THE LINK BETWEEN JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DRUG CRIME

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INTRODUCTION
“Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.”
- Harold S Hulbert, child psychiatrist

JUVENILE JUSTICE

Juvenile justice is the area of criminal law applicable to persons not old enough to be held
responsible for criminal acts in most states juvenile justice law is applicable to those
under 18 years old. Juvenile law is mainly governed by the juvenile justice codes of
states. The main goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation rather than
punishment.

Juvenile justice is administered through a juvenile or family court, however, but juvenile
court does not have jurisdiction in cases in which minors are charged as adults. Where
parental neglect or loss of control is a problem, the juvenile court may seek out foster
homes for the juvenile, treating the child as a ward of the court.

DRUG CRIME

The relationship between drugs and crime has a long history and is a mainstay of fiction,
widely documented in media reports, and the subject of substantial scientific
investigation. Drugs are not always illegal, and their sale and use does not always lead to
crime. Nevertheless, drugs and crime are related to each other in at least three ways. First,
the immediate effect of drugs on the mind and body may create mental or physical states
that somehow facilitate aggression. Second, drugs are connected to crime when a drug
user has a pressing need to consume them but lacks the necessary funds to do so such
situations may lead to predatory crimes, including burglary, robbery, or theft, among
others. A third way in which drugs and crime are related is that some psychoactive
substances are illegal to use, trade (buy or sell), or grow/manufacture. When drugs are
illegal, illicit market participants are unlikely to report being victimized to the police,
which means that predators are more likely to prey on them; in turn, there may be
retaliation when this happens. In short, drugs can be related to crime if they cause a
mental or physical state conducive to lawbreaking, lead to a perceived need that results in
the motivation to steal, or result in a decrease in access to formal mediation and a
corresponding increase in predatory and retaliatory crimes.

THE JUVENILE DRUG-CRIME CYCLE

For more than two decades, researchers, clinicians, and juvenile justice program
administrators have known of the link between drug use (including
alcohol) and juvenile crime. In many communities, the majority of juveniles
currently entering the justice system are drug users. Other research indicates
that juvenile drug use is related to recurring, chronic, and violent delinquency
that continues well into adulthood. Juvenile drug use is also strongly related
to poor health, deteriorating family relationships, worsening school performance,

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and other social and psychological problems.
The drug-crime link does not mean that drug use necessarily leads to criminal
activity (or vice versa). However, research indicates that a relatively small
group of serious and violent juvenile offenders who are also serious drug users
accounts for a disproportionate amount (more than half, according to one
national study) of all serious crimes committed by delinquents.

INTERNATIONAL PERSEPECTIVE