Are young people who commit crimes criminals, or victims?

Introduction

This paper summarizes existing knowledge from American and Commonwealth studies that address youth offender-related risk factors. More specifically, it reports on how causes of offending over time differ across individuals and which factors are associated with the various pathways. There is a substantial number of youths supervised in either custody or a community program in the ten reporting jurisdictions within Canada. Statistics could argue that these youths are indeed victims of their circumstances and early childhood exposure to high-risk environments. Depending on the severity and length of early exposure to dysfunctional family structures and mental anguish brought on from childhood, a minority of youths may find it harder to integrate into society due to mental illness that arose from such environments. Past studies have shown that in general the majority of young people who encounter the police before the age of 18 will not become 'career criminals'; their contact will be short lived and relatively minor, and they will grow out of offending from late adolescence. For the minority, with the right kind of support from education, rehabilitation and reintegration programs young offenders can move into their adulthood as upstanding members of society. In this research paper I will present information from various studies done between 1977 – 2021.

Keywords: High-Risk Environment, Mental Illness, Rehabilitation, Victimization.

Are young people who commit crimes, criminals, or victims?

Meta-Analysis: Early risk factors towards youth delinquency

The paving’s towards becoming a youth offender can start as early as inside a mother’s womb. Consider the effects on an unborn fetus from excessive maternal alcohol or drug abuse during pregnancy. This can lead to the fetus being born with a variety mental conditions that stem from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder[i]. According to Health Canada Each year in Canada, between 123 and 740 babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder and an estimated 1,000 babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Effects (based on 370,000 births per year) (Health Canada, 1997).

The life‐long neurological impairments found in people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders include learning disabilities, impulsivity, hyperactivity, social ineptness, and poor judgment, which can increase susceptibility to victimization and involvement in the criminal justice system (CJS) (Diane K Fast, 2009). Overall, there is relatively little empirical information on the impact of FASD upon the youth criminal justice system. However, in a study of young Canadian forensic inpatients who had been remanded for a psychiatric assessment, 1% met the criteria for FAS and 22.3% met the criteria for ARND[ii] (Verbrugge, 2003).

Much of what is known about the social and behavioral expressions of FASD can be attributed to the work of the Washington group[iii]. The Washington group examined the co-morbidity between FASD and other mental disorders in greater depth. A descriptive study of 25 adults with FASD found that 92% of the sample met the criteria for a clinical disorder according to the DSM-IV[iv]; diagnoses included alcohol or drug dependence [v](60%), major depressive disorder[vi] (44%), psychotic disorders [vii](40%), bipolar I disorder [viii](20%), anxiety disorders [ix](20%), eating disorders [x](16%), and dysthymic disorder [xi](4%). Relatively high prevalence rates of personality disorders were also found; avoidant personality disorder [xii](6%), antisocial personality disorder [xiii](19%), and dependent personality disorder [xiv](14%) (Verbrugge, 2003). A majority of the previously listed mental health conditions effect a person’s ability to function effectively through day-to-day activities, such as: Maintaining employment, social activities, personal & meaningful relationships, and even moral decision making (Grant, 2019).

A study conducted closer to home concluded that in Manitoba alone roughly 7.2 out of 1,000 births occurring at Thompson General Hospital in 1994 suffered from FASD (Robert J. Williams PhD, Odaibo, & McGee, 1999).

There may be a correlation between low income and unemployment that increases alcohol abuse. A few population-based studies have corroborated these findings (Popovici & French, 2013). In combination these factors may play a significant role in creating the circumstances that increase the risks of youth moving towards delinquency; all of which are completely out of the youth’s hands during conception and birth.

Meta-analysis: Early exposure to high-risk environments during childhood development.

Research over the past few decades on normal child development and on development of delinquent behavior has shown that individual, social, and community conditions as well as their interactions influence behavior. There is general agreement that behavior, including antisocial and delinquent behavior, is the result of a complex interplay of individual biological and genetic factors and environmental factors, starting during fetal development (as previously stated in Meta-Analysis of early risk factors towards youth delinquency) and continuing throughout life (Bock & Goode, 1996). Clearly, genes affect biological development, but there is no biological development without environmental input. Thus, both biology and environment influence behavior.

           The early years of a child’s life are very important for later health and development. One of the main reasons is how fast the brain grows starting before birth and continuing into early childhood. Although the brain continues to develop and change into adulthood, the first 8 years can build a foundation for future learning, health, and life success (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021). Children are born ready to learn and have many skills to learn over many years. They depend on parents, family members, and other caregivers as their first teachers to develop the right skills to become independent and lead healthy and successful lives. Children grow and learn best in a safe environment where they are protected from neglect and from extreme or chronic stress with plenty of opportunities to play and explore.

One of the key factors hindering proper childhood development is related to family dynamics and functioning (e.g., poor supervision, over-permissiveness, inconsistent or overly strict discipline, a weak bond of affection and the inability to set clear limits) (SAVIGNAC, 2009).

Children without positive parenting are more at risk for their own relationship troubles, depression, anxiety, and aggression, among other negative outcomes. Children who experience overly rigid or strict discipline can have issues with control of others, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other anxious behaviors, together with the mindset that the world is dangerous, according to Sharron Frederick, LCSW[xv] (Lindberg, 2020). On the other end of the spectrum is the rebellious child who fights with their parents, breaks the rules, and engages in negative behaviors.

           We must also factor in is exposure to parental and/or sibling criminality during childhood development. In a longitudinal study of 394 families in England, David P. Farrington, professor of criminology at Cambridge University, found that approximately 4% of these families accrued almost half of the convictions of the entire sample: “The fact that delinquency is transmitted from one generation to the next is indisputable. Fewer than 5% of the families accounted for almost half of the criminal convictions in the entire sample. To achieve such concentration of crime in a small number of families, it is necessary that the parents and the brothers and sisters of offenders also be unusually likely to commit criminal acts.” (Farrington, 1977, p. 109).

The findings for England, though dramatic and for a different culture and country, comport with the earlier U.S. research as summarized by Professor Kevin Wright of the State University of New York at Binghamton: The Gluecks[xvi] determined that delinquents were more likely than nondelinquents to have delinquent fathers and mothers. Subsequent studies supported the Gluecks' findings, observing that delinquent boys were more likely to have delinquent or criminal parents. In a study of the families of African American delinquents in St. Louis, Robins found that a child's delinquent behavior was associated with 1) arrests of one or both parents in their adult years, and 2) a history of juvenile delinquency on the part of the parents. Children with two parents with criminal histories were at extremely high risk of delinquency (Wright & Wright, 1993). Girls involved in crime tend to partner with (if not marry) men with criminal records (West, 1982). Jill Leslie Rosenbaum of California State University, describing young delinquent women in her study, states: “The men in the wards' lives bore a striking resemblance to the men chosen by their mothers. Many were significantly older than the girls and had criminal records.” (Rosenbaum, 1989).

Furthermore, within the household of families where there is a high level of conflict and animosity between parents, children are at a greater risk of developing emotional, social, and behavioral problems, as well as difficulties with concentration and educational achievement; which by itself sets out a chain reaction towards increasing the chances of turning to youth crime as mentioned in a study done at the University of Western Ontario (Lochner, 2007).      

Conflict between parents’ harms kids in part because of a spillover effect[xvii]: parents in high-conflict relationships tend to be worse parents, engaging in more criticism, aggression, making threats, shouting, and hitting. High-conflict relationships can also produce lax and inconsistent parenting: parents who simply do not pay much attention to their children. In either case, children may fail to form a secure attachment to parents as a result. But parental conflict also seems to harm kids even apart from its effects on parenting. Researchers have proposed a variety of frameworks and mechanisms that may explain this process. To give one example, in the struggle to understand their parents' conflict, children can come to blame themselves or find harmful ways of coping with the conflict. In addition, on top of their negative emotions, children experience physiological reactions related to stress that may harm their brain development (Sutherland A. , 2014).

           Apart from conflict between parents, just over 75,000 children and youth were victims of police-reported violent crime just in 2008 (Statistics Canada, 2008). According to self-reported data from the 2014 General Social Survey on Victimization (GSS), one-third (33%) of Canadians aged 15 and older experienced some form of maltreatment during childhood. Child maltreatment includes physical and/or sexual abuse before the age of 15 by someone aged 18 or older, as well as witnessing violence by a parent or guardian against another adult (Statistics Canada, 2015).

Depending on at what stage of development a child experiences maltreatment (or through all stages) the outcomes and severity may slightly vary; with most contributing to mental health issues that may contribute along with other factors towards delinquency in later stages of life. For example, during infancy an infant may become a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome [xviii]which can occur at any age but occurs most frequently in infants less than one year of age. A baby’s demands, especially crying, can become the trigger for a frustrated parent or caregiver to shake a child. The outcome for infants who suffer brain damage from shaking can range from no apparent effects to permanent disability, including developmental delay, seizures and/or paralysis, blindness and even death. Survivors may have significant delayed effects of neurological injury resulting in a range of impairments seen over the course of the child’s life, including cognitive deficits and behavioral problems. Recent Canadian data on children hospitalized for Shaken Baby Syndrome show that 19% died, 59% had neurological, visual impairment and/or other health effects and only 22% appeared well at discharge. Recent data indicate that babies who appear well at discharge may show evidence of cognitive or behavioral difficulties later, possibly by school age (Health Canada, 2001).

           By the second year (toddler age), a child will usually react to stress with a display of angry and emotional expression. Stress accompanying any kind of abuse causes children to feel distress and frustration. The excessive anger is displayed in the form of aggressive behavior and fighting with caregivers or peers. This form of response is intensified more with physical abuse.

           At the preschool stage, children have similar reactions to the different types of abuse as younger children do. However, by ages 4 and 5, children might express their reaction to abuse through different behavior. Boys tend to externalize their emotion through expression of anger, aggression, and verbal bullying (Leeb RT, 2007). Girls are more likely to internalize their behavioral attitudes by being depressed and socially withdrawn and having somatic symptoms such as headache and abdominal pain (Dehon C, 2010).

           At Primary school age, children develop through peer interaction. Abused children often have difficulties with school, including poor academic performance, a lack of interest in school, poor concentration during classes, and limited friendships (Zolotor A, 1999). They are often absent from school.

Adolescents who have experienced abuse might suffer from depression, anxiety, or social withdrawal. In addition, adolescents who live in violent situations tend to run away to what they perceive to be safer environments (Bartlett, Holditch-Davis, & Belyea, 2007), (\Andres-Lemay, Jamieson, & MacMillan, 2005). They engage in risky behavior such as smoking, drinking alcohol, early sexual activity, using drugs, prostitution, homelessness, gang involvement, and carrying guns (Leeb, Barker, & Strine, 2007), (Fargo, 2009), (Felitti, et al., 1998). Psychiatric disorders are often seen in adolescents who have been abused (Dehon & Weems, 2009), (MacMillan, et al., 1999), (Leslie, et al., 2010). In one long-term study, 80% of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder by the age of 21 (Leslie, et al., 2010).

           Some mental health issues caused by poor family dynamic functions and abuse become apparent before birth or close to, during, and shortly after birth. Some can be identified in early childhood; and others may not be evident until late childhood or during adolescence. All of which in combination with other circumstances such as poor peer relations (e.g., antisocial/delinquent peer associations, unconstructive ties with peers) can create the perfect recipe for young people to turn to crime (Annie K. Yessine, 2011).

Meta-analysis: How friends’ involvement in crime affects the risk of offending and victimization.

I have discussed various ways that poor family functions and parental choices effect a youth’s development throughout the course of their lives thus far. The ongoing theme has placed a large emphasis on mental disorders that arise and raise the risk of pathways towards youth delinquency. I will now explore the time in a youth’s life where they spend a substantial time away from their family, and how this continuous to add onto the pathway towards youth victimization and involvement in the Criminal Justice System. Where even if a youth was fortunate enough to be spared of mental anguish at home, he/she may still turn to early delinquency because of peer pressure or associations.

Peers exert a considerable influence on people’s behavior. They may stimulate positive behaviors, but also negative ones. In criminology, influence processes[xix] related to crime have received considerable attention. Several decades of research consistently show that association with delinquent peers influences the criminal behaviors of individuals (AGNEW, 1991),

The influence of delinquent friends on people’s own engagement in criminal activities is generally explained by differential association theory[xx] (Sutherland & Cressey, 1978). According to this theory, friends shape each other’s behavior primarily through the transmission of values, behavioral models, and social reinforcement. Akers’ (Akers, 1973) elaborated on Sutherland’s theory by stating that individuals learn behavior by observing and imitating that of others and people become offenders via social interaction with others already involved in crime.

Yet this research has generally approached the influence processes as if all individuals are equally likely to be influenced. Sutherland and Cressey (Sutherland & Cressey, 1978) have specified that the influence of delinquent friends is stronger the earlier the association is made, the longer the duration of the association, the more frequently the association occurs, and the closer the association. As such, the more frequently people engage in activities with delinquent friends and the more intimate these associations are, the more these friends will transmit delinquent values and act as role models, and the higher the likelihood that individuals adapt their behaviors to those of their friends.

The few studies that have examined whether peer delinquency is related to victimization show that adolescents who associate with delinquent friends are at higher risk of victimization (Fisher & Miller, 2006). Victimization risk is often explained using lifestyle and routine activity theories[xxi]. The essential proposition of these theories is that crime occurs when motivated offenders encounter suitable targets in the absence of capable guardianship (Pratt & Turanovic, 2015). As such, people who more often encounter potential offenders would have an increased risk of victimization. Given that delinquent peer contact makes exposure to motivated offenders a more frequent occurrence, it is to be expected that those who frequently associate with criminal others have an increased risk of becoming victimized themselves. Moreover, because offenders have a general tendency to associate with other offenders, people who associate with offenders need not necessarily fear victimization by their own delinquent friends (although that also occurs), but they are at increased risk of being victimized by friends of friends. So, whereas conventional friends may act as capable guardians, effectively protecting individuals from victimization, this may be less true for delinquent friends. Not only are friends who interact daily or who are closely attached to each other more likely to serve as an example, transmit values, and reinforce each other’s behavior, they are also more likely to meet the friends and foes of their friends.

After discussing and researching one topic of peer activity it is also important to mention the aspect of bullying. Youths who frequently bully are at risk for later criminality when this condition is accompanied by a high level of psychiatric symptoms (Sourander, Jensen, & R?nning, 2007). Frequent bullies should be actively screened for psychiatric problems. Bullying is associated with conduct problems, hyperactivity, and school problems which I have previously mentioned may arise from dysfunctional family structure or prebirth defects caused from alcohol abuse. Some research has shown that the aggression displayed by bullies is likely to reflect a controlled behavior that is oriented toward achieving instrumental outcomes.

Recent studies of bullying provide evidence for contagion effects[xxii] in victimization. When adolescents befriend peers who are bullied, their own odds of becoming victims of bullying rise (Sijtsema, 2012) creating an endless cycle.

Rehabilitation for young offenders.

For many youths, incarceration seems to only worsen delinquency. Previous incarceration is the most important determinant of the likelihood of being sentenced again, says Saskatoon lawyer Kearny Healy. His book, Tough on kids (Green & Healy, 2003), offers evidence that youth are likely to be pushed further into delinquency because of their experiences in jail.

Canada has taken steps to decrease its youth incarceration rate, and instead to offer community resources to guide youth away from a life of crime. The Youth Criminal Justice Act, which came into effect in April 2003, obliges police to take alternative measures – such as issuing a caution, or referring youth to appropriate programs – before they proceed to an arrest (Department of Justice Canada, 2013). The stated aim of the Act is to address the circumstances which underlie youth crime, and to rehabilitate offenders.

A notable organization called The John Howard Society is a Canadian non-profit organization that seeks to develop understanding and effective responses to the problem of crime and prison reform. The John Howard Society has conducted an experimental program established by the John Howard Society of Ottawa in 2000, where the target group for the program were young offenders who exhibited high needs and were in jeopardy of being placed in custody or on long-term probation (the program was later extended through to July 2002. The assessment focused on this two-year period).

The Early Intervention for youth program targeted high-risk youth (male and female) charged with serious offences. The program provided intensive, individual counselling to help young offenders develop anger-control and pro-social problem-solving skills. The program matched the Youth Justice Fund’s criteria of non-custodial measures that help rehabilitate and reintegrate young offenders into mainstream society.

To enter the program, the youth had to plead guilty, and the court had to agree to postpone sentencing for at least three months. Some participants were already in open custody.

Most participants were referred to the program from court and probation officials and police. Group homes and custody facilities also referred some youths to the program. A single, full-time counsellor ran the program; the John Howard Society of Ottawa provided administrative support.

Once accepted to the program, a participant was assessed according to the Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI[xxiii]) checklist of 53 items. This inventory measures the level and type of services each participant needs. A treatment plan, tailored to the needs of each participant, was then developed in collaboration with the individual, his or her parents, the probation supervisor, and the counsellor.

In a Project assessment Charles Singer of FMP/Contextual Research conducted an evaluation. This consisted of a review of documents (project proposals and case files), along with interviews with the program counsellor, referral agencies and Department of Justice staff. In all, 226 participants were accepted into the program. Most (192) were male, and 80 percent of all participants were aged 16 or younger.

The key findings from this assessment when the evaluation was completed was that 62% of all participants had completed the program. At three months and six months after admittance, many participants were assessed again using LSI. Median scores of eight and seven, respectively, were recorded. These indicate low levels of need. The median score of all participants upon entry to the program was 13, indicating a moderate level of need.

The evaluation determined that the program was extremely cost effective, accepted referrals quickly, and developed effective individualized treatment plans. Interviews with referring agencies indicated an ongoing need for this type of service (Department of Justice Canada, 2015).

 Conclusion: Are young people who commit crimes, criminals, or victims?

  Young people who commit crimes are victims. Young people from the time of birth need guidance and structure in their lives to be led to become model and successful citizens today. On the other hand, many parents unknowingly help pave the way towards youth delinquency. There is a lack of understanding on childhood development from parents.

The Washington post reported that Currently, an astonishing 45 percent of the 6 million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended (Weese, 2018). Many parents are not (financially or mentally) ready nor invested into becoming parents. Thus, creating an environment (low-income, high-risk environment) that does not grant a child the chance to become a model citizen. Young people cannot choose what circumstances they are born into.

 Some may argue that criminality is genetic, but genes alone do not cause individuals to become criminal. Moreover, a genetic predisposition towards a certain behavior does not mean that an individual is destined to become a criminal (Tehrani & Mednick, 2000).

Child development has become a rather important issue in Canada, so much so that the Canadian Federal government has begun offering childcare subsidy for low-income families. The Federal government has also established that to work in a childcare center one must show proof of completion of a two to four-year college program in early childhood education or A bachelor's degree in child development.

Children are humanities future, but if we don’t educate the present population, we will continue the cycle of youth victimization in society and the criminal justice system.

[i] Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy.

[ii] Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder refers to a complex range of disabilities in neurodevelopment and behavior, adaptive skills, and self-regulation in the presence of confirmed PAE.

[iii] The Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) promotes and coordinates international cooperation in health statistics focusing on the development of disability measures suitable for census and national surveys.

[iv] DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, the official source on definitions related to mental illness.

[v] Group of physical and mental symptoms that can range from mild to life-threatening.

[vi] A mental disorder characterized by a persistently depressed mood and long-term loss of pleasure or interest in life, often with other symptoms such as disturbed sleep, feelings of guilt or inadequacy, and suicidal thoughts.

[vii] Severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions. People with psychoses lose touch with reality. Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations.

[viii] Defined by manic episodes that last at least 7 days, or by manic symptoms that are so severe that the person needs immediate hospital care.

[ix] refers to specific psychiatric disorders that involve extreme fear or worry and includes generalized anxiety disorder.

[x] Serious mental illness, characterized by eating, exercise and body weight or shape becoming an unhealthy preoccupation of someone's life.

[xi] Continuous long-term (chronic) form of depression.

[xii] chronic feelings of inadequacy and are highly sensitive to being negatively judged by others.

[xiii] Characterized by persistent antisocial, irresponsible, or criminal behavior, often impulsive or aggressive, with disregard for any harm or distress caused to other people, and an inability to maintain long-term social and personal relationships.

[xiv] A type of anxious personality disorder. People with DPD often feel helpless, submissive, or incapable of taking care of themselves.

[xv] Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

[xvi] Sheldon Glueck was a Polish-American criminologist. He and his wife Eleanor Glueck collaborated extensively on research related to juvenile delinquency and developed the "Social Prediction Tables" model for predicting the likelihood of delinquent behavior in youth.

[xvii] Spillover Effect refers to the tendency of one person's emotion to affect how other people around them feel.

[xviii] Shaken baby syndrome is a form of child abuse that causes severe brain damage.

[xix] Influence processes refer to the five ways leaders shape organizational variables including people and resources.

[xx] In criminology, differential association is a theory developed by Edwin Sutherland proposing that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior.

[xxi] Lifestyle and routine activity theories both view victimization through the lens of the convergence of a motivated offender, an attractive target/victim, and the absence of capable guardianship.

[xxii] Behavioral contagion is a form of social contagion involving the spread of behavior through a group.

[xxiii] The LSI assessment is a quantitative survey of offender attributes and offender situations relevant for making decisions about levels of supervision and treatment.