Crimes by children have been rising at a faster rate than the juvenile population. About half of such crimes involve the traditional offenses of the theft, breaking and entering, and vandalism, but serious, violent crimes are going up at a startling rate. The rate of armed robbery, rape, and murder by juveniles had doubled in a decade. If all the needs of the adolescent could be met adequately and without delay, without violating laws, there would be no point in violation, and a minimum of internal, indirect, and direct control would suffice to secure conformity. The objection may be made that many violations are committed for the excitement of the violation itself. However, other possibilities for excitement exist besides violating laws and regulations.
No complete and generally satisfactory list of needs, either of children or adults, has "been compiled. There does seem to be essential consensus on the needs for affection, and security. Although these categories do not exhaust the needs of children, they are, at least, a beginning.
Only some of the child’s needs, particularly those of the adolescent, can be satisfied within the family. The family does, however, also greatly affect the chances the adolescent will have in satisfying his needs in the school, in his peer group, and later, in his occupation. If he is able to satisfy his needs reasonably well outside the home, in socially approved ways, there is less pressure to achieve them through delinquent behavior.
As there are limitations upon what can be achieved by indirect and direct control, so also are there limitations as to need satisfactions. Adolescents have wants that must be deferred, at least, such as for foreign sport cars, sexual satisfactions, and adult income and status. Likewise, not everyone can be the captain of the football team, the campus queen or the winner of scholarship honors. At present, there is no way that adolescents can always be made to feel loved and secured and no assurance that there will always be something interesting to do. On the other side of the ledger, there is always some work to be done to obtain, in a legitimate manner, whatever recognition and privileges are possible.
Even though complete and immediate satisfaction of needs is not ordinarily possible, families can go far toward the legitimate satisfaction of needs within the family, and they can prepare and launch the adolescent in his interaction with school, peer group, and occupation, otherwise they can fail almost totally in helping to meet needs in and outside the family through acceptable behavior.
According to the author, juveniles commit violations because ______.
A.they want to derive pleasure from the violation itself B.their needs are not satisfied completely and immediately C.violating laws and regulations offers them greater excitement D.not enough control is exercised to make them conform to laws