HOW RELEVANT ARE DELINQUENCY THEORIES? (FROM DELINQUENCY IN AUSTRALIA - A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, 1977, BY P R WILSON - SEE NCJ-59612)

• NCJ Number: 59615
• Author(s): P DANIELS
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 22 pages
• Corporate Author: University of Queensland Press
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

MAJOR THEORIES EXPLAINING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ARE PRESENTED AND APPLIED TO AUSTRALIAN DATA ON JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.

Abstract

RELIANCE UPON OFFICIAL STATISTICS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEORIES ON THE CAUSES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY LEADS TO CONCLUSIONS BASED UPON A LIMITED SAMPLE OF ACTUAL OFFENDERS; THEREFORE, THE APPLICATION OF THESE THEORIES (FORMULATED PRIMARILY FROM UNITED STATES DATA) TO AUSTRALIA WOULD GROSSLY DISTORT PERCEPTIONS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THAT COUNTRY. ACCORDING TO THEORISTS, DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR IS A PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR CONDITIONED BY VALUES PROMULGATED PRIMARILY IN THE LOWER CLASS. MATERIAL ASPIRATIONS FRUSTRATED BY POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND A CONSEQUENT LACK OF SKILLS TO COMPETE FOR INCOMES IN THE LEGITIMATE ECONOMIC MARKET LEAD TO ALIENATION FROM NORMATIVE VALUES AND MEASURES OF WORTH. THE PRESSURES OF SUCH A POSTURE ARE RELIEVED BY GAINING A TYPE OF SUBCULTURAL ACCEPTANCE IN A DELINQUENT STATUS WHICH MAY CONSTITUTE A REBELLION AGAINST NORMATIVE SOCIETY AND/OR THE ACQUISITION OF WEALTH AND GOODS BY ILLEGAL MEANS. THE ADAPTABILITY OF SUCH THEORIES TO THE AUSTRALIAN CONTEXT DEPENDS ON THREE CRITICAL POINTS: THE ASPIRATIONS OF LOWER-CLASS YOUTH, THE SUBCULTURAL CONTEXT OF DELINQUENCY, AND THE GANG PHENOMENON OF DELINQUENT ACTIVITY. EACH OF THESE POINTS IS EXAMINED WITH REFERENCE TO AUSTRALIAN DATA, WHERE APPLICABLE. FINDINGS ILLUSTRATE THAT THEORIES RELATING TO THE ACTUAL SPREAD OF JUVENILE OFFENSES WILL REQUIRE FAR MORE PRECISE ANALYSIS THAN IS PRESENTLY USED BY THE MAJOR THEORISTS. FOR INSTANCE, SELF-REPORT STUDIES REVEAL THAT LAW VIOLATIONS, PARTICULARLY, PROPERTY OFFENSES, APPEAR TO BE PART OF NORMAL ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT REGARDLESS OF CLASS. FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE, DELINQUENCY CANNOT ALWAYS BE LABELED A LOWER-CLASS PHENOMENON. OFFICIAL STATISTICS CANNOT SERVE AS A BASIS FOR THEORIES OF DELINQUENCY; RATHER, THEY REVEAL THE BIASES OF SOCIAL CONTROL POLICIES CONDUCTED BY OFFICIAL AGENCIES. SUCH BIASED REACTIONS INEVITABLY AFFECT THE SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF THOSE TARGETED FOR INTERVENTION. FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)