The Juvenile Delinquency

I arrive home to find my son’s friend rummaging through my property. According to the setting of the scene, it appears that he is stealing. He smells of cannabis sativa, an indication that he is doing this under duress of the powerful illicit drug. The law clearly dictates that such an incident should be reported to the police for investigation. Although the boy tells me that he is placing a note for my son, it is clear that he is lying since one does not need to check the drawer to be able to place a note.

At the scene, I cannot immediately establish the whereabouts of my son. I conclude that either he is away and unaware of the ongoing events, or he is hiding somewhere nearby waiting for the loot. This is a complicated situation as it involves my son, and I have sent away the most probable suspect. I can neither report to the police nor call my son since I may alarm him if he is involved in the plot to steal my jewelry. His friend smells of a controlled substance, and I do not know if my son is taking the same drug.

I ascertain whether the boy broke the door himself, or someone else was involved in forcing entry. I am thinking that my son could have deliberately shown his friend the location of the jewelry so that they could steal it. If I report this case to the police, there is a possibility that my son could also become an accomplice in the plot to steal. He could also be charged with smoking marijuana. In addition, I am not sure whose idea it was to steal my jewelry, and my son’s friend could just be a tool for stealing the property, with my son as the plotter.

I decide to call the father to my son’s friend to tell him of the situation. In addition, I ask him whether he knows of any deviant behavior concerning his son. Later, I decide to call my son and ask him whether he knows of a plot to steal my jewelry. I also enquire from him whether he knows of any deviant behavior on the part of his friend.

If I call the police, it is likely that their interpretation of the scene will be that a serious criminal offence has been committed. It is possible that the police are not the best to report such a minor cases to (Heilbrun et al, 2005). However, my interpretation of the situation is that the scene is just a part of a domestic issue. I do not know of any incidence of my son’s involvement in burglaries. In addition, I am not aware that he had thieves for friends. The best solution for the situation is to try to convince the boy’s parents to put some rehabilitation measures on the boy. For my son I would put him in a rehabilitation program if I found out that he was involved in a burglary or a drug taking activity.

I might have let the young men get away with a crime, but it may also be a foolhardy decision to have your own son and your acquaintance’s son in jail because of a few pieces of jewelry. The crime committed is not as serious as it sounds. In the first place, I do not find any missing jewelry. In addition, I am not sure of the intention of my son’s friend. Moreover, I have not yet established the reason why my son’s friend would decide to steal from his friend’s family. Maybe a reasonable motivation is behind the decision to rummage through the drawers. There is also a peer pressure reason behind almost every crime committed by a juvenile (Lahey, 2003). In my interpretation and judgment of the situation, I do not consider to have hurt any third party since the property at risk belongs to me.