Social control theory is more focused on the internal struggle that helps juveniles avoid delinquent behavior. At the heart of this theory is the train of thought that humans must be controlled by an outside force i.e. laws governing behavior and social norms. In this theory, the school of thought is that juveniles commit delinquency because some controlling force is absent or defective in their life. The social control theorist train of thought is to ask the question Why do people conform? Strain and social learning theorists have dissimilar point of view, then control theorists they take crime less seriously. Their argument is that people have needs and desires that are easily satisfied through criminal activity rather than through doing things legally i.e. it is much easier to steal money than to work for it. As a result, from the point of view of control theorists, the individual committing a criminal activity requires no rationalization if it is often the most feasible way to get what one wants. In order to explain why people engage in crime, we need to explain why they do not.
Control theorist believe that people do not engage in crime due to restraints placed on them however they engage in crime because it is less restrictive to do so. There are several different types of control theory: The first is direct control in this theory the juvenile or individual is directly supervised in this form the focus is on someone supervising the individual and punishing them for the crime. The supervising individual could be a family member or school personnel or those in their neighborhood and coworkers, police, and other peers. The main form of direct control is family members, this is true based on the fact of their intimate relationship with the person. Direct control has three components: setting rules, supervising behavior, and punishing crime. In direct control theory, the cultural aspect is that the older relatives or those in a position of power are held to a higher standard and are responsible for monitoring the juvenile.
In the stake of conformity, the efforts to directly control behavior are a major restraint to crime. The efforts of some are more effective than others an example would be that some juveniles conform to the rules and regulations whereas others deviate from the rules. A reason for this is that some juveniles have more to lose (i.e. a football player losing starting position for skipping class) by not following the rules these individuals have a high stake to conformity and as a result, they do not want to jeopardize their future by being delinquent. If juveniles have a strong emotional attachment to others, like family members and teachers, they have more to lose by committing a criminal act. Their criminal act may upset the people they care about, this could cause them to think badly of them, and possibly cause harm to their relationship with them. This is especially true in juveniles that have a strong bond with the adult role models in their lives as they do not want to cause them grief or disappointment.
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Internal control is simply the juvenile having self-control and not committing delinquent behavior. Juveniles sometimes find themselves in situations where they are tempted to engage in crime and the probability of outside punishment and the loss of things that they value is low. Juveniles can stop themselves from engaging in crime. Internal control is a function of their beliefs, and moral code regarding crime and their level of self-control. Many juveniles still don’t commit crime and the reason is that they have high internal control and can stop themselves from engaging in crime. According to Bernard (2020), ‘people who lack self-control will tend to be impulsive, insensitive, physical (as opposed to mental), risk-taking, short-sighted, and nonverbal’.
In general, there are several risk factors that can determine a child’s risk factor for delinquency such as hyperactivity and sensory seeking behavior also there are family risk factors such as the family history of crime and/or substance abuse. Also, antisocial behavior is another risk factor these behaviors generally include various forms of oppositional rule violation and aggression, such as theft, physical fighting, and vandalism. In order to develop effective methods for preventing juvenile delinquency and its growth into more serious and violent juvenile offending, interventions must account for the wide variety of individual, family, peer, school, and community risk factors this also includes cultural risk factors. In the U.S. there are several programs that help prevent delinquency in juveniles a few of them are as follows there is the Boys and Girls Club, this program offers after school programs to help keep juveniles off of the streets and they also offer mentors to guide the juveniles in the right direction.
There is also the Boys and Girl scouts this offers both after school programs and building real skills that benefit you in real life. In scouting, they earn merit badges and teach juveniles skills such as welding, and archery and they also have stem programs as well. These are just a few of the programs that are available to help prevent delinquency, however, although these programs are available some individuals find the cost an issue and don’t participate in these programs. The biggest constraint to stopping delinquency is the fact that low income and socially restricted individuals have a more difficult time connecting to these resources.
In conclusion, I personally am involved in the juvenile justice system as I work for a criminal defense attorney and we often represent indigent defendants who are low income and cannot afford private defense counsel. In the law firm I work for we are charged with defending them often they are mentally ill or have other risk factors such as parents with substance abuse problems or are incarcerated. Many of the juvenile cases are those that have started hanging out with the wrong crowd and they get themselves into a bad situation. In Virginia, we have several programs that help divert the juvenile offender from a juvenile detention facility and place them in a group home that helps by offering counseling and services to both the juvenile and their families to help them get to the bottom of their reason for offending and get them back on track. For example, a juvenile offender has been charged with possession the courts would likely place the juvenile in a drug treatment program. At the end of the day, the main goal of all involved in juvenile justice is to prevent recidivism at the adult level and get the juvenile back on track to being a productive member of society.
