NCJ Number
56810
Date Published
1977
Length
27 pages
Annotation
THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE WEST GERMAN CITY OF WUPPERTAL ARE EXAMINED ON THE BASIS OF CRIMINAL POLICE STATISTICS TO FACILITATE THE FORMULATION OF A NEW THEORY OF CRIME PREVENTION.
Abstract
STATISTICS SHOW A RELATIVELY HIGH PROPORTION OF YOUNG FEMALES INVOLVED IN CRIMES (32.3 PERCENT), FREQUENTLY AS VICTIMS; A RISING NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING JUVENILES FROM 7 YEARS OLD TO THE ABSOLUTE PEAK AT 17 TO 19 YEARS OLD, WITH ONE THIRD ALREADY DELINQUENT BY 11 TO 13 YEARS OLD; AND A TREND TO DISORGANIZATION AND CULTURAL UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN THE PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION (E.G., THE FAMILY) OF YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS. AMERICAN FINDINGS THAT CRIME FREQUENCY IS BECOMING AS HIGH IN RURAL AS IN URBAN AREAS ARE SUPPORTED BY THIS STUDY; WITHIN THE CITY, HIGH JUVENILE CRIME RATES ARE FOUND IN NEW SUBURBAN HIGH-RISE AREAS AND DETERIORATING INNER-CITY AREAS, AND CHILDREN OF FOREIGN WORKERS FORM AN IMPORTANT AT-RISK GROUP. AS MOST JUVENILE DELINQUENTS ARE STILL OF SCHOOL AGE, THE SCHOOL MUST BE CONSIDERED A PRIME LOCATION FOR PREVENTIVE ACTION. FIVE GROUPS OF DELINQUENTS ACCORDING TO CRIME FREQUENCY RANGE FROM ONE-TIME OFFENDERS TO HARD-CORE DELINQUENTS. JUVENILE CRIMES ARE MOST OFTEN COMMITTED BY RUNAWAYS AND BY GROUPS OF FOUR OR MORE JUVENILES. THEFT IS THE MOST COMMON JUVENILE CRIME, WITH 25 PERCENT OF THE CASES HAVING DAMAGES OF LESS THAN 5 GERMAN MARKS. CONCLUSIONS SHOW THAT THE REPLACEMENT OF THE FAMILY GROUP WITH PEER RELATIONSHIPS IN THE FORM OF GANGS AND THE SOCIAL MILIEU CONTRIBUTE TO DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR. BETTER EDUCATION OF TEACHERS AT ALL LEVELS ABOUT FACTORS CONDUCIVE TO DELINQUENCY, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTIONS WITH PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT FOR YOUNGSTERS, INTEGRATION OF DIFFICULT STUDENTS INTO STABLE STUDENT GROUPS, AND COOPERATION OF SCHOOL, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS ARE PROPOSED. TABLES ILLUSTRATE THE TEXT. --IN GERMAN. (KMD)