JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

MODULE 1
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INTRODUCTION AND CONCEPTS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

JUVENILE
A juvenile is a child or young person who is not yet old enough to be regarded as an adult
(Collin dictionary.com)

Juvenile activity or behavior involves young people who are not yet adults.
Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.

Delinquency in General
Delinquency refers to any action; course or conduct that deviates from acts approved by
the majority of people. It is a description of those acts that do not conform to the accepted rules,
norms and mores of the society (sociological definition) Delinquency, therefore, is a general
term for any misconduct or misbehavior that is tantamount to felony or offense. It is, however
distinct from crime in the sense that the former may be in the form of violation of law, ordinance
or rule but it is punishable only by a small fine or short-term imprisonment or both. Legally
speaking, delinquency means the failure to perform an act required by law, or the non-
performance of a duty or obligation that is mandated by existing law or rule.
Juvenile Crime
Juvenile Crime, in law, term denoting various offences committed by children or youths
under the age of 18. Such acts are sometimes referred to as juvenile delinquency. Children's
offences typically include delinquent acts, which would be considered crimes if committed by
adults, and status offences, which are less serious misbehavioral problems such as truancy and
parental disobedience. Both are within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court; more serious
offences committed by minors may be tried in criminal court and be subject to prison sentences.
In law, a crime is an illegal act committed by a person who has criminal intent. A long-standing
presumption held that, although a person of almost any age can commit a criminal act, children
under 14 years old were unlikely to have criminal intent. Many juvenile courts have now
discarded this so-called infancy defense and have found that delinquent acts can be committed
by children of any age.
Juvenile Delinquency
According to the FBI, a juvenile is anyone under the age of 18 regardless of how each individual
state defines a juvenile. A delinquent is an individual who fails to obey the laws. Juvenile
delinquency is defined as an individual under the age of 18 who fails to abide by the laws.
The term juvenile delinquency is used to describe a large number of disapproved
behaviors of children or youths. In this sense, almost anything that the youth does which others
do not like is called juvenile delinquency. However, criminologist suggested the following factors
of juvenile delinquency:
 1. Juvenile delinquency includes the behavior specifically defined as delinquent
according to the various existing laws and ordinances concerning children or youth.
2. The definition of juvenile delinquency must take into account the social reality that
reflected through the media. Books, movies and television help people to define a
particular reality for them. If the media systematically portrays particular behavior as
delinquent, they often come to be accepted as real.
3. While almost all children engage in behavior that is in violation of juvenile codes and
laws, we believe that ultimately, juvenile delinquents refers to youths who have been
successfully defined as delinquents.
In a more specific view, acts of juvenile delinquency include violation of laws such as
those defined by juvenile codes and laws.
The Delinquent Person
A delinquent person is one who repeatedly commits an act that is against the norms or
mores observed by the society. When a person habitually commits an act that is not in
accordance with the rules or policies of a community where he belongs, he is considered a
delinquent.
The Juvenile Delinquent
Juveniles are young people who are regarded as immature or one whose mental as well
as emotional faculties are not fully developed thus making them incapable of taking full
responsibility of their actions. In legal points, the term juvenile is a person subject to juvenile
court proceedings because of a statutorily defined event or condition caused by or affecting that
person and was alleged to have occurred while his or her age was below the specified age limit.
Brief History of Juvenile Delinquency
The harsh beginning - Children were viewed as non-persons until the 1700's. They did
not receive special treatment or recognition. Discipline then is what we now call abuse.
There were some major assumptions about life before the 1700's. The first assumption
is that life was hard, and you had to be hard to survive. The people of that time in history did not
have the conveniences that we take for granted. For example, the medical practices of that day
were primitive in comparison to present-day medicine. Marriages were more for convenience,
rather than for child-bearing or romance. The second assumption was that infant and child
mortality were high. It did not make sense to the parents in those days to create an emotional
bond with children. There was a strong chance that the children would not survive until
adulthood.
At the end of the 18th century, "The Enlightenment" appeared as a new cultural
transition. This period of history is sometimes known as the beginning of reason and humanism.
People began to see children as flowers, which needed nurturing in order to bloom. It was the
invention of childhood, love and nurturing instead of beatings to stay in line. Children had finally
begun to emerge as a distinct group. It started with the upper-class, who were allowed to attend
colleges and universities.
Since ancient times, enlightened legal systems have distinguished between juvenile
delinquents and adult criminals. Generally, the immature were not considered morally
responsible for their behavior. Under the Code Napoléon in France, for example, limited
responsibility was ascribed to children under the age of 16. Despite the apparent humanity of
some early statutes, however, the punishment of juvenile offenders was often severe until the
19th century.
Prior to the 20th century, juvenile offenders were often treated as adults. The first
development contrary to this in the United Kingdom was the establishment of Borstal training
center in place of normal imprisonment, which was intended to build up the offender's character.
They were unsuccessful, and since the 1960s, policy has been directed away from the detention
of young offenders towards treatment in the community, beginning with avoiding court
altogether. The police are encouraged to caution juveniles who admit an offence, unless they
are persistent offenders.
When juvenile offenders are dealt with more formally, they are tried by a dedicated
juvenile court, having as little contact with the mainstream system as possible. There is
considerable emphasis on parental responsibility, and the parents may be ordered to pay the
juvenile's fine, or be liable to pay a sum of money if the child is in trouble again.
If the courts need to punish juveniles, they can utilize community sentences. Attendance
centers orders, for example, require juveniles to attend during their leisure hours at centers
where they will be given a program of constructive activities. Supervision orders put juveniles
under the supervision of a social services department, and may include compulsory activities.
Those aged 15 and over may also be sentenced to probation orders (supervision), community
service orders (compulsory work under supervision), or a combination of both.
If juveniles are to be detained, those aged 15 or over may be held in a young offender
institution for between 2 and 12 months. Younger offenders can only be detained in the most
serious of cases, and there are national units to deal with them. All Offenders aged 10 to 13 can
be detained only if convicted of manslaughter or murder.
Perceived Causes of Delinquency
Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile crime focus either on the individual or
on society as the major contributing influence. Theories focusing on the individual suggest that
children engage in criminal behavior because they were not sufficiently penalized for previous
delinquent acts or that they have learned criminal behavior through interaction with others. A
person who becomes socially alienated may be more inclined to commit a criminal act. Theories
focusing on the role of society in juvenile delinquency suggest that children commit crimes in
response to their failure to rise above their socio-economic status, or as a repudiation of middle-
class values.
Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from disadvantaged
families, ignoring the fact that children from affluent homes also commit crimes. The latter may
commit crimes because of the lack of adequate parental control, delays in achieving adult
status, or simply because they get enjoyment from it. All theories, however, are tentative and
are subject to criticism.
The family unit has also experienced changes within the past two or three decades.
More families consist of one-parent households or two working parents; consequently, children
are likely to have less supervision at home than was common in the traditional family structure.
This lack of parental supervision is thought to have an influence on juvenile crime rates. Other
identifiable causes of delinquent acts include frustration or failure in school, the increased
availability of drugs and alcohol, and the growing incidence of child abuse and child neglect. All
these conditions tend to increase the probability of a child committing a criminal act, although a
direct causal relationship has not been established.
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention
"...I urge you to consider this: As you demand tougher penalties for those who choose
violence, let us also remember how we came to this sad point." "...We have seen a stunning
and simultaneous breakdown of community, family, and work. This has created a vast vacuum
which has been filled by violence and drugs and gangs. So I ask you to remember that even as
we say no to crime, we must give people, especially our young people something to say yes to."
- President Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 25, 1994.

The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 8858, which
lowers the age of criminal liability from 15 to just 12 years old, on Monday, January 28. Under
the bill, minors aged 12 to 17 years old who commit serious crimes (e.g. murder, parricide,
kidnapping, infanticide, etc.) will be sent to the nearest Intensive Juvenile Intervention and
Support Center.

The bill initially proposed to lower the age to as low as nine years old, but legislators increased it
to 12 after facing a backlash from the public. PNP’s data shows that there had been hundreds of
cases involving children aged 11 and under since 2016. But comparing the total for each year,
the numbers have considerably and steadily gone down in the past three years.

In 2018 alone, crimes involving nine to 11-year-olds decreased by 52 percent. Comparing this to
the 2016 figure, it shows that “children in conflict with law” (CICL) have decreased by more than
half at 56 percent. There were more CICL recorded by the PNP belonging to age groups 12 to
15 and 16 to 17, reaching thousands compared to the previous age groups’ hundreds. Still, the
trend had been the same for the past three years.

Except for an uptick in 2017 (it increased by two percent from the previous year), CICL aged 16
to 17 decreased by 30 percent in 2018 from the previous year and 29 percent from 2016.

Similarly, CICL aged 12 to 15 have decreased year-on-year by 40 percent in 2018 and two
percent in 2017. It also declined by 42 percent from 2016 to 2018. If there’s one thing in PNP’s
dataset that could note an increase in CICL over the last three years and probably help Sotto’s
case, it could be found under the “undetermined” section.

Theories on Juvenile Delinquency

There are three common theories on juvenile delinquency. The three theories are the anomie
theory, the subculture theory, and the differential opportunity theory.
Anomie Theory
The anomie theory was first written in the 1940s by Robert Merton. Merton's theory explains
that juvenile delinquency occurs because the juveniles do not have the means to make
themselves happy. Their goals are unattainable within legal means so they find unlawful means
by which to attain their goals.
An example would be a juvenile who has had a goal to get a job and purchase a car. The
juvenile is not able to find a job to make money so he either steals a car or he steals money to
purchase a car.
Subculture Theory
Another theory about juvenile delinquency is the subculture theory. In 1955, Albert Cohen
developed the subculture theory, which is a culmination of several of his theories. The
subculture theory is much like it sounds; juveniles that do not meet the social standards seek
validation from a subculture. The subculture group is formed of other juveniles who also do not
meet the social standards.
These groups then act in manners that are not socially acceptable and rebel against the socially
acceptable standards. According to Cohen, juvenile delinquency is a product of society. The
juveniles commit crimes, such as stealing, because it is not a social norm, and they do it to fit in
with their subculture.
Differential Opportunity Theory
The differential opportunity theory does not fully support Cohen's theory that juveniles become
delinquent when they do not meet society's standards. Differential opportunity theory,
developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin in 1960, believes that opportunity plays a role in
juvenile delinquency.
Cloward and Ohlin's theory states that if juveniles have more opportunities to succeed, then
they would be less likely to turn to subculture groups for validation. Additionally, the differential
opportunity theory believes that there can be other circumstances besides social factors that
add to a juvenile's delinquency.
Cloward and Ohlin's theory believes that the juvenile may be successful during school but may
fail to find gainful employment. The inability to find gainful employment can lead the juvenile to
be delinquent and not the social factors. The differential opportunity theory differs from the
subculture theory because there are reasons other than social factors that can lead a juvenile to
be delinquent. If the juvenile has more opportunities, they will be more willing to succeed than to
join a subculture.
 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
MODULE 2
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ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS TO DELINQUENCY

Families, peers, schools, and socioeconomic status are all social factors that are
examined in many of the causal theories. Demographics and the relationships one has in
society are also examined in some of the explanatory theories. Families are important to
consider when we explain juvenile delinquency. The family unit is crucial to a child's
development and healthy upbringing. In addition, much of what a child learns is through their
family or guardians. A criminal parent can teach their child adverse lessons about life when their
child views or witnesses their parent's delinquent behavior. Peers can also teach an adolescent
or child criminal behavior just as the family member can. Family members and peers can also
cause delinquent patterns of behavior by labeling their child as delinquent. This is somewhat of
the "if the shoe fits, wear it" saying. If a child feels as though they are viewed as delinquent,
then they will act as such and find a sense of self-esteem by doing so.
Even though the family and peers (as well as the school) can influence a juvenile to
participate in crime, the decision still rests on their shoulders. Some theorists argue that
participation in crime is a rational choice and that the rewards and consequences are carefully
calculated out by the individual. The choice to commit a crime can by influenced by many
factors, including the ones that I outlined here. However, if a juvenile has many ties or bonds to
members in society, they are less likely to make the choice to commit a crime for fear of ridicule,
embarrassment, or scorn from those they associate with. The demographic characteristics of a
person's living environment can also be a contributing factor to criminal patterns of behavior.
Adverse living conditions and a crime-prone neighborhood can lead to criminal activity. There
are also various structural theories that can put juvenile delinquency in a context of better
understanding.
In order to simplify the environmental sources of delinquency, the following are
considered:
FAMILY BACKGROUND
The Home - The family or the home is one of the most influential environmental factors
that would lead a person to either a law abiding or a criminal. It is said that the home is
considered as the “cradle of human personality” for in it the child forms fundamental attitudes
and habits that endure through out his life.
 The kind of conscience the child develops depends largely upon the kind of parents he
has. The parents are the most influential persons in the family when they give love, attention,
guidance, security, standards and all other things that the child needs, the children are the
mirror of the home for they reflect what the home look like. Thus, a child who was provided with
love, attention, guidance, security, standards and all other things he needs comes to regard
people as friendly, understanding, dependable, loyal, and worthy of his respect and admiration.
On the other hand, if he experienced cold, despairing, rejecting, neglectful, and cruel
environment in the home, most likely he will learn to distrust, disobey, dislike and even to hate
people (Tradio, 1983).
Given a home, the child tends to become law abiding if the following conditions are met:
1. The Child is loved and wanted and knows it.
2. He was helped to grow up by not having too much or too little done for him.
3. He is part of the family; he has fun with the family he belongs.
4. His early mistakes and badness are understood as a normal part of growing and he is
corrected without being hurt, shamed or confused.
5. His growing skills are enjoyed and respected.
6. He feels his parents care as much about as they do to his sisters and brothers.
7. The family sticks together with understanding and cooperation.
8. He is moderately and consistency disciplined.
The family is the primary institution that molds a child to either a law-abiding person or a
delinquent. The effects of pathological social relations in the home are to a great extent
influence anti- social behavior. This means that the home can be a potent force of either good or
evil.
(See Discussion of the Pathogenic Family structures)
THE BROADER SOCIAL PROCESS
Bad Neighborhood - refers to areas or places in which dwelling or housing conditions
are dilapidated, unsanitary, and unhealthy which are detrimental to the moral, health, and safety
of the populace. It is commonly characterized by overcrowding with disintegrated and
unorganized inhabitants and other close relatives. Most inhabitants in a bad neighborhood are
experiencing economic difficulties, alcoholism, substance abuse, gambling and many other
problems in life. This connotes that bad neighborhood is the habitat of bad elements of society
by reason of anonymity because the situation is so conducive for the commission of crimes. Bad
elements prefer to dwell in such community not only because of the sense of anonymity among
its members but also because they are not welcome in decent places.
The School - Part of a broader social process for behavior influence is the school. It is
said that the school is an extension of the home having the strategic position to control crime
and delinquency. It exercises authority over every child as a constituent. The teachers are
considered second parents having the responsibility to mold the child to become productive
members of the community by devoting energies to study the child behavior using all available
scientific means and devices in an attempt to provide each the kind and amount of education
they need. The school takes the responsibility of preventing the feeling of insecurity and
rejection of the child, which can contribute directly to maladjustment and to criminality by setting
up objectives of developing the child into a well-integrated and useful law-abiding citizen. The
school has also the role of working closely with the parents and neighborhood, and other
community agencies and organizations to direct the child in the most effective and constructive
way.
However, the school could be an influence to delinquency and criminality when teachers
are being disliked for they are too cross, crabby, grouchy, never smile, naggers, sarcastic,
temperamental, unreasonable, intolerant, ill mannered, too strict, and unfair. Conditions like
these makes the students experience frustration, inadequacy, insecurity, and confusion, which
are most of the time the “kindergarten of crime”. In short, next to parents the teachers stand as
foremost in their influence to human behavior.
The Church - Religion is a positive force for good in the community and an influence
against crime and delinquency. The church influences people’s behavior with the emphasis on
morals and life’s highest spiritual values, the worth and dignity of the individual, and respect for
person’s lives and properties, and generate the full power to oppose crime and delinquency.
Just like the family and the school, the church is also responsible to cooperate with institutions
and the community in dealing with problems of children, delinquents and criminals as regardless
to the treatment and correction of criminal behaviors.
The Police - is one of the most powerful occupation groups in the modern society. The
prime mover of the criminal justice system and the number one institution in the community with
the broad goals maintaining peace and order, the protection of life and property, and the
enforcement of the laws. The police is the authority having a better position to draw up special
programs against crime because it is the very reason why the police exist. That is to protect the
society against lawless elements since they are the best equipped to detect and identify
criminals. The police is the agency most interested about crime and criminals and having the
most clearly defined legal power authority to take action against them.
Government and Other Components of the CJS - The government and the other
components of the criminal justice system are the organized authority that enforces the laws of
the land and the most powerful in the control of people. Respect for the government is
influenced by the respect of the people running the government. When the people see that
public officers and employees are the first ones to violate the laws, people will refuse to obey
them, they set the first ones to follow and create an atmosphere conductive to crime and
disrespect for the law. In this regard, the government itself indirectly abets the commission of
crimes.
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) - The group of concerned individuals
responsible for helping the government in the pursuit of community development being partners
of providing the common good and welfare of the people, these non-government organizations
are good helpers in providing the required services, thus preventing criminality and maintain
order.
The Mass Media - The media is the best institution for information dissemination
thereby giving the public necessary need to know, and do help shape everyday views about
crime and its control.
Related Factors
 There are other factors that are linked to youth offending. There is the gender factor,
particularly in patriarchal societies. Violence is overwhelmingly a male problem. The roots for
this appear to be primarily social rather than biological, highlighting the inadequacies of current
socialization of male children, and the promotion of insensitive and overbearing male behavioral
models and attitudes in many societies. It was also reported that the inadequate monitoring and
supervision of children by parents and other adults could be crucial in realizing a potential for
violence. Studies show that poor parental supervision or monitoring, erratic or harsh parental
discipline, parental disharmony, parental rejection of the child, and low parental involvement in
the child’s activities are all-important predictors of offending.
List of Predictors
The list below is particularly useful in identifying the components of the strategies of
prevention and early intervention. But the list is not a universal one that applies to all countries.
In any particular country or society, methods of preventing or treating antisocial behavior should
be based on empirically validated theories about causes.
Individual factors:

 Pregnancy and delivery complications

 Low resting heart rate

 Internalizing disorders

 Hyperactivity, concentration problems, restlessness, and risk taking

 Aggressiveness

 Beliefs and attitudes favorable to deviant or antisocial behavior

Family factors

 Parental criminality

 Child maltreatment Poor family management practices

 Low levels of parental involvement

 Poor family bonding and family conflict

 Parental attitudes favorable to substance abuse and violence

 Parent-child separation
School factors

 Academic failure

 Low bonding to school

 Truancy and dropping out of school

 Frequent school transitions

Peer-related factors
  Delinquent siblings

 Delinquent peers

 Gang membership
Community and neighborhood factors

 Poverty

 Community disorganization

 Availability of drugs and firearms

 Neighborhood adults involved in crime

 Exposure to violence and racial prejudice

Nature of Delinquency
} A delinquent is one whose behavior is brought him into repeated conflict with the law,
regardless of whatever he has been taken before the court and adjudged as a
delinquent.
} Moreover, it is often the result of a combination of some factors which maybe found in
the environment of the child and others within the child himself.
} Its nature therefore will be differ because of the environmental forces and because of the
nature of the child.
} Incidence of delinquency accelerates at age 13 and peaks at age 17.

} The prevalence (how widespread youth crime in the society) of different kinds of
offending at each stage but also about the percentage of person initiating and
terminating. Termination at about 18 or 19.
} The gap between male and female involvement in status and non-victimizing offenses of
serious types.
} A larger proportion of boys than girls report having broken the law and that boys break it
frequently.
} As of value of goods stolen increases, so does the sex ratio showing male involvements.

Types of Delinquent youth

1. Social - an aggressive youth who resents the authority of anyone who make an effort
to control his behavior
2. Neurotic - he has internalize his conflicts and pre-occupied with his own feelings
3. Asocial - his delinquent act have a cold, brutal, ficious quality for which the youth feels
no rumors
 4. Accidental- he is less identifiable in character, essentially socialize law abiding but it
happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and become involve in some
delinquent act not typical of his general behavior.
5. Occasional Delinquents – these delinquents participate in a group. They have
common or similar characteristics. They are “pro-social” (They do what other are doing).
* Sub-Culture – A group of people who share a number of values and attitudes in
common.
6 .Gang Delinquents – Generally commits the most serious infractions, is most often
sent to a correctional institution, and most often continuous in a pattern of semi-
professional criminal behavior as an adult.
7. Maladjusted Delinquents – The activity stems from personality disturbance rather
than gang activity or slum residence. They are having “weak ego” “the asocial”,
experienced early and severe parental rejection. They have poor personal relations and
suffer general social isolation. They are disorderly, confused and not dependable with
pathological disturbances.
Definition of Terms:
1. Delinquency- it means neglect of duty; failure to do what is required by the society;
anti-social act that deviates from the normal norm of the society.
2. Exploitation- it means employment for ones own use or advantage
3. Heredity- it is the transmission of physical characteristics, mental traits, tendency to
disease from parents to offspring
4. Vagrancy - wandering away from home; wandering away without proper support
5. Feeble- mindedness- it means deficient in will or understanding
6. Alcoholism- it is a compulsive and habitual consumption of alcohol accompanied by
varying degrees of deterioration especially the nervous and digestive system.
7. Drug addiction- this refers to the state of periodic or chronic intoxication produced by
the repeated consumption of a drug.
8. Truancy- it means cutting classes without unreasonable cause
9. Allegiance- it means obligation of fidelity; loyalty
10. Cruelty- refers to disposition to inflict pain or suffering

Methodology Toward Delinquency

1. Biogenic approach
- this view gives an explanation that law violations and delinquency is a result of some
physical defects.
- it advocates that youth misconduct is a direct result of faulty biology.
 - hence the support from family members, friends and acceptance of the community may
solve the problem on delinquency
2. Psychogenic approach
- this argues that the critical factors in delinquency are personality problems, to which
the misbehavior is presumed to be the response.
- This advocates the use of counseling to curtail juvenile misbehavior.
3. Sociogenic approach
- this ascribes the distinction and variation and delinquency pattern to social structures.
The youth misdeed may be attributed to their learning process cultured in on youth gangs,
stigmatizing contacts with governmental and social control agencies and other similar variables.

Different Types of Behavioral Disorder

1. Anti-social behavior
- it is characterized by disrespect or disobedience for authority
2. Lying
- it does not cure lies by attacking the liars for lies indicates need which require attention
among the most important needs of a child; such as love, security, praise, peace, attention,
happiness, understanding, respect and acceptance.
3. Stealing
- undisciplined desire for possession
- loose morals in the home
- parental indifference
- lack of proper clothing and other school requirements
- undisciplined pleasure seeking
4. Truancy
- cutting classes without reasonable cause
- unattractive school life
- fear of punishment
- proximity to place of vices
5. Vagrancy – wandering away from home
- disagreeable home condition
- feeble mindedness
- misdirected love for adventure
6. Emotional disorder
- jealousy reactions
- temper tantrum
- fear reaction

Causes of Behavioral Disorders

1. Predisposing factor
- inherited propensities which cannot be considered a criminal one unless there is a
probability that a crime will be committed
2. Precipitating factor
- elements which provoke crimes or factors that are signified to the everyday
adjustments of an individual, like personal problems, necessities, imitation, curiosity, ignorance,
and disease.