Topic

Juvenile Delinquency in my community

Statement of the problem

How has juvenile delinquency increased in my community?

What is the level of action taken against it?

Method of Investigation

To express my views more efficiently I have decided to use a questionnaire has my

method of investigation. A questionnaire will help me to know whether or not the views I had in
mind about juvenile delinquency is exactly what the residents have in their minds.

Researched Topic

1. What are the main causes of juvenile delinquency in your area?

2. What roles dose the community play in reducing or preventing juvenile delinquency?
3. How have parents challenged the problem of juvenile delinquency?

Rationale

Not only in Jamaica but also all over the world, juvenile delinquency is a frequent issue.
The causes and the way it is dealt with are considered importantly and so I took this time to
express my views and level of concern on this topic.

Procedures used to collect Data

A total at 20 questionnaires were prepared to be handed out to the residents. One week
before they were distributed, posters were placed in and around the community inviting resident
to consult me for a simple interview, this interview was to ensure that the present person have an
idea of the past history of the community including the knowledge of this specific social
problems i.e., knowing the status of juvenile from the past to present. Of the persons who made
consultations, 20 are recognized for qualification and given a questionnaire.

Cover letter

Trout hall district

Frankfield P.O.
Clarendon
January 4, 2011
Dear Sir/Madam
This is survey being carried out in Trout Hall in my community. To investigate the
problem of Juvenile Delinquency in the community as a part of a School Based Assessment for a
Social Studies course I am currently pursuing.
You are advised to answer the following questions with total honesty.
Since you are not required to write your name no one will know who answered what. The
answers receive will be kept confidential and used only for this research.
Thanks you for you kind cooperation.
Yours sincerely
Chris-Ann Cameron

Questionnaire

The level and extent of juvenile delinquency in my community, causes and concerns.
Instructions: place a check in the box provided beside your most suitable answers. For specific
data lines are provided.
What gender are you?
Male
Female
Cause
What do you think is the most possible cause of juvenile delinquency in the community?
Poor parental guidance
Peer pressure
Abuse
Does parent and guardians play an active role in preventing children from being
delinquent?
Yes
No
Effect
What effect does juvenile delinquency has on the communitys children?
Positive
Negative
Other ________________________________________________________________________

 What are some of the risks juvenile delinquency imposes to the children who are
delinquents in the community?
Health risks
Self esteem
School disruption
Solution
What do you think is the most possible method of solution for juvenile delinquency in
this community?
Rehabilitation
Counseling
Organize more social events
Which of the alternative named above do you think children will be most cooperative
with?
I.
II.
III.
1. How long have you been residing in the community?
Over 10 years
6-10 years
1-5 years
Under 1 year

2. Approximately what percentage of juvenile in your community do you think are

delinquents?
Over 25% but less than 50%
Over 50% but less than 100%
25% or under

100%
3. Among what age groups is juvenile delinquency most popular in your in community?
10-15 years
13-17 years
12-17years
15-17 years
Other_________________________________________________________________________
4. Who do you think are to held account for delinquents in this area?
Themselves
Parents
Other in the society
Person in society
5. What is the level of parental intervention to delinquents displayed in this area?
All parents of delinquents
Some parents of delinquents
Little or no parents of delinquent

6. How does the parent of these delinquents do challenge their situation?

Neglect abuse
Seek help

7. What effect does the community have on these delinquents?

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Positive
Negative
Sometimes positive
Sometimes negative
8. Does the effectiveness of the community on these children results in their delinquency?
Yes
No
9. What gender does juvenile delinquency mostly popular among in the community?
Male
Female
10. Do most these delinquents act in this way because of peer pressure?
Yes
No
11. Does the home influence children in being delinquent?
Yes
No

12. What role does the society play in preventing children from becoming delinquent?
Negative
Formed recreational activities
Annual treat
11

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Presentation and Explanation of Data

A total of 20 questionnaires were handed out to the residents. The 20 were handed out and
returned 9% were female and 11% were male.

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Table 1 showing an approximate percentage of juvenile delinquency in this community.

No. of respondents

Responses

Percentage

Over 25 but less than 50

30%

25 or under

10%

Over 50 but less than 100

20%

100

40%

Table shows an approximate percentage of juvenile delinquency in this community. It

can be seen in the above representation that 6 of the respondents which is equivalent to 30% says
that over 25% but less than 50%, while 2 respondent which is equivalent to 10% which is the
minority of the responses says 25% or under. 4 respondents which is equivalent to 20% choose
over 50% but less than 100% and the majority which is the remaining 8 respondent equivalent to
40% choose 100%.

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Table 2 showing the level of parental intervention to delinquents displayed in the area.

No. of respondents

Responses

Percentage

All parents of delinquents

10%

Some parents of delinquents

25%

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Little or no parents delinquent

65%

The above table shows the level of parent intervention in the cases of juvenile
delinquency 10% of respondents says all parents intervene in this problem. 25% thinks that only
some parents intervenes in the problems however the majority of respondents which is 65% says
little or no parental intervention occurs.

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Figure 3 pie chart showing how parents challenged the situation of Juvenile Delinquency.

5%
15%

Neglet

Abuse

Help off their own

55%

Seek help
KEY

25%

The above pie chart shows how parent challenged the situation of juvenile delinquency in
the community. It shows the majority of respondents which is 55% saying that parents neglect
their delinquent child or children, 20% abuse their children, 15% says that parents help off their
own while the minority which is the remaining 5% says parents seek help.

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Figure 4 pie chart showing the effect the community has the delinquent children.

10%

20%
Negative

40%

Sometimes negative

Sometimes positive

KEY

Positive

30%

The pie chart above represents the effect the community has on delinquent children. It
can be seen that the majority of respondents which amounted to 40% says that it has a negative
effect, 30% says that the community sometimes negative, 20% choose sometimes positive and
the minority which is the remaining 10% says the community has a positive effect on delinquent
children.

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Figure 5 bar graph showing the role the society play in preventing children from become
delinquents.

45
40
35
30
25
Neglect

Form community clubs

Formed annual treats

20
15
10
5
0

It can been seen that the majority which is 40% say that the society neglects delinquents,
while 35% says that the society forms community clubs, and the minority which is the remaining
25 says they formed annual treats.

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Interpretation of Data

The majority of respondent (55%) says that the community has a negative effect on its
children. It is the negative effect of the community on its children which caused most of the
children to be delinquents (75%).
The government neglects the community and its children which could also result in a unanimous
agreement by resident stating that approximately 100% of the children are delinquents.
Also most parents neglect the situation of juvenile delinquency (55%) or little or no parents
intervenes in this situation (65%)
In fact the negligence of the society, parents and the community to the children will only makes
more delinquents are worsen situation.

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Findings

The survey has revealed a number of effects that negligence (from the community,
society and parents) to delinquency in juvenile has on the juvenile themselves. Some of these
are outlined below.
1. There is little no intervention from society in juvenile delinquency in the area as indicated
by 40% of the residents; as a result, parents neglect these children. Since intervention
from the society would decrease the level of juvenile delinquency with the aid of parents.
2. The effect which the community displays is a negative one, the negative effect of the
community result in a high level of juvenile delinquency this was according to 75% of
the residents.
According to the residents: parents, the community and the society does little or nothing
to addressed juvenile delinquency or even to decrease its high level and as a result most if not all
of the children in the community are delinquents.

Recommendations

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It is important that the children of all communities are being fairly and respectively
treated. This is to ensure that they have some feeling of belonging and love.
It is the role of the community, society and parents to socialized with children giving them love
and attention in abundance, and displaying a good image for them to learn from. This is to
ensure that children dont stray away from their family and the community in search for love and
attention. This is important since upon their search they could be faced by many obstacles
which will have a negative effect on their future to come. Socializing with children is important
also since through this process they will learn the positive and negative sides of life. With proper
socialization children should learn to abstain from negative activities. Displaying a good image
for children to follow is also very important since children live what they learn. This means
that as they grew gradually the events that they are exposed to will influence their behavior or
even their way of life.
This problem can be solved by the following measures:

Organizing Recreational Facilities to occupy the communitys children whenever school

is not in session.
Organize annual treats /events which will entertain the children in the community.
Form clubs and invite the children to be a part of the club activities. These clubs should

help to build on their self esteem. (With the aid of church halls etc.).
Organize community centers to facilitate for activities.

These measures should be carefully taken by the parent of children in the community, other
person in the community and the government from an early stage of childhood to prevent this
problem from occurring at teenage level.

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