Crime Causation And Diversion

In the state of Texas when you are a juvenile who gets into trouble, you have to face consequences. In 2009 there were 20,943 juveniles that were adjudicated for delinquent conduct, and 2,259 were placed in Texas Youth Commission facilities (Levin, 2010). This paper will discuss the types of diversion programs that are offered in Texas, as well as the results from these types of programs.

Have you ever wondered what makes a juvenile do what they do? Well, a child is raised and learns by what they see and if their parents are getting into trouble and doing drugs, then it is possible they will grow up with the same type of behavior and commit crimes along the way. A juvenile is going to pick up watching what's going on around them; they are going to learn by who they socialize with. Since a juvenile grows up learning to imitate behaviors, it is probably true that they will one day imitate bad behavior that has been practiced around them. Since social behavior is a big thing with juveniles these days, they always want to fit in with the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. This then leads to peer pressure and the juvenile may commit the crime just so they can fit in with the rest of the crowd. Another cause of juvenile delinquency is child abuse, and this is because of the fact that a child who is being abused will learn to abuse others. Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2008).

Something parents to need to be aware of as their children grow up, is the signs of drug usage in your child's behavior. On average, Texas children first use inhalants at 12.2 years, alcohol and tobacco at 12.3 years, marijuana at 13.5 years, and cocaine at 14.4 years (Texas Senate Research Center,2001). Children with these types of habits or addictions will result to violence like robbery, theft, etc. just to gain money to support the habit. This is why it is very important for programs to be set in place to help these juveniles make a better future then they have been having and to learn how to deal with the demons they are fighting whether it is drugs, child abuse, neglect, etc.

In Huntsville, Texas there is a juvenile mentoring program that is designed to reach the juveniles at their first entry into the criminal justice system. The goal of the Winners Program is to work with the courts, schools, churches, and various social services to help confront the deep problems that are causing the juvenile to commit crimes. With the many services offered, they are focused on teaching the children how to live a different life style. The services offered by Winners Program are; juvenile mentoring program, adolescent recovery program, individual and family counseling, after school computer assistance, and community service referrals. This program is directed by Kent Lucas and adult program coordinator Teresa Schultz. Mr. Lucas has 15 years of experience in criminal justice ministry and is head of the biblical approach to the twelve step recovery program. The Winners Program anticipates on a 90-95 percent success rate, and this is based on the similar programs around.

Another program that is in my area is TRIAD and their motto is; TRIAD

prevention program believes there are not "bad kids" but "bad choices".