GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND PHRASES

AGE OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY

 Is the age when a child, fifteen (15) years and one (1) day old or above but below eighteen (18)
years of age, commits an offense with discernment.

ARREST

 Is the taking of a person into custody in order that he may be bound to answer for the
commission of an offense

BALANCED AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

 Is a principle in juvenile justice that requires a process of resolving conflicts with the
participation of the victim, the child in conflict with the law, and the community? It seeks to
obtain reparation for the victim; reconciliation between the victims, the child in conflict with
the law can be reintegrated into society, it also enhances public safety by involving the victim,
the child in conflict with the law, and the community in prevention strategies.

BEST INTREST OF THE CHILD

 Refers to the totality of the circumstances and conditions which are the most congenial to the
survival, protection and feelings of security of the child and most encouraging to the child’s
physical, psychological and emotional development. It also means the least detrimental
available alternative for safeguarding the growth and development of the child.

CASE STUDY REPORT

 Is a written report on the social case inquiry conducted by the social worker of the local
government unit of the Department of Social Welfare and Development or by the social worker
designated by the court of the social, cultural, economic and legal status or condition of the
child in conflict with the law? It shall include, among other matters: the child’s development
age; educational attainment; family and social relationships; the quality of the child’s peer
group; the strengths and weaknesses of the family; parental control; the child’s attitude
towards the offense; the harm of damage done to others resulting from the offenses, if ant; and
the attitude of the parents towards the child’s responsibility for the offense. The social worker
shall also include an initial determination of the child’s discern mentation of the child’s
discernment in the commission of the offense.
 CHILD IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW

 Refers to a child who alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense under
Philippine laws.

CLASSIFICATION

 Refers to assigning or grouping of inmates according to their respective sentence, gender, age,
nationality, health, criminal records, among others.

COMMITMENT

 Means the entrusting for confinement of an inmate to a jail by competent court or authority, for
the purposes of investigating the individual’s offense or transgression of the law.

COMMUNITY CONTINUUM

 Refers to the aftercare of a child in conflict with the law and provides continuous guidance and
support to the child in conflict with the law upon release from rehabilitation and subsequent
reintegration into society. Community continuum for the child includes timely release, suitable
residence, food, clothing, available employment and sufficient means to facilitate successful
reintegration in local government unit and other appropriate agencies.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

 Generally involves public service for nonprofit organization. It is also a penalty for criminal
actions that requires offenders to personality “payback” in time and effort working for non-
profit agency.

COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS

 A broad term encompassing a variety of correctional programs and strategies that draw on
resources in the community to assist offenders and reintegrate them back into the community.

COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS

 Refers to the programs provided in a community setting developed for purposes of

intervention and diversion, as well as rehabilitation of the child in conflict with the law, for
reintegration into his/her family and/or community.
 COMPARATIVE CRINILAN JUSTICE

 The act of investigating, evaluating, and comparing the criminal justice processes of more than
one country, culture, or institution

COMPETENT AUTHORITY

 Refers to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Courts, Metropolitan Trial Courts,
Sandigang Bayan, Congress of the Philippines Commission on Elections Bureau of Immigration,
Board of Pardon and Parole, and other administrative bodies or persons authorized by the law
to make arrest and commit a person to jail.

COMPLEX PENALTY

 One which is composed of three (3) distinct penalties each forming a period, the lightest of
which shall be the minimum, the next shall be the medium and the most severe the maximum

CONJUGAL VISIT

 A prison program that allows inmates to receive private visits from their spouses for the
purpose of maintaining normal interpersonal relationship’ refers to the visit of the spouse of
the detainee for the purpose of fulfilling marital obligation.

CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATION

 Is concerned with the management of adult and juvenile offenders after they are convicted by
the courts.

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

 Usually small, minimum-security institution that house both men and women with the goal or
normalizing the prison environment by integrating the daytime activities of the sexes.

COUNSEL

 An adviser, a person professionally engaged in the trial of the management of a case in court; a
legal advocate managing a case at law; a lawyer appointed or engaged to advise and represent
in legal matters a particular client, public officer or public body.

CRIME

 An act committed or omitted in violation of public law

 CRIME SCENE

 Is the place from which most physical evidence associated with the crime will be obtained

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

 Is the conduct of the processes more particularly the recognition, search, collection, handling,
preservation and documentation of physical evidence to include identification of witnesses and
arrest of suspect at the crime scene?

CRIMINAL ACTION

 Grounds for which the state prosecutes a person for an act or omission punishable by the law.
Rule 110-127 of the Rules of Court generally govern criminal action.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR

 He is the skilled person who is charged with the duty of conducting criminal investigation when
a crime is committed.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS

 The decision-making points from the initial investigation or arrest by police to eventual release
of the offender and his or her reentry into society; the various sequential criminal stages
through which the offender passes.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

 The aggregate of all the people and agencies that perform criminal justice function. Composed
of police, prosecution, courts, corrections and the communities they are also called the pillars of
criminal justice.

CUSTODIAL CENTER

 An institution secured by the PNP Units for the purpose of providing short term custody

GUARDIAN AD LITEM

 A person appointed by the court where the case is pending for a child who is a victim of, or a
witness to a crime to protect the best interest of the said child.
 HOUSE ARREST

 The incarceration sentence that uses the offender’s residence as the place of the punishment.
The offender is required to stay at home during specific periods of time, monitoring is done by
random phone calls and visits or by electric devices.

IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW

 Means taken into custody, detained, or charged with the commission of an act defined and
punished as a crime of offense under the law, including violations of traffic laws, rules and
regulations and ordinances of local government units.

INCARCERATION SENTENCES

 Include shock incarceration, placing offenders in confinement for a set period and then
releasing them to serve probation, confinement in jail and confinement in prison. The four basic
types are indeterminate (discretionary, determinate, presumptive and mandatory.

INFORMATION

 An accusation in writing charging a person with an offense subscribed by the prosecutor and
filled in the court.

INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE CHILD

 Refers to the apprehension or taking into custody of a child in conflict with the law by law
enforcement officers or private citizens.

INMATE SOCIAL CODE

 The informal set of rules that govern inmates while in prison.

INSTRUMENT OF RESTRAINTS

 A device, contrivance, tool or instrument used to hold back, keep in, check or control inmates;
e.g. handcuff

INSULAR PRISONER

 One who is sentenced to a prison term of three (3) years and one (1) day to death

INTERMEDIATE SENTENCE

 Refers to the containing the personal and other circumstances of a child in conflict with the law
prepared by the social worker assigned to assist the child entering the justice system.
 INETERVENTION

 Refers to a series of activities which are designed to address issues that caused the child to
commit an offense. It may take the form if and individual treatment program which may include
counseling, skills training, education, and other activities that will enhance his/her
psychological, emotional and psycho-social wellbeing.

INTERVENTION PROGRAM

 Refers to a series of individualized treatment activities or programs designed to address issues

that caused the child to commit an offense. These may include counseling skills, training,
education and other activities that are aimed to improve and enhance the child’s psychological,
emotional and psychosocial well-being.

INTERVIEW

 Means the simple questioning of a person who cooperates with the investigation. These are the
witnesses who voluntarily give their accounts about commission of a crime.

INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE

 Denotes a condition of a enforced, compulsory service of one to another no matter under what
forms such servitude may be disguised, involuntary servitude is a condition where one is forced
to work for another against his will and whether he is paid or not.

JURISDICTION

 Means fundamentally, the power or capacity given by the law or constitution to a a court or
tribunal to entertain, hear and determine certain controversies. In criminal cases, jurisdiction is
the authority to take cognizance of a criminal offense and to impose the penalty prescribed by
the law after a proper trial.

JUST DESERT

 The philosophy of justice that assert that, those who violate the rights of others deserve to be
punished. The severity of punishment should be commensurate with the seriousness of the
crime.

JUVENILE JUSTICE WELFARE SYSTEM

 Refers to a system that deals with the children at risk and children in conflict with the law,
provides appropriate proceedings, including programs and services for the prevention,
diversion, rehabilitation, re integration and after case to ensure their normal growth and
development.
 MANDATORY RELEASE

 A method of prison release under which an inmate is released after serving a legally required
portion of his or her sentence, minus good time credit.

MARK SYSTEM

 A system whereby prisoners could earn points “marks” for good behavior thereby shortening
their sentence, or gain marks for bad behavior, lengthening their sentence.

MIRANDA DOCTRINE

 A principle on the rights of a suspect from forced self-incrimination during police interrogation
as enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution’s Bill of Rights (Article III, Sec. 12)

MITTIMUS

 Is a process issued by the court after conviction to carry out the final judgment such as
commanding a prisoner warden to hold the accused in accordance with the terms of the
judgment.

NON-INCARCERATION SENTENCES

 Include fines, restitution or victim compensation, probation home confinement or house arrest,
electronic monitoring and community services.

NON SERIOUS OFFENSE

 Refers to an offense where the imposable penalty for the crime committed is not more that six
(6) years imprisonment.

OFFENDED PARTY

 Is the person who is entitled to civil indemnity in the civil action arising out of the criminal act
for which the accused is charged.

PEACEMAKING CRIMINOLOGY

 An approached that suggests that the solution to al social problems including crime is the
transformation of human being, the creation of communities of caring people, and universal
social justice.

PREVENTIVE DETENTION

 The incarceration of a defendant prior to trial because the court decides that the defendant is a
danger to community.
 PRISON GANG

 An exclusive and surreptitious groups of disruptive inmates who aim to control their
environment by engaging in intimidating and threatening behaviors; they are also involved in
criminal activity.

PRISON PSYCHOSIS

 A disorder where the offender enters the correction system with no evidence of mental
problems but because of an inability to cope with the rigors of confinement deteriorates to a
point where he or she becomes mentally ill.

PRISON RECORD

 Refers to the information concerning an inmate’s personal circumstances, the offense he

committed, the sentence imposed, the criminal case number, in the trial and appellate courts,
the date he commenced service of sentence, the date he was received for confinement, the place
of confinement, the date of expiration of his sentence, the number of previous convictions, if
any, and his behavior or conduct while in prison.

PRISONIZATION

 Socialization that occurs in prison and serves to draw the offender away from the values and
norms of the community into an antisocial mindset.

PROTECTION

 By segregating, criminals are being protected from further harm by criminals.

PROTECTIVE SECRITY

 The segregations, of inmates for their own safety.

REFORMATION

 Rehabilitating/ transforming of a convict into becoming a law abiding citizens upon reentry
into the mainstream of the society.

REHABILITATION

 A purpose of criminal sanctions or punishment whereby offenders should be transformed into

law abiding persons through programs of medical, physiological economics or educational
improvement.
 REINTEGRATION

 The process of rebuilding former ties to the community and establishing their convict.

REPARATION

 Compensation, punishment serves to repay society for the damage done by the convict.

RESTITUTION

 Reimbursement to the victim made by the offender, most often with the money though
occasionally until service

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

 Refers to the principle that requires a process of resolving conflicts with the minimum
involvement of the victim, the offender and the community.

SEARCH WARRANT

 Is a written order in the name of the People of the Philippines, signed by a judge and directed to
the peace officer, commanding him to search for personal property described therein and bring
it before the court

SECURITY LEVEL

 A designation applied to a facility to describe the measures taken, both inside and outside, to
preserve security and custody.

SECURITY OFFICER

 A properly trained officer whose appointment is covered by appropriate orders with the
concurrence of the Directorate for intelligence and possesses different qualifications.

SEGREGARTION

 Refers to the procedure where, upon initial contact with the child alleged to have committed an
offense, the law enforcer places the child in a separate and different area from adult detention
prisoners, and ensures that female children are separated from the male children.

SERIOUS OFFENSE

 Refers to an offense where the imposable penalty for the offense committed exceeds six (6)
years imprisonment.
 SHARED POWERS MANAGEMENT

 Prison administration seeks to involve correctional staff and inmate in decision making.

SHOCK INCARCERATION

 An inmate is held in prison for a short time (the shock) typically 30 to 120 days, then released
on parole; generally reserved for nonviolent first time offenders

SOCIOLOGICAL VIEW PUNSHMENT

 It is a broad view of perceiving punishment as a social institution.

STATUS OFFENSE

 Refers to offenses which discriminate only against a child, while an adult does not suffer any
penalty for committing similar acts. There shall include curfew violations, truancy, parental
disobedience and the like.

SUBPOENA

 A writ issued under the authority of a court to compel the appearances of a witness at a judicial
proceeding.

SUMMONS

 In criminal proceedings, a written order issued by a judicial officer requiring a person accused
of a criminal offense to appear in a designated court at a specific time to answer the charges

SUSPENDED SENTENCE

 Is the holding in abeyance of the service of the sentence imposed by the court upon a finding of
guilt of the child in conflict with the law, whereby the child undergoes rehabilitation within the
fixed period under such terms and conditions may be ordered by the court.

TEMPORARY RELEASE PROGRAMS

 Programs that allow jail or prison inmates to leave their facility for short period of time to
participate in approved community activities.

VENUE

 The place where an action must be instituted and tried, the place of trial
 VICTIMLESS CRIMES

 Refer to offenses where there are no private offended parties.

VICTIMOLOGY

 It is the study of the victims and their interaction with the offenders and the criminal justice
system.

WARNINGS

 Penalties provided at the adjudication stage by the judge and usually accompanies by the threat
of incarceration if the criminal behavior does not desist.

WARRANT OF ARREST

 Is an order in writing, issued in the name of the People of the Philippines, signed by the judge
and directed to a peace officer, commanding him to arrest a person designated therein, and to
take him into his custody in order that he may be bound to answer for the commission of an
offense.

WEEKEND JAIL

 Programs similar to work release programs except that offenders need to report to the jail only
on weekends, working and living in the community during the week.

WITNESS

 Is one being present personally seer or perceives a thing, beholder, spectator or eyewitness.
One who testifies to what he has seen or heard or otherwise observed.

WORK RELEASE

 Allows inmates to maintain or obtain employment in the community while still serving their
sentence, leaving only for work and returning to incarceration every evening; also called work
furlough, day pass and day parole.

YOUTH DETENTION HOME

 Refers to a 24 hours child caring institution managed by the accredited local government unit
licensed and/or accredited non-government organizations providing short term residential
care for children in conflict with the law and when the child may be physically restricted by
order of any judicial, administrative or other public authority, and from which the child is not
permitted to leave at will, pending court disposition of charge or transfer to other agencies or
jurisdiction.
 YOUTH OFFENDER

 A child, minor, or youth including one who is emancipated in accordance with the law, who is
over 9 years but under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.