EFFECTIVENESS OF THE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN BARANGAY

CENTRAL, MATI CITY

Background of the Study:

As Emile Durkheim states, criminality is unavoidable in any developed or undeveloped

community. Anyone between the ages of an adult and a minor has the power to commit a crime.

Hence, it stands to reason that crime may occur anywhere and is inevitable. With the presence

and rates of crime in society, it is seen as one of the most important concerns. Moreover, society

is more worried about the unavoidable occurrence of juvenile delinquency.

The habitual commission of criminal acts or offenses by a young person, particularly one

under the age at which regular criminal prosecution is conceivable, is known as juvenile

delinquency (Aclis, 2016). Delinquency is described as a socially undesirable act or behavior

committed by a juvenile. According to Sirohi (2010) as cited by Howell (2015), a juvenile is a

youth under the legal age of majority in their country who cannot be held accountable for their

criminal behaviour. Juvenile delinquency is thus an antisocial behaviour that is illegal or

criminalistics in nature, committed by a minor on a regular basis, which cannot be managed by a

parent or guardian and necessitates the assistance of law enforcement organizations because the

act endangers society's well-being.

 The researchers shown that early intervention prevents the onset of delinquent behavior

and supports the development of a youth’s assets and resilience. It also decreases rates of

recidivism when youth do go on to engage with the justice system. While many past approaches

focus on remediating visible and/or longstanding disruptive behavior, research has shown that

prevention and early intervention are more effective. The researchers also meet the needs of

adolescents who may be at risk of entering the juvenile justice system; researchers have

supported a positive youth development model. Work, school, relationships, community, health,

and creativity are all addressed in one positive youth development concept. All youth require two

important assets: learning/doing and attachment/belonging. Positive outcomes are expected when

the essential supports and services are provided to assist adolescents in the six life domains.

Based on the Youth.Gov (n.d.) article, there are two types of delinquents: those who have

been set on their antisocial behavior since childhood and those who were just influenced during

their adolescence. However, regardless of the type, we cannot blame minors who commit crimes.

According to Aala et al. (2013), children are more vulnerable and more prone to being deviants,

especially those who live in the street and come from poor families, since they have been

influenced by what they can hear and see in this modern world.

There have been heated disputes over how they should be dealt with and punished.

However, because juvenile delinquents are still at a young age, ranging from 18 years old and

below, the best interests of the child, as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, will

always come first in order to protect and support their individual development and change, even

if they are offenders. In its efforts to limit this behavior, the government has addressed both
public safety and the need to rehabilitate young offenders. Many treatment and rehabilitation

centers were founded and regulated by legislation at the time. However, this has not resulted in a

drop in the number of instances.

According to Pavithra (2021) UNICEF estimates as of 2021, the global number of

children in conflict with the law or juvenile delinquents is predicted to be approximately

261,200. However, there is still a lack of precise figures on the subject because different

countries have established different standards for the age range of children. In the Philippines,

the population of juvenile delinquents is growing at an alarming rate. Each year, hundreds of

juveniles who commit crimes are arrested and detained by the law, according to Juvenile Justice

Welfare. They were transferred to detention and rehabilitation center. Despite the absence of

accurate numbers of minors who commit crime, it is evident that there is and there will always be

children who will be deviant to the social law. In order to at least limit the number of incidents of

juvenile crime, early intervention helps to avoid the start of delinquent conduct and promotes the

development of a young person's assets and resilience. Furthermore, many studies have shown

that prevention and early intervention are effective ways of addressing the issue and the

development of the child.

With the availability of different preventative programs, the researchers were encouraged

to determine the various programs. The study also seeks to assess if residents and government

officials are aware of these initiatives, as well as whether they are beneficial in promoting youth

discipline and assisting them in avoiding the wrong path. Lastly, the study seeks to discover the

problems that were faced during program implementation.

Statement of the problem

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of;

a. Age

b. Gender

c. Length of service

2. What is the different programs implemented for juvenile delinquency prevention;

3. What is the different program juvenile delinquency prevention programs implemented;

4. What is the challenges encountered in the implementation of juvenile delinquency

prevention programs; and

5. To determine if there is a difference between the response of two groups of respondents

in the effectiveness of the implementation of the different juvenile delinquency

prevention programs.

Research Objectives

This study aims to determine the different programs implemented for juvenile

delinquency prevention which could strengthen the discipline of youths in Mati City.

Specifically, it will determine the following objectives:

 To identify the different programs implemented for juvenile delinquency

prevention;
 To assess respondents' awareness of the various juvenile delinquency prevention

programs that are being implemented;

 To determine the effectiveness of the different juvenile delinquency prevention

programs implemented;

 To determine the challenges encountered in the implementation of juvenile

delinquency prevention programs; and

 To determine if there is a difference between the response of two groups of

respondents in the effectiveness of the implementation of the different juvenile

delinquency prevention programs.