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Discussions

Part 1

Do you agree with the rationalistic explanations of delinquency, why or why not?

Can an individual escape the cycle of growing into crime even if intervention does not take place at a tender age?

I think that both cases could hold weight in that if a person is born in a family with a history of crime and proper guidance is not given to advice him/her of the opposite, then the child shall grow to become similar to the rest of the family members. At the same time, if a child is born from a family with non-criminal blood and raised in criminal conditions, they shall turn out to be criminals since this is how they were raised. A child born with criminal genes shall eventually turn out to be a criminal regardless of the amount of guidance or advice given to them.

Part 2

What are the psychological and personal reasons for the youth to join gangs?

Can the tradition of violence be intervened by institutions like families, churches or schools?

The institution known as the family plays an integral role in the controlling of resistant, violent or criminal behavior in children. This therefore suggests that when a child grows outside of a formal family setting, like when one or both parents is missing, they are likely to be drawn to the criminal side of life. This occurs mostly due to the rebellious nature of the child’s mentality. Today, most incarcerated criminals and juvenile delinquents have grown up from families with irregular structures like with their siblings and no parents or with one of their parents. This clearly shows the importance of having the family in the growth of a child. Moreover, it has also been observed that most of these criminals were children who grew up without their fathers. The fathers’ role in the family setting is important due to the disciplinary measures he takes. Therefore without this, the mothers are unable to instill good or sufficient discipline in their children. This factor is indeed a large contributing factor in the growth of rebellious and criminal behavior in people.

Part 3

What is the family’s role in the controlling of delinquency?

What role does the society play in promoting the tradition of violence?

Schools can implement measures like applying discipline in a consistent, fair, firm and timely manner. The school can also perform training exercises for parents and school staff in identification, prevention and intervention of gangs. The school could also establish student anti-gang prevention and education programs. Student conflict mediation programs could also be established while also involving the youths in the forums to discuss solutions to the problems. Rearranging of classes or progressing students on an intelligence basis instead of age would not help or hinder gang associations. This would actually make them worse since it would create a conflict between the different categories of students that would be created. It would also create a stereotype that there are dumb children and bright children, a situation which would further aggravate the situation. The gang associations would be greatly promoted by this due to the divisions created. The effect that this would have on the students would be a detrimental one since it would create large rifts in their relationships with each other. This would have the future effect of promoting violence due to the rivalry and the creation of groups that have differing opinions and interests.