What is Juvenile Delinquency and a Juvenile Delinquent?

Juvenile delinquency usually refers to the violation of a law by a juvenile. It

includes such crimes as murder, robbery, automobile theft, carjacking and
burglary as well as some offences, such as truancy, staying out after a curfew,
drinking alcoholic beverages or certain sexual acts, that are illegal only when
committed by juveniles. Many people use the term juvenile delinquency to
include anything youngsters do that goes against the standards of society,
regardless of whether this action is legal or illegal.
The legal age at which a person is considered to be a juvenile varies from
place to place. Most states in the United States define anyone under 18 years of
age as a juvenile. New York considers anyone under 17 a juvenile. In Canada,
juveniles may be those under the age of 16. So, the definition of a juvenile
varies from state to state, but the term most commonly refers to someone under
18 years of age.
Juvenile delinquency is regarded as a serious social problem in the United States
and many other countries. It has caused increasing public concern, but it is by no
means a new problem. Young people formed violent street gangs in American cities
during the 1800s, and delinquency rates were reported rising during the early 1900’s.
Delinquency is found in all nations and is particularly widespread in highly
industrialized nations that have large cities.Experts say that the juvenile problem is
the result of the policy of silence which disguised many problems including this one.
The legal term a juvenile delinquent was established so that young
lawbreakers could avoid the disgrace of being classified in legal records as
criminals, juvenile delinquency laws were designed to provide treatment, rather
than punishment, for juvenile offenders. Young delinquents usually are sent to
juvenile courts, where the main aim is to rehabilitate (reform) offenders, rather
than to punish them. But the term juvenile delinquency itself has come to imply
disgrace.
The term juvenile delinquency is merely an administrative term, not a clinical
diagnosis. It has to be recognized that relatively minor delinquent activities
(e.g. petty theft, vandalism) are surprisingly common in the teens. However,
there is a small but hard core of adolescents who habitually break the law.
Delinquency is perhaps the most noteworthy of all activities as an adolescent
manifestation, reaching a peak at 15 years for boys and 14 years for girls. But
in their twenties most of the former offenders gradually become broadly law-
abiding members of the community.
Extent of delinquency. Crime statistics, though they are often incomplete
and may be misleading, do give an indication of the extent of the delinquency
problem. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that during the
mid-1980s, about two-fifths of all U.S. arrests for burglary and arson were of
people under age 18. Juveniles also accounted for about one-third of all arrests
for larceny. In any year, about 4 per cent of all children between the ages of 10
and 18 appear in a juvenile court. The percentage of youngsters in this age
group who are sent to court at least once is much higher. A third or more of
those boys living in slum areas of large cities may appear in a juvenile court at
least once.But sociologists have concluded that youthful misbehavior is much
more common than is indicated by arrest recordsand juvenile court statistics.
Girls are becoming increasingly involved in juvenile delinquency. Today,
about one of every five youngsters appearing in juvenile court is a girl. In the
early 1900’s, this ratio was about 1 girl to every 50 or 60 boys.
What causes delinquency? Many studies have been made in an effort to
determine the causes of delinquency. Most of these have focused on family
relationships or on neighborhood or community conditions. The results of these
investigations have shown that it is doubtful that any child becomes a
delinquent for any single reason.
Family relationships, especially those between parents and individual
children, have been the focus of several delinquency studies. An early study
comparing delinquent and nondelinquent brothers showed that over 90 per cent
of the delinquents had unhappy home lives and felt discontented with their life
circumstances. Only 13 per cent of their brothers felt this way. Whatever the
nature of the delinquents’ unhappiness, delinquency appeared to them to be a
solution. It brought attention to youths neglected by their parents, or approval
by delinquent friends, or it solved problems of an unhappy home life in other
ways. More recent studies have revealed that many delinquents had parents
with whom they did not get along or who were inconsistent in their patterns of
discipline and punishment.
Neighborhood conditions have been stressed in studies by sociologists. Many
of these inquiries concentrate on differing rates of delinquency, rather than on
the way individuals become delinquents.
A series of studies have shown that delinquency rates are above average in
the poorest sections of cities. Such areas have many broken homes and a high
rate of alcoholism. They also have poor schools, high unemployment, few
recreational facilities, and high crime rates. Many young people see
delinquency as their only escape from boredom, poverty, and other problems.
So, children from the poorest part of society lack opportunities to develop in
socially acceptable ways and turn to delinquency as a substitute. But the pain of
being poor and living in slum conditions is felt more strongly in a rich society
than in a poor one.
The use of drugs. Surveys of U.S. teen-agers indicate that the great majority
have at least experimented with such drugs as alcohol, barbiturates, cocaine,
LSD, or marijuana. Some have experimented with heroin, morphine, or other
narcotic drugs. Many of these drugs are physically harmful if taken regularly. A
single overdose of some drugs, such as heroin or a barbiturate, can result in a
coma or death.Alcohol is the most widely used drug among teenagers though
alcoholic beverages cannot legally be sold to people under 18 in any
state.About 15 per cent of U.S. high school students may have a serious
drinking problem.
Adolescents experiment with drugs for various reasons, including peer group
pressure, the desire to appear grown-up, the example of parents, and
curiosity.Some teenagers may be led into it by boredom or by an unconscious
desire to escape mental or emotional pressure. Teenagers who feel genuinely
useful are perhaps least likely to develop the problem of drug abuse.
Being labeled.Experts say juveniles who are caught and labeled delinquent
by the authorities are likely to continue to break the law because that label
makes it harder for them to be law-abiding.A youngster can be labeled a
delinquent for breaking any one of anumber of laws, ranging from robbery to
running away from home. But an action for which a youth may be declared a
delinquent in one community may not be against the law in another community.
In some communities, the police ignore many children who are accused of
minor delinquencies or refer them directly to their parents. But in other
communities, the police may refer such children to a juvenile court, where they
may officially be declared delinquents.
Learnt bahaviour.Delinquency is learned behaviour, acquired by associating
with people who have little respect for the law.
Biological or psychological causes.Child aggression may be a result of
imitating the rough and violent parent behavior towards children. If the child
has a hostile cruel parent or parent-substitute, the child may grow into a
subordinate, servile, intimidated or even masochistic person, as well as into an
angry and aggressive person very much resembling his/her tormentor.The
incomplete (single parent) family is the cause of a poorly developed feeling of
a lasting parent-child relationship, the consequence of which is insufficient
socialization of the child.The absence of one parent engenders a great
emotional deficiency in the family structure. The child is thus devoid of the
objectof identification, which is the most important factor in the formation of
child’s character and one of the reasons for the development of delinquent
behaviour among children and youth.
Prevention of delinquency. Many efforts have been made to develop
programs of delinquency prevention. There is little evidence, however, that any
of these programs is truly effective. Some programsprovide counseling services
to youths who appear to be on the verge of becoming delinquents. Other
programs draw youngsters into clubs and recreational centers in an effort to
keep them away from situations in which delinquency is likely to occur. In
recent years, many efforts have centered on improving the educational and
work skills of youngsters.
For those juveniles who have already become delinquents, there are programs
designed to prevent them from committing future delinquent acts. Probation
services are offered through juvenile courts in an effort to provide guidance for
delinquent children. The more progressive institutions for juveniles attempt to
provide treatment programs for offenders – work experiences, counseling,
education, and group therapy. However, many other institutions provide little
more than protective custody for juvenile delinquents.