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.

THE CONCEPTS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

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
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:
Juvenile delinquency includes the behavior specifically defined as delinquent according to the
various existing laws and ordinances concerning children or youth.
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.
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.
 THREE TYPES OF DELINQUENCY

1) ENVIRONMENTAL DELINQUENTS
- characterized by occasional law-breaking
2) EMOTIONALLY MALADJUSTED –unable to cope w/ demands of normal envi
DELINQUENTS
- characterized by chronic law-breaking, a habit which this type cannot avoid or escape from
3) PSYCHIATRIC DELINQUENTS
- characterized by serious emotional disturbances within the individual and in some cases associated
with tendencies towards mental illness

TYPES OF DELINQUENT YOUTH

1) SOCIAL
- an aggressive youth who resents-feel bitterness- authority of anyone who makes an effort to control
his behavior
2) NEUROTIC
- one who has internalized his conflicts and is preoccupied with his own feelings
3) ASOCIAL
- one whose delinquent acts have a cold, brutal and vicious –violent- quality for which the youth feels
no remorse –deep regret-
4) ACCIDENTAL
- one who is essentially sociable and law-abiding but happens to be at the wrong time and place and
becomes involved in delinquent acts not typical of his general behavior

DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN THE STUDY OF DELINQUENCY

1) BIOGENIC APPROACH
- gives an explanation that law violations and delinquency are a result of some physical defects
2) PSYCHOGENIC APPROACH
- argues that the critical factors in delinquency are personality problems to which misbehavior is
presumed to be the response
3) SOCIOGENIC APPROACH
- attributes delinquency pattern to social structures views youthful misdeed as a result of a learning
process through interactions with other members of society

DIFFERENT THEORIES CONCERNING DELINQUENCY

CHOICE THEORY
- based on the classical school of criminology that views an individual as having free will in choosing
his actions and that he calculates what he will gain or lose if he commits an act
- views the delinquent as a motivated offender who breaks the law because he or she perceives an
abundance of benefits and an absence of threat

BIOSOCIAL OR TRAIT THEORIES

- based on the view that both thought and behavior have biological and social bases
- contemporary explanation of the biogenic approach
- has three sub-theories: biochemical, neurological and genetics
1) BIOCHEMICAL
- views that crime and delinquency, especially violence, are the result of diet, vitamin intake,
hormonal imbalance and other biological causes
2) NEUROLOGICAL
- explains that crime and delinquency occur because the individual suffers from brain impairment or
abnormality in the structure of the brain
- learning disabilities such as attention deficit/hyperactive disorder and minimum brain dysfunction
are related to antisocial behavior
3) GENETIC
- explains that delinquent traits and predisposition to criminality are inherited from parents
- criminality of parents can predict delinquency of children
- supported by research on twin studies and adoption studies

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES
- Views delinquency as a result of emotional and mental disturbance of the individual
- Contemporary explanation of the psychogenic approach
- has three sub-theories: psychodynamic, behavioral and cognitive
1) PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
- based on the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud
- Delinquency is the result of the imbalance of the three components of personality: id, ego and
superego
- Delinquency is the product of the abnormal personality structure formed in early life and which
thereafter controls human behavior choices
2) BEHAVIORAL THEORY
- Believes that individuals learn by observing how people react to their behavior
- Behavior is reinforced by some positive reaction, and behavior is extinguished if punished
- Misbehavior of children if left unchecked will persist until adolescence
3) COGNITIVE THEORY
- Views that delinquency is a result of the faulty perception and analysis of data of an individual
- Believes that when an individual make decisions, he engages in a sequence of cognitive thought
processes:
a) He first encodes the information so that it can be interpreted;
b) Then, he searches for a proper response and decide upon the most appropriate action;
c) Finally, he acts on his decision
-Delinquency-prone adolescents may have cognitive deficits and use information incorrectly when they
make decisions

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
- Views delinquency as a product of the different social factors and dynamics
- Has four groups of theories which in turn contain several sub-theories: social structure theories,
social process theories, social reaction theories and social conflict theories

1) SOCIAL STRUCTURE THEORIES -hold that delinquency is a function of a person’s place in the
economic structure
2) SOCIAL PROCESS THEORIES -view delinquency as a result of poor or faulty socialization or
upbringing
3) SOCIAL REACTION THEORIES -view delinquent acts and criminality as products of stigma and
labeling
4) SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES -maintain that everyone has the potential to become a criminal
but most people are controlled by their bonds to society

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 Urgent Need

 Public safety is paramount - government has a duty to protect the public from kids who can kill. But
it is becoming ever more apparent that increasing police, prosecution, and prisons alone is neither sufficient
nor adequately effective in stemming the tide of youth violence and crime.

A study done in the Philippines on children who sexually abused other children reached the same
conclusion. It found that 80.9% of the respondents experienced some form of abuse, with 43% experiencing
physical abuse from their caregivers. Aside from the respondents themselves, other members of the family
like their mothers experienced abuse that the respondents witnessed. 36% of the respondents came from
families that have a history of either conflict or abuse or partner or siblings.

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.