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INTRODUCTION

Delinquency, criminal behaviour, especially that carried out by a juvenile. Depending on

the nation of origin, a juvenile becomes an adult anywhere between the ages of 15 to 18,
although the age is sometimes lowered for murder and other serious crimes.
Delinquency is criminal behavior, or acts that do not conform to the moral or legal
standards of society, carried out by a minor. In the U.S., federal law defines juvenile
delinquency as “the violation of a law of the United States committed by a person prior to
his 18th birthday which would have been a crime if committed by an adult.”

Late Latin dēlinquentia (fault, crime)

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Delinquency is generally thought to mean criminal behavior committed by juveniles under

the legal age of adulthood. A widely used definition was proposed by Hirschi (1969, p. 47),
‘[D]elinquency is defined by acts, the detection of which is thought to result in punishment
of the person committing them by agents of the larger society.’ Although the notion of
juvenile delinquency is now ubiquitous, prior to the late nineteenth century few legal
distinctions were made between juveniles and adults. Even childhood itself is a relatively
modern concept.

Delinquency implies conduct that does not conform to the legal or moral standards of
society; it usually applies only to acts that, if performed by an adult, would be termed
criminal. It is thus distinguished from a status offense, a term applied in the United States
and other national legal systems to acts considered wrongful when committed by a juvenile
but not when committed by an adult.

In Western countries, delinquent behaviour is most common in the 14- to 15-year-old age
group. At age 14, most delinquent conduct involves minor theft. By age 16 or 17, more
violent and dangerous acts, including assault and the use of a weapon, become prevalent.
Most delinquents do not continue this behaviour into their adult life, for, as the
circumstances of their lives change and they get a job, marry, or simply mature out of their
turbulent adolescence, their conduct usually falls in line with societal standards. Although
the evidence is ambiguous, most delinquents adjust to a noncriminal life, yet the proportion
of delinquents who become criminals is higher than that of nondelinquents. In the United
States, boys make up 80 percent of the delinquent population, and this rate is similar
throughout Europe and Japan.

Schools are often the forum in which delinquent behaviour originates. Most delinquents
perform poorly in school and are unhappy in the school environment. Many delinquents
are dropouts who leave school at an early age but have no job opportunities. Juvenile
gangs often perform delinquent acts, not solely out of frustration with society but also out
of a need to attain status within their group. A gang can provide the rewards a juvenile
cannot get from his school or other institution.
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Efforts have been made to identify potential delinquents at an early age in order to provide
preventive treatment. Such predictions of delinquency generally depend not only on the
child’s behaviour in school but also on the quality of the child’s home life. There are many
elements that delinquents share in their home lives. Their parents are frequently heavy
drinkers who are involved in crime themselves and are unable to provide emotional or
financial support for their children. Discipline is inconsistent and often relies on physical
force. Most attempts to detect future delinquents have failed, however. Indeed, it has been
found that the stigma of being identified as a potential delinquent often causes the child to
commit delinquent acts.

It is the responsibility of the state to deal with delinquent offenders. Probation, the most
commonly used method of handling delinquents, is an arrangement whereby the delinquent
is given a suspended sentence and in return must live by a prescribed set of rules under the
supervision of a probation officer. Probation is most frequently granted to first offenders
and delinquents charged with minor offenses. Probation can be a mandate of law, or it can
be left to the court’s discretion. Probation requires the delinquent to lead a moderate,
productive lifestyle, with financial responsibilities. If these requirements are not met, the
delinquent may be placed in an institution. A delinquent will sometimes be placed in the
foster care of a stable family, as a final method of keeping a juvenile out of an institution.

The treatment of delinquents on probation and in institutions ranges from a strict

disciplinarian method to a more psychological approach, centring on psychoanalysis and
group therapy. The probation officer must attempt to combine authority and compassion in
the twin role of enforcer and social worker. This makes the role of the probation officer
extremely difficult, while the responsibilities are great. Despite the problems of the
probation system, studies have indicated that probation is effective in a majority of all
cases.

CAUSES

Recent years we can easily identify the crimes committed by minors from high-profile
criminal cases. In Georgia, this topic is up-to-date and hurtful. That is why it is interesting
to observe what can lead to juvenile delinquency, how it can be prevented, what is
necessary for the rehabilitation of juveniles, and what programs are being implemented in
this regard.The factors causing the crime are complex. It comprises psychological and
social circumstances that interact with each other, causing particular behavior.According
to a survey conducted in Kutaisi, most respondents consider family relationships to cause a
crime committed by a minor. In their view, most juvenile delinquents lack parental care.
The respondents say that children with parents abroad sometimes find themselves in the
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wrong environment and “go astray.” Children who live on the streets, lacking a home,
consider being at risk.Childhood psychological trauma, violence, imitation of criminal
authorities, etc, are also cited as reasons for juvenile delinquency.

Below we will try to review the factors named by the respondents from Kutaisi and explain
the circumstances that can cause the crime in minors.There is one major psychological
theory – Social Learning Theory, which seeks to explain the causes of a particular
behavior. Followers of this theory see crime as a deliberate response to a particular life
event. The most famous representative of this theory A. Bandura believed that people are
not born with innate actions, and that violence and aggression can be learned by modeling
the behavior of others Most times, the causes of the crime indeed can be linked to this
theory. Especially in cases of minors.

Issues associated with family

A family, especially parents, plays a big role in the development of the child/adolescent.
Issues associated with family can be one of the risk factors. These issues can be economic,
social, etc.In Georgia, with the increasing number of immigrants rises the number of
minors left without a parent. For grandparents or other caregivers, sometimes it is
challenging to pay attention and supervise these children so they do not end up in an
unfavorable environment. Improper surroundings may push a child/adolescent to commit a
crime.The causes of committing a crime can be domestic violence, parental indifference
and their bad habits, etc.

Violence breeds Violence

Often, potential perpetrators are the victims of violence. Individuals may confront violence
in a variety of social settings: in family, school, etc. Children who have experienced
violence are most likely to have infringed relationships with adults, cannot communicate
with their peers, and become “bullies” to prove themselves, sometimes they link their fate
to a criminal environment.

Imitation – Does one crime provoke others ?!

A human being goes through several stages of social development, among which childhood
and adolescence are important. Values, patterns of behavior, and motives are forming in
childhood age. At this stage, family and parents play na important role in a person’s life.
Further, in adolescence, people try to define their own identity, try to establish themselves,
and often the influence of parents is replaced by the influence of peers and friends. Hence,
the reason for juvenile delinquency can become imitation.They can follow the example of:
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Family members who engage in criminal behavior;

Peers prone to committing criminal acts;
The so-called “authorities” who push children to commit crimes.Unfortunately, in Georgia
remains na idea of the so-called “good boy” and “thief in law”, and the “authorities”
associated with them. This mentality is still propagandized within juveniles, where crime is
considered as a norm. Some teenagers have chosen a similar path that increasing the risk
of committing a crime by them.

Psychological issues
Poor socio-economic status, indifferent attitude of parents, feelings of inferiority, lack of
attention, and many other reasons can lead to various types of psychological issues in
children and adolescents. For example, depression, fears, and complexes, excessive
aggression, etc. This can provoke the minor to commit a crime.

“Street” children
In Georgia, the problem regarding homeless children remains a serious concern. Children
living on the streets, due to poor economic and social conditions, can be considered as one
of the risk groups, as they are homeless children, who see “hooliganism” as the only way
of their existence.

According to Georgian legislation, legal prosecution does not apply to children under the
age of 14, which can lead to “impunity syndrome” in minors. This means that a minor
knowing there won’t be a punishment for a crime may re-offend. Adults on the streets use
this situation to their advantage, and there are cases when relatively grown-up and
“experienced” children force the younger ones to commit crimes knowing that they can
“avoid the danger.”

Effects of juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is a big problem that not only affects the victims of the delinquents,
but it also affects the juvenile delinquents themselves, their family, and even the society as
a whole. The juvenile delinquents may not be able to predict the effect of their crimes on
themselves, but, as stated, they are seriously affected by these crimes.

Most of these crimes make the juvenile to lose his/her freedom because he/she may be
placed on probation, or even incarcerated. This will also have an effect on the academic
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welfare of the juvenile because he or she will miss academic activities that will take place
during the probation or incarceration.

In cases where the juvenile is placed in a residential center for detention of juveniles,
he/she may be influenced by more experienced juvenile delinquents (Barker 1). This will
make the juvenile more likely to recidivate, and suffer the consequences of re-offense. The
delinquency of the minor may even dictate his or her career choices in the future.

The trauma of having a juvenile delinquent in a family can potentially create instability for
other members of the family. The family has to meet the needs of the juvenile in trouble,
and raise lawyer’s fees. The family also has na ethical obligation to the victim of the
delinquent. Families are required to attend counseling sessions as a group. This is
normally costly and disruptive (Barker 1).

Juvenile delinquency is closely related to sexual behavior, drug use, gang involvement etc.
All these have a negative effect on the community because they make the community
unsafe, and they make the government to spend colossal sums of money in school safety
and law enforcement.

As stated, juvenile delinquency has serious effects on a number of societal groups. It

therefore affects the society negatively by affecting the community, families, individuals etc.
The problem also challenges government agencies, organizations, educators, faith
communities, and politicians alike (Barker 1).

Prevention of juvenile delinquency

Due to the contribution of family influence to delinquent behavior in juveniles, it is vital to
ensure that families influence children positively. This can be achieved by ensuring that
there is strong emotional bonding in the family, and laying out effective strategies for
communication.

Children being raised from families that do not conform to the traditional family should
especially be closely watched to curb the development of delinquent behavior. Schools
should also ensure that they know the backgrounds of children in order to fill the gaps that
may be left by the parents (Saminsky 1). For instance, teachers can help to counsel a child
who witnesses violence at home, or a child whose parent is a criminal.
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Parents should ensure that they closely monitor the kind of company that their children
keep. They should ensure that their children engage in productive social activities
(Saminsky 1). This will help reduce the chances of their children becoming delinquents. In
school, teachers should keep a close eye on pupils to ensure that they know their activities.

Pupils should be appropriately searched in school to ensure that they do not carry guns
and drugs. This will ensure that delinquent pupils do not influence others. It will also help
in identifying delinquent children so that they can be counseled, or even sent for
correctional services.

Another way of preventing delinquency, though controversial, is reducing or eradicating

racism. This will target the delinquents in minority groups. It will help reduce the number
of juveniles in these minority groups who commit offenses because they will not commit
racism-inspired crimes.

It will also help to boost the self-esteem of teenagers in these minority groups, and thus
instances of offenses caused by low self-esteem will be limited in these minority groups
(Saminsky 1).

Solutions to juvenile delinquency

The best way to reduce the number of delinquency cases is by using the preventative
measures that have been outlined in the paragraph above. The preventative measures
should be holistic in the sense that they should include all the people in the lives of the
juveniles.

The juveniles should be monitored and guided while at home, and they should be counseled
and monitored while in school. Juveniles who are at high risk of developing delinquent
behavior should be watched closely and given special treatment so that they do not end up
offending (Rose 1).

Another way of reducing the number of delinquency cases is by reducing the rates at which
juvenile delinquents recidivate. This can be achieved by having legislation in place that
ensures that juveniles are corrected differently, and in facilities different from the ones
used for adult correction.
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This is because, from the statistics section, juveniles who are corrected in the same
facilities with adult offenders are more likely to recidivate than their counterparts who are
held in juvenile facilities. The recidivism rates of young offenders can also be reduced by
having a program for the correction of delinquents. This is most appropriately
implemented while the delinquents are in custody.

The program should be holistic and thus it should consist of counseling services offered by
a psychologist, recreational facilities, and training (Rose 1). The counseling services will
give a platform in which the juveniles can freely share their experiences, and thus their
healing process can be sped up.

The recreational facilities will give the juveniles alternative hobbies that will occupy their
time after they are released from custody, and thus they will have less time to consider
reoffending. Lastly, the training will equip the juvenile who may have quit school with
entrepreneurial skills that they can utilize to make money after they are released from
custody. This will therefore, help to reduce the number of cases where juveniles re-offend
due to financial problems.

Juvenile delinquency can also be reduced by effective policing that will ensure that
juveniles are not recruited into crime by community criminals. It is common to hear of
schoolchildren being used by gangs to market drugs, and carry assault weapons. This
practice should be discouraged by vigilance on the part of parents and teachers, and
effective community policing.
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CONCLUSION

From the discussion above, it is clear that delinquency is na enormous problem in the
society. Juvenile delinquency is caused by a number of factors that include peer influence,
influence by the family of the juvenile, race, and other related factors like low self-esteem
and trauma.

The effects of delinquency are far-reaching and they therefore, affect the community,
victims of the delinquent, the society as a whole, and even the delinquents themselves. It is
therefore vital that this issue is addressed with a view of reducing the rates of offense and
re-offense.

A number of interventions can be used to prevent, and reduce delinquency and recidivism.
These interventions can be implemented in the family, at school, or even in correctional
facilities. School and family-level interventions are mainly aimed at preventing recidivism,
while the interventions implemented at correctional facilities are aimed at reducing
recidivism.

It is thus vital that these interventions are taken seriously, in order to reduce the number of
delinquents in the society. This will in turn reduce the number of delinquency victims, the
number of affected families, and the amount of resources that the government will spend on
law enforcement and correctional services. This will therefore lead to a better society.