The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

As in the responses to the closed ended questions, peer pressure and hanging
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around with the wrong crowd are seen in the interviews as the most important causes of
delinquency.
I think a lot of it has to do with peer pressure and the decision at the time.
If they decide to get into trouble, it just kind of snowballs to the point
where they’re going to do it and they don’t think of the consequences.
I think the youths that I have contact with are getting into trouble because
they have fallen in with the wrong crowd. I think that a lot of them are just
in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think peers play a big part in what
is going on with our jobs here.
Ninety percent of the problem is hanging around with the wrong crowd.
You are who you associate with.
Underlying these perceptions is the belief that delinquency is a personal choice; not a
symptom of environmental factors. Low self-esteem, however, was another factor
mentioned as a possible cause of delinquency.
There’s a lack of communication out there between today’s youth and the
community itself. I don’t feel that they’re really needed for anything
important. I think their self-esteem is low, there’s nothing for them to do,
their parents aren’t there to boost their self-esteem or the parents are there
to do everything for them to the point where they don’t have to do
anything, so they’ve got time on their hands and they just go out and get
into trouble just to see if they can do it.
Although decision makers generally do not see economic factors playing a role, a
few officers did point to the lack of opportunities and money as possible explanations of
delinquency. Due to the lack of jobs and opportunities for further education,