Many of the students who begin participating in delinquent behavior in schools exhibit specific behaviors before heading down this path. Students often begin skipping out of school for the entire day or even just for a few classes. Homework suffers and often goes undone. These students may begin to show symptoms of anger and aggression toward both teachers and other students. When these behaviors start to appear, teachers and school officials must step in and take steps to cut off juvenile delinquency before it starts. Early intervention can help reduce the delinquency rates in schools.
While delinquency happens in other settings, specific types of delinquency happen in the schools. According to a study by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, juvenile delinquents participate in such crimes as assault and battery, disorderly conduct, drug violations, and trespassing. These delinquents sometimes participate in other activities away from the school setting as well. Many of the behaviors are classified as misdemeanors when dealing with students, but some of them fall into the felony category, which can have an impact on the student for the rest of his life.
Because juvenile delinquents often have little respect for the authority of parents, teachers and police officers, typical punishments do not often work. Teachers give them detentions, keep them after class and give them poor grades, only to find the behavior continues or even escalates. This often creates a disruptive situation for the other students in the classroom. When these students get out of control, teachers should work closely with authorities to remove them from the classroom. While juvenile delinquents would best be served in a facility trained to deal with these problems, many of them remain in the regular classrooms.
Many schools implement programs to help reduce and eliminate the risk of juvenile delinquency in the school. These programs are meant to make students feel safer and let parents know the schools policy on these issues. Increasing the availability and variety of after school activities helps keep those who may become juvenile delinquents busy. Schools should also develop a firm policy on what steps are taken when a child exhibits unacceptable behavior. For instance, a first offense requires detention. A second offense warrants a meeting between parents and teachers; a third offense requires counseling. A fourth offense leads to a call to authorities. For a program to be successful, schools must fully train teachers and staff members; the program must be implement fully.