THEORIES OF DELINQUENCY, BY DONALD J. SHOEMAKER

Shoemaker starts the first chapter by telling the story of delinquency, crime rates committed by youth. He makes a comparison between 1980s and 1990s. Even though delinquency rates higher in 1980s, it is still a significant problem with its high rates in 1990s and now. The criminal behaviors committed by juveniles diverse. That is, it includes all kinds of activity accepted as crime by juveniles. He also differentiates between delinquency and status offenses. Status offenses are the crimes applied only to juveniles. All kinds of illegal acts, both criminal and status offenses, committed by youth under the age of 18 are delinquent behavior, and the youths committing this kind of acts are called juvenile delinquents. “This terminology officially developed in 1899, when the first code of juvenile delinquency was enacted in Chicago, Illinois”(p. 3). As it is seen in the work of Wiley Sander, juvenile crime problem has existed for centuries. However, the concern started after eighteenth and nineteenth century in Europe and America. This is a very important problem because “today’s delinquent is tomorrow’s criminal” (p. 4).