TOPIC: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

ACADEMIC YEAR: SUMMER 2019

COURSE: MATVE-FOODTECH
REFERENCES:
PROFESSOR: DR. AIDA M. CASAS
MASTERAND: MARJIE D. ADAME

What is JUVENILE DELINQUENCY?

Juvenile delinquency is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as minors.

According to Villanueva (2006), juvenile delinquency refers to an anti-social act or a
child/minor/youth’s behavior which deviates from the normal pattern of rules and regulations,
custom and culture which the society does not accept.

Instead of using the word “juvenile”, Philippine laws made use of the word “child”. As defined in R.A.
No. 9344, “Child” is a person under the age of eighteen (18) years. While “Child at Risk” refers to a child
who is vulnerable to and at the risk of committing criminal offences because of personal, family and social
circumstances. Some of the examples mentioned in the law are: being abandoned or neglected, and living
in a community with a high level of criminality or drug abuse.

“Child in Conflict with the Law” or CICL on the other hand refers to a child who is alleged as, accused
of, or adjudged as, having committed an offence under Philippine laws.

MOTIVATION TEST

CHILD AT RISK CICL

curfew violations, truancy, parental disobedience, commits parricide, murder, infanticide, kidnappmg
anti-smoking and anti-drinking laws, as well as light and
offenses and misdemeanors against public order or serious illegal detention where the victim is killed or
safety such as, but not limited to, disorderly conduct, raped, robbery with homicide or rape, destructive
public scandal, harassment, drunkenness, public arson, rape, or carnapping
intoxicatlOn, crimmal nuisance, vandalism,
gamblmg,
mendicancy, littering, public urination, and
trespassing, shall be for the protechon of children.

FACTORS OF JUVENILE

Villanueva (2006) declares the four factors that contribute on juvenile delinquency. These four
factors are:

1. Family. The first and most basic institution in the society where the child learns to curb his
desires and to accept rules that define the time, place and circumstance. Child’s personal
needs are satisfied in a socially acceptable manner in the family. However, the child tends to
become delinquent as influence by his/her own family due to (1) faulty development of the
child, (2) lack of parental guidance/monitoring, (3) lack of maternal affection, (4) unfair
treatment, and (5) parental rejection and broken home.
 2. Environment. This is where the child is influenced after his/her first highly formative years.
His/her friends in the community may influence him/her to become delinquent. Eventually,
he/she becomes victim of his/her own environment, attitude, dress, tastes, ambitions, and
even behavior which have been already influenced by those anti-social acts recognized in
their environment. Some of the causes are, (1) associations with criminal groups, (2)
alcoholism and drug addiction, (3) crime inducing situation that causes criminalistics
tendencies, and (4) imitated instinct like selfishness, violence and anti-social wishes.
3. School. Unlike the family, the school is the public instrument for training young people.
Therefore, schools are more directly accessible to change the youth through the development
of new resources and policies. Schools are the principal institutions for developing young
people to the goals and values of society. The failure of the school in character development
of the children is one of the instances that the school will contribute to juvenile delinquency.
In addition, the use of methods that create the conditions of failure or frustrations on the part
of the students, truancy and lack of facilities for curricular and extra-curricular activities are
also some of the instances that caused juvenile delinquency.
4. Other departments or agencies of the government. They also create factors that influence
the youth to become delinquent, such as: (1) political interference of the higher positions, (2)
unfair decisions of the court, (3) police carelessness and unfair treatment, (4) influence from
the newspapers, movies, t.v, radio, comic, and other magazines.

The prevention of juvenile delinquency is an essential part of crime prevention in society. Guevara
and Bautista (2008) quoted that, “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”, this clearly
manifests the importance of misbehavior deterrence among the youth.

PHILIPPINE JUVENILE SYSTEM LAWS

1. Republic Act (R.A) 9344 otherwise known as Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
Moreover, Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (R.A. 9344, Sec.4, 2006) stated “child/youth
refers to any person under the age of eighteen (18)”. This act deals with children at risk and children
in conflict with the law. This provides child-appropriate proceeding, including programs and services
for prevention, diversion, rehabilitation, re-integration and aftercare to ensure their normal growth
and development. Furthermore, in Sec.6 of this Act states that “a child 15 years old or under at the
commission of the offense shall be exempted from criminal liability. A child above 15 years but
below 18 years old is likewise exempted from criminal liability but be subjected to an intervention
program”.

2. Republic Act 10630 “An Act Establishing a Comprehensive Juvenile Justice and Welfare System,
Creating the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council under the Department of Social Welfare and
Development, Appropriating Funds Therefore, and for Other Purposes."

CURRENT ISSUE
 The House Bill No. 6052, titled "An Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines,"
was approved in the House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress. Referring to "youthful
offenders" and "children in conflict with the law," the bill seeks to lower the age of criminal responsibility
from 15 to 12 years of age, provided that criminal responsibility attaches only when the minor "acted with
discernment."

REACTIONS

 PAP (Psychological Association of the Philippines)

We in the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) are against this amendment and take
the stand that the minimum age of criminal responsibility should NOT be lowered from 15 to 12
years old. We call for the strengthening of the juvenile justice system through the strict
implementation of existing laws that prosecute adults who coerce children to engage in criminal
behavior and protect and rehabilitate children in conflict with the law (CICL) through restorative
means.

Evidence and implications from psychology research:

Scientific research on adolescent development and juvenile delinquency provide evidence that
children and adolescents differ significantly from adults in decision-making, propensity to engage in risky
behavior, impulse control, identity development, and overall maturity. The developmental immaturity
of juveniles mitigates their criminal culpability. Although they may be able to discern right from
wrong action, it is their capability to act in ways consistent with that knowledge that is
compromised by several factors at this stage:
1. Deficiencies in Decision-making Capacity
a. The adolescent brain is still under development.
b. The adolescent is psychosocially immature compared to adults.
c. Adolescents differ from adults in their assessment of and attitude towards risk.
2. Heightened Vulnerability to Coercive Circumstances
a. As minors, young people lack the freedom that adults have to assert their own decisions and
extricate themselves from criminogenic settings.
b. Adolescents are more susceptible to peer influence than are adults.
3. The Disadvantaged Environment and Profile of the Filipino Child in Conflict with the Law
(CICL)
a. The typical CICL is poor, lacking in education, a victim of parental neglect and/or abuse,
and lives in a criminogenic environment.