Writing Sample 33

Causes of Juvenile Crime and Solutions

 The increasingly high rates of juvenile delinquency are a great problem in modern society. More and more people are paying special attention to it. There are mainly three causes of this problem-the negative influence of mass media, young people's tendency to be rebellious and high divorce rates.

The first reason of the high rates of juvenile delinquency is the negative influence of commercialized mass media. Publishers of books or program producers are more concerned with profits than with the quality. Thus books or movies may have negative effects on children. Taken obscene books and violence movies as examples. They are very dangerous to children. Once the children are exposed to violence or bad and dirty ideas are introduced into their mind, there will be lifelong harm. Some young children watch hours of murders, fights and crimes every week, with no adult to tell them that life is not like that most of them. The effect of the heavy does of violence is to suggest to children that violence is an ordinary way of life, and that shooting and cheating are ways to succeed. Such an misbelieve usually leads them to a wrong way in near future.

The second reason of high rates of juvenile crime is that modern youth are more revolutionary and more independent that the elder generation. When this tendency goes to an extreme, problems arise. Some of the young want to throw away all the traditional principles and beliefs, most of which are very good for self-cultivation. They are reluctant to listen to the advice from elder generation. If they behave in the way, as they like, they might commit crimes without realizing it.

The third significant factor of juvenile crime is the increasing number of single-parent families. Studies show that juvenile-delinquency rates are twice as high for youngsters from single-parent homes as for those in traditional households. Children in single-parent families are taken less care of and thus have feelings of being neglected, discriminated and isolated. The lack of parental love makes them hostile and cynical towards the society.

There are several ways to prevent the youth from committing crimes. Firstly, school education plays an important role to teach traditional beliefs. Secondly, the present situation also calls for a control and supervision on the mass media. Books and programs should be in good quality. There should be more educational books and programs for young children in to tell them how to distinguish the right from the wrong. Thirdly, mutual understanding between parents and children is also very important. Parental supervision and guidance are a key factor of self-cultivation in lifetime. The two generations need to smooth away disagreement. Parents can spend much time staying with their children and patiently carry out the duty of family education. (460 words)