Criminology and Public Policy: Comprehensive Literature Review

This literature review delves into the multifaceted field of criminology, examining the complex interplay of factors contributing to juvenile delinquency and antisocial behavior. The review synthesizes research from various scholars, including Steinberg, Porter, and Sharmin, to explore the influence of psychosocial maturity, risk factors (individual, family, peer, and community), and environmental and genetic factors on criminal behavior. It also investigates the effectiveness of interventions, such as multisystemic therapy, and the impact of public policy on juvenile justice outcomes. The analysis highlights the importance of understanding the developmental differences between adolescents and adults, as well as the role of mental health and substance abuse in juvenile offending. The review emphasizes the need for comprehensive approaches to address the root causes of delinquency and implement effective prevention strategies.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature Review
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Name:

1LITERATURE REVIEW
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
Reference.........................................................................................................................................6

2LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The different types of criminological thought will be premised upon moral, theological
and cultural beliefs and other multi disciplinary and scientific investigations. The long term
consequences of crime and deviances will be recognized institutionally and this will help in the
utilization of research methods and theories These rapid institutionalization of criminology is a
self contained discipline and this it has profound consequences on different subjects. These paper
will analyze the literature review of criminology and public policy from the previous annotated
bibliography that is carried out in assignment 1.
Literature Review
According to Steinberg, Cauffman & Monahan (2015) the involvement in criminology
and delinquency is generally high among the adolescence. It has been found that only a small
proportion of the youth are involved in anti-social behavior and it is also vital to understand why
the juvenile offenders try to desist from different kinds of antisocial activities. The psychologists
has also proposed different models of psychosocial maturity and this are discussed in the paper
with special attention to only three aspects of psychosocial maturity. Moreover, the researcher
has also mapped the different criminological theories of antisocial behavior and this has been
useful in explaining why the adolescents people are more engaged in antisocial behavior.
Porter (2015) has stated that it is important to analyze the profiteering and the spending
that is funded by the private as well as the government businesses. This is more important than
imparting education to children. The administrators and the lawmakers must try to practice the
different disciplinary actions and this will help them to keep the students attracted in educational

3LITERATURE REVIEW
institutions. Seal, Nguyen & Beyer (2014) has highlighted that the adverse outcomes and the
severity that is associated with violence youth exposure are the primary concern for the public
health priorities. It is important for the researcher to become aware of the different prevention
strategies that needs to be identified with the root cause and the other structures that are
associated with it. However, these causes, structure and factors that are associated with exposure
of violence is multifaceted and complex. The social characteristics of different individuals will
influence the ability and capacity of work that has to be done by them. The collective efficacy is
also associated with variations in violence and social control that is categorized as the ability of
the individuals to lower the rate of violence.
According to Steinberg (2017) the criminal culpability of the juveniles will be
transformed with the passage of time and this will be beneficial I the transformation policy. The
differences between the development of adults and adolescents is also highlighted in the paper
and the different implication differences under criminal law will help in underpinning the
differences. Various studies has also been highlighted to understand the impact of variations in
juvenile justice policy and outcomes other than recidivism.
Sharmin (2015) has highlighted that it is important to understand the problems associated
in juvenile delinquency. It is vital to understand the mentality of children and they are considered
as an important asset of the company. The apprehension rates for youth and children are
offending and this will help in maintaining the pace of slow decline. The apprehension rate for
the violent crime has also increased with the passage of time. It has been found that the
percentage of youth who are caught for juvenile justice is highest and this juvenile crimes are
mostly because of status offenses that related to violent crimes and zero tolerance policies.
Moreover, the youth violence in United States has also showed an increasing trend and this

4LITERATURE REVIEW
suggests that juvenile offending is considered as non-violent. There are several important
factors that causes juvenile democracy and this factors has been discussed in detail by the
author. The individual and the family risk factors are the major factors that contributes to
juvenile democracy. On the other hand, several mental health factors also plays an important role
in juvenile democracy and this type of personality disorder is especially seen in case of child.
The author has also given special emphasis on substance abuse factors and this factor plays an
important role to find out how children in this era fall in the tarp of juvenile democracy.
Moreover, there are also some important risk factors that are discussed in detail in the paper i.e.
individual factors, peer factors, family factors and school and community factors. Labeling
theory has been described in detail in order to understand the different concepts that are
associated with criminology. These theory also describes that children from poor background are
deviant and this happens particularly in case of male counterparts. The features of effective
interventions for the youth offenders are considered as the main starting point for understanding
the effective interventions in this areas.
According to Johnides et al.(2017), the role played by both environmental and genetic
factors will influence the intergenerational transmission in serious crimes. The paper has also
highlighted the non-criminal outcomes among the different participants. The long term impact of
juvenile delinquency may affect the other people in the community who do not remain engaged
in criminal activities. The multisystematic therapy details are also discussed in detail in the paper
and the community based treatment based has laid significant effects on the different types of
criminal activities. The findings of the paper are consistent with the family based treatments and
thus this has played a major role in reducing stress among the people. The court and criminal
records will also be available and the public can assess this in a better way.

5LITERATURE REVIEW
Conclusion
The factors that contributes to delinquency has been discussed in detail and this has been
found in both mental and physical make up of the individuals. These difficult situation is
encountered among children and this is considered as the main factor of delinquency. The mental
defect is not considered as an important cause of delinquency and thus this may be considered as
a causal factor that plays a major role in combination with the other factors. Therefore, the
combination of this causal factors are considered diverse and these factors will play a major role
in these case.

6LITERATURE REVIEW
Reference
Johnides, B. D., Borduin, C. M., Wagner, D. V., &Dopp, A. R. (2017). Effects of multisystemic
therapy on caregivers of serious juvenile offenders: A 20-year follow-up to a randomized
clinical trial. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 85(4), 323.
Monahan, K., Steinberg, L., & Piquero, A. R. (2015). Juvenile justice policy and practice: A
developmental perspective. Crime and justice, 44(1), 577-619.
Porter, T. R. (2015). The school-to-prison pipeline: The business side of incarcerating, not
educating, students in public schools. Ark. L. Rev., 68, 55.
Seal, D., Nguyen, A., & Beyer, K. (2014). Youth exposure to violence in an urban setting. Urban
studies research, 2014.
Sharmin, S. (2015). AN OVERVIEW OVER RISK FACTORS OF JUVENILE
DELINQUENCY & THE FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION OF YOUTH
OFFENDERS. Port City International University Journal, 1851120791(01773225500),
142.
Steinberg, L. (2017). Adolescent Brain Science and Juvenile Justice Policymaking.