The Concept of Criminal Justice and Society Essay

The Concept of Criminal Justice and Society - Essay Example It has become a known fact that the Westwood Community has some serious issues of illegal youth activity escalating. Underage drinking and illegal street racing have begun to create an unsafe environment for not only the young people involved but the residents of the neighborhood in general. To combat this issue the SARA method has been placed into affect to try and analyze and distinguish the causative factors into the behaviors that are currently taking place. An in-depth study of the Westwood community showed that the young people involved in deviant activities were being influenced by outside factors that were not found to be a part of the neighborhood. Officers investigating these activities believed that the young people were not looking for trouble necessarily, but rather experimenting in the behaviors. However, their actions showed that they were putting a great risk of endangerment onto their own lives, as well as innocent drivers on the streets. The officers also noted that the age range of the drinking behavior seemed to be situated around youths who were in the bracket of 13- 18 years of age. The occurrence of underage drinking is normally found to be in this category, as well as in the 12-20 years of age population, and the 18-20 age group population (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2006). One of the main detectable factors leading to the drinking had a lot to do with the peer pressure that was observed from a dist ance by the investigating officers. Unfortunately, this is one of the prime reasons that young people begin to drink initially. Gathered data details that a number of fourth graders, and a good percentage of sixth graders felt pressurized to drink, and if they didn't they were told they would get picked on and ridiculed in front of their friends during school (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2006). The investigation team has decided to discuss the underlying causes and conditions with the community action team of Westwood in the hopes that a reliable and effective plan can be put in place to put an end to the activities occurring. The four main concerns that have been pinpointed are seemingly acceptable in order to move forward to correct the problems before they escalate, or someone gets hurt. Underage Youth Driving while Drinking Community Disturbance Promoting a Danger to Other Members of the Community Possible Criminal Damage Taking Place Analysis The investigating officers are planning on making a schedule to observe exactly what times and days the juveniles are gathering together to engage in the street racing and drinking. It is believed that by doing this, more identifiable hotspots can be pinpointed in other areas of the community, and the main causative factors will be readily identifiable. By investigating the causes, the investigation can move further and finally be able to try and take control of the situation by coming to a credible and logical way of putting an end to the illegal intentions of the juveniles. Highlighting the days on which the activity is most prevalent will help in determining when to use legal means to get the disorder stabilized and finally under control. One main cause for the street racing has already been