.
Those in principal roles must develop a consensus on definitions (e.g., gang, gang incident); specific targets of agency and interagency efforts; and interrelated strategies—based on problem assessment, not assumptions.
