Ashford University

CRJ 301

Compare and contrast treatment options for special populations identified in our text (i.e., early starters, juvenile gangs, or juvenile sex offenders) and advocate for, or against, shifting juveniles in this category to treatment options outside normal juvenile delinquency programs. The three types of juvenile delinquents that most significantly depart from the norm are the very young delinquents often called early starters, gang-involved youth, and juvenile sex offenders. In the early starters category are those who begins to commits crimes around the age of 14 and younger. Within this category are two distinct groups the adolescent limited and the antisocial persistent. Adolescent limited offenders tend to stop their misbehavior around the end of their adolescent years. On the other hand, antisocial persistent continue their criminal behavior past their adolescent years into their adulthood (Listwan, 2013, Sect 9.2).