The Effects of Juvenile Delinquency

By Lesley Barker
I. Juvenile delinquency affects people.
A. The most obvious people affected by juvenile delinquency are the victims.
1. They suffer loss whether it is a crime involving theft, vandalism, or violence.
2. They are having financial difficulties replacing things that have been damaged or
destroyed.
B. The person who commits a crime, the juvenile, also suffers.
1. He or she loses both intellectual and personal independence.
2. His or her actions may have long-term consequences for the adolescent's
education or career choices.
C. Juvenile delinquency has an impact on individuals, families, and communities,
regardless of the motivation.

II. There are appropriate consequences for the adolescent’s criminal action.
A. The juvenile will be placed in a residential detention center.
1. He or she builds a relationship with other delinquents.
a) A young person, who also committed a crime, influences the other by
being more sophisticated.
2. If a juvenile over the age of 14 commits another crime, he or she may be
punished as an adult.

III. Juvenile delinquency has a connection to drug use, gang involvement, alcohol abuse, and
sexual behavior.
A. A challenge that makes the community feel unsafe and makes them spend money for
their protection.
B. A problem that challenges the efforts of government agencies, politicians, educators,
faith communities, and nonprofit organizations alike.

IV. Young people who commit criminal action before they reach the age of 18 challenge the future.
A. They are behaving out in response to what they believe to abuse against them.
B. They feel that there is no way out of a life of crime for them.
C. They express anger or frustration directed against another person or group or look for
approval from a gang.