Social Conditions Leading to Juvenile Crimes
In a small Texas town in 2019, a 17-year-old boy called Tyler was detained and accused of killing a convenience store worker. The incident happened early on a Saturday morning when the store clerk was by himself. Tyler entered the business carrying a firearm and wearing a mask, according to surveillance footage. He shot the cashier many times after demanding money from him and fled the scene with the money from the register (Abrams et al., 2018). The case attracted much media attention and was extensively covered by regional news sources. Following the crime, many local people expressed their astonishment and fury, and the neighborhood got together to organize a vigil for the victim and his family.
Tyler’s decision to perpetrate this crime may have been influenced by a number of social factors. Poverty is one potential issue; Tyler’s family was known to be experiencing financial difficulties, and the town where the incident took place had a high proportion of poverty. Additionally, Tyler has a history of legal issues and had previously been detained for drug possession and petit theft. He might have concluded that he had few other choices for earning money as a result of these encounters.
The absence of encouraging role models in Tyler’s life is another element influencing the crime. He had a distant relationship with his father and was reared by a single mother who put in much overtime to make ends meet. He might not have received the advice and assistance from grownups that might have enabled him to make wiser decisions as a result. The social learning theory, which says that people pick up criminal behavior through their contacts with others, can be used to assess the social context of Tyler’s crime (Siegel & Welsh, 2016). This hypothesis proposes that Tyler learned to act criminally either through associating with peers who also engaged in criminal activity or by seeing the illegal activity of others.
The strain hypothesis, which contends that people may turn to crime as a way of coping with the strain or stress brought on by their social and economic circumstances, is another theory that is pertinent in this situation. Tyler may have been stressed and frustrated in this situation because of his poverty and lack of strong role models, which may have prompted him to turn to criminal activity as a coping mechanism. It is also vital to keep in mind that the theory of strain can also cause other types of aberrant behavior in addition to criminal behavior (Abrams et al., 2018). For instance, people who are under stress may use substance misuse, mental health issues, or other types of deviant conduct as a coping mechanism (Siegel & Welsh, 2016). This theory also emphasizes how crucial it is to address the structural injustices that underlie poverty and a lack of strong role models, as these issues can make people feel stressed and result in a number of unfavorable outcomes.
In conclusion, Tyler’s crime serves as a terrible illustration of how societal factors might influence the conduct of a violent crime. Tyler’s exposure to criminal behavior, lack of strong role models, and poverty may have all had an impact on his choice to commit the crime. It is crucial to comprehend these fundamental causes if a person wants to stop similar crimes from happening in the future. To prevent corruption and preserve the safety of our communities, society as a whole needs to address these fundamental societal challenges.
References
Abrams, L. S., Jordan, S. P., & Montero, L. A. (2018). What is a juvenile? A cross-national comparison of youth justice systems. Youth justice, 18(2), 111-130. Web.
Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. C. (2016). Juvenile Delinquency: The Core (6th ed.). Cengage Learning US. Web.