Problems of juvenile delinquency what causes crime

PROBLEMS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.

WHAT CAUSES CRIME?

(1) What is crime caused by? When I started to investigate juvenile crime I started from the premise that most children are born thieves. The more I have discussed the problem with those involved: police, teachers, parents, social workers, children and many others — the more have I been satisfied that my premise is correct. But this wide contact has satisfied me about something else. Because they are born thieves, it does not mean that most children are born criminals. That is something they may become. They do so because of behavior and the attitudes of adults, often parents, and very frequently teachers. And that is the tragedy.

(2) We expect criminal parents to tend to bring up criminal children. But, conversely, we expect honest and law abiding parents to bring up honest and law abiding children. But do they? The appalling figures of juvenile delinquency are more than disturbing.

(3) Many parents have told me of their despair in finding that their children steal from mum’s purse or handbag or the family moneybox, tell lies on being detected and then do the same again.

(4) Nevertheless, firm action in the home can ensure that this behavior is eradicated and what I regard as the natural propensity of the child to take what he or she wants need never become ingrained as de­liberate criminal behavior.

(6) But what about crime among pupils in school? The original intention of my survey was to deal with this problem in isolation — but I found such an approach to be impossible. «What goes on in schools is a reflection of what goes on in society», I was told by Mr. R.F. Glover, the Deputy Secretary of the Headmasters’ Conference. Only a few months ago, speaking at a dinner of Scottish Association for the Study of Delinquency at Peebles, Sir David McNee, London’s Commissioner of Police, declared that a lowering of moral standards, a decline in religious beliefs and a lack of parental and family influence were the main reasons for the increasing crime rate.

(7) The result of my talks with children on juvenile crime in general is the following. There was an overwhelming criticism by the children of the lack of concern and discipline shown by their parents. A very large majority recognized the need for an effective punishment, called for the return of corporal punishment and asked for firmer discipline in schools. One other important point is that they asked for more, and in particular, less expensive, recreational facilities.

VIII. Ответьте письменно на вопросы к тексту.

1. What do many parents say about their children?

2. What were the main reasons for the increasing crime rate according to Sir David McNee?

3. Who called for the return of corporal punishment?

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Functions of courts

1. The primary function of any court system in any nation – to help keep domestic peace – is so obvious that it is rarely considered or mentioned. If there were no agency to decide impartially and authoritatively whether a person had committed a crime and, if so, what should be done with him, other persons offended by his conduct would take the law into their own hands and proceed to punish him according to their uncontrolled discretion. If there were no agency empowered to decide private disputes impartially and authoritatively, self-help, quickly degenerating into physical violence, would prevail and anarchy would result. Not even a primitive society could survive under such conditions. All social order would be destroyed. In this most basic sense, courts constitute an essential element in society’s machinery for keeping peace.

2. In the course of helping to keep the peace, courts are called upon to decide controversies. If, in a criminal case, the defendant denies committing the acts charged against him, the court must choose between his version of the facts and the prosecution’s; and if he asserts that his conduct did not constitute a crime, the court must decide whether his view of the law or the prosecution’s is correct.

3. In a civil case, if the defendant disputes the plaintiff’s account of what happened between them – for example, whether they entered into a certain agreement – or if he disputes the plaintiff’s view of the legal significance of whatever occurred – for example, whether the agreement was legally binding – the court again must choose between the contentions of the parties. The issues presented to and decided by the court may be either factual, legal, or both.

4. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that courts spend all of their time deciding controversies. Many cases brought before them are not contested. They represent potential, rather than actual, controversies in which the court’s role is more administrative than adjudicatory. The mere existence of a court renders unnecessary any very frequent exercise of its powers. The fact that it operates by known rules and with reasonably predictable results leads those who might otherwise engage in controversy to compose their differences.

5. Most people arrested and charged with crime in the common-law world plead guilty. If they do so understandingly and without coercion of any sort, there is no need to determine guilt, for the sole question is whether the defendant should go to jail, pay a fine, or be subjected to other corrective treatment. In civil-law countries some judicial inquiry into the question of guilt or innocence is required even after a confession. But the inquiry is brief and tends to be perfunctory. The main problem to be resolved, usually without contest, is what sentence should be imposed.

6. How quickly should judges act to remedy injustice and when should they consider an existing rule to be so established that its alteration calls for constitutional amendment or legislative enactment rather than judicial decision? As many dissenting opinions attest, judges themselves disagree on the answers to these questions, even when they are sitting on the same bench hearing the same case.

7. In some nations courts not only interpret legislation but determine its validity and in so doing sometimes render statutes inoperative. This happens only in nations that have written constitutions and have developed a doctrine of «judicial supremacy.» The powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and that those limits may not be mistaken, or forgotten, the Constitution is written. To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing, if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained? The distinction between a government with limited and unlimited powers, would be abolished, if those limits did not confine the persons on whom they are imposed, and if acts prohibited and acts allowed were of equal obligation. It is a proposition too plain to be contested, that the Constitution controls any legislative act repugnant to it. It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those, who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.

Precedent and common law

1. To speak of precedent as «binding» even in common-law systems is misleading. As already noted, earlier decisions can be and are distinguished when judges conclude that they are based upon situations different from those before the court in later cases. Even more significant, earlier decisions can be overruled by the courts that rendered them (not by courts lower in the judicial hierarchy) when the judges conclude that they have proved to be so erroneous or unwise as to be unsuited for current or future application.

2. The Supreme Court of the United States has overruled many of its own earlier decisions, to the con­sternation of those who yearn for a rigid separation of powers and who are unable to accept the inevitability of judicial lawmaking. Many of these overrulings are in the field of constitutional law, in which legislative correction of an erroneous judicial interpretation of the Constitution is impossible and in which the only alternative is the exceedingly slow, cumbersome, costly, and difficult process of constitutional amendment.

3. Nevertheless, the power to overrule decisions is not restricted to constitutional interpretations. It extends to areas of purely statutory and purely judge-made law as well, areas in which legislative action would be equally capable of accomplishing needed changes. Even in England, which has no written constitu­tion and which has traditionally followed a far more rigid doctrine of stare decisis than the United States, the House of Lords, in its role as the highest court, has announced its intention of departing from precedent «in appropriate cases.»

4. The desirability of judicial lawmaking has long been the subject of lively debate in both civil- and common-law countries. That courts should not arrogate to themselves unrestricted legislative power is universally accepted. But if existing statutes and precedents are outmoded or barbarous as applied to specific cases before the courts, should not judges be able to change the law in order to achieve what they conceive to be just results or, stated differently, to avoid what they consider unjust results?

5. The extent to which the judges should be bound by statutes and case precedents as against their own ethical ideas and concepts of social, political, and economic policy is an important question, as is the matter of which should prevail when justice and law appear to the judges to be out of alignment with each other. These are questions upon which reasonable persons disagree vigorously even when they are in basic agreement on the proposition that some degree of judicial lawmaking is inevitable. What is mainly at issue is the proper tempo and scope of judicial change.

6. Armed with the authority asserted at this early date, the Supreme Court of the United States has held many statutes, federal as well as state, unconstitutional and has also invalidated executive actions that violated the Constitution. Even more suprising is the fact that lower courts also possess and exercise the same powers. Whenever a question arises in any U.S. court at any level as to the constitutionality of a statute or executive action, that court is obligated to determine its validity in the course of deciding the case before it.

7. The case may have been brought for the sole and express purpose of testing the constitutionality of the statute or it may be an ordinary civil or criminal case, in which a constitutional question incidental to the main purpose of the proceeding is raised. Of course, when a lower court decides a constitutional question, its decision is subject to appellate review, sometimes at more than one level. When a state statute is challenged as violating the state constitution, the final authority is the supreme court of that state; when a federal or state statute or a state constitutional provision is challenged as violating the Constitution of the United States, the ultimate arbiter is the Supreme Court of the United States.

8. In a few American states, questions as to the constitutional validity of a statute may be referred in abstract form to the state’s highest court by the chief executive or the legislature for an advisory opinion. This, however, is unusual and, in any event, supplementary to the normal procedure of raising and deciding constitutional questions.

Causes and Solutions of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is also known as teenage crime. It is like any crime that human beings commit but these crime differ because they are committed by young people. Before coming of age girls and boys have less understanding of the world. Parents, friends and teachers are all responsible along with the juvenile who commits a crime. This is why courts do not punish the teenagers like they punish the adults when they commit a crime. There are separate juvenile courts and the purpose of juvenile punishment is to help the teenager understand the importance of staying away from crimes.

There are various theories of juvenile delinquency and various researchers have reported different reasons of delinquency. Most of the delinquent teenagers belong from low social, economical or psychological background. Some of the most common causes and solutions of juvenile delinquency are as follows.

Family

Family is the basic socialization agency for the children. Children learn basic concepts about good and bad from their family. They make their values and set the norms of society. Therefore, a family can make or break the personality of the children. Especially, in a family the most important role is played by the parents and siblings. Family can give firm foundation to the children to become good adults.

Broken families, single parent families, separated families, frequent parents fight, lack of trust and confidence among the parents, criminality or psychological problems are some common reasons behind juvenile delinquency. Similarly, siblings rivalry or unequal treatment between children can also make a child deviant. Therefore, parents and elder siblings have the responsibility to mold a positive personality of the child. When parents or siblings do not show moral behavior and commit crime younger siblings also get motivation to do something bad.

Economic problems in family

Often the cause of juvenile delinquency is economic problems in family. Youth belonging from poor economical status easily get involved in criminal activities. They want to improve their status and for this purpose they take negative path. In this regard, people do not support teenagers who belong from poor status and they go for criminal activities.

Psychological problems in family

Psychological problems in parents or siblings can also be a risk factor of juvenile delinquency. Mental illnesses or other psychological problems like depression, frustration, aggression or hyper behavior showed by the parents can make the child feel deprived and inferior among friends. Sometimes children adopt depression and anger from parents or elder siblings.

Social problems in family

In many families parents or elder siblings are involved in socially deviant activities. For example, gender discrimination, age discrimination, racial discrimination, child labor, law breaking or violation of animal rights. In some families parents do not feel shame in child labor and children could not understand that child labor is against society and against morality. Social problems cause stress and due to stress teens get involved in violence.

Moral problems in family

Morality is the most important concern among teens today. Teens should know how to respect themselves, and respect others. You have to inculcate moral values during early life of a child. For example, maintaining discipline in a class is important as it teaches children manners and respect. So, does in family the parents should maintain a respectful, healthy, and caring environment.

Parenting style

Every parent has a unique parenting style that is developed from their experiences. But, psychologists have divided these styles largely in three parenting styles. These include authoritative, liberal, and moderate parenting styles. Positive parenting during early childhood and adolescence act as a buffers, helping children stay away from delinquency.

So what is positive parenting? A positive parenting is a healthy mix of normative development, discipline and some freedom. It is really important that parents should monitor their children during their free time. They should have knowledge of their child’s friends and classmates. Particularly, during early childhood parents should keep a bond with their children. It is a wise idea to visit their schools on and off. Parents can participate in volunteer activities in their child’s school. This gives them a unique opportunity to enjoy time with their child and monitor their activities.

Solution

The family should have a positive attitude towards life and towards society. Parents and elder siblings should show the children positive values, norms and standards of society. Consequently, the children will be able to show the right behavior to the society. Family is the role model of every child and a model behavior by the family can give motivation to the child to behave positively. Government should support families that have poor economic status so that they can improve their financial condition. Parents should also teach children the importance of respecting laws of society. Parents should tell their children the consequences of breaking laws that government has made for public safety and betterment. They should make sure that they observe equality of rights, justice and condemn discrimination.

Person and society

Sometimes there are some personal or societal reasons responsible for the delinquent behavior. Although it is evident from several research on juvenile delinquency that it is difficult to segregate the various underlying reasons behind juvenile delinquency. Because, the reasons for delinquency are complex and multilayered.

Disability

Some adolescent faces hardship in life due to some physical problem. The society does not accept a person who does not have similar capacities and abilities that a so-called average person has. Society is often cruel towards a handicap and this unequal and unjust attitude of the society develops negative feelings in the person. Consequently, these negative feelings make the person commit crime. They want to take revenge from society, friends, family or peer group.

Psychological and mental concerns are also important when talking about juvenile delinquency. Mental disability is another big cause of juvenile delinquency. Mentally ill boys or girls can commit any crime without knowing the consequences of it. Statistics show that mental illnesses are one of the biggest reason behind juvenile delinquency in America and other developed countries.

Learning disabilities

There are several research done in the recent years that show significant relationship between learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency. It is very important to know the type of relationship that exist between the two as it will help the education policy makers. Because, this will enable educational policy makers to understand the needs of students with learning disabilities.

Keilitz and Dunivant (1986) in their study on the relationship of learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency reported that “adolescents with learning disabilities had significantly higher rates of general delinquent behavior; they engaged in more violence, substance abuse, and school disruption than non-learning-disabled adolescents. The likelihood of arrest and adjudication was also substantially higher for adolescents handicapped by learning disabilities”.

Racism

In modern society racial differences are also a very strong reason behind juvenile delinquency. It can cause crimes by the adolescents as they become aggressive and want to take revenge from the society. S

Drug use

The use and sale of drugs is a criminal activity that is often the reason for other crimes. Drugs use and sale is prohibited and punishable by law in every society. Sadly, many school and college campuses are the place for drug culture. The Juvenile Justice department is making sure that every school and college is a drug free environment.

Solution:

We should not forget that every child is unique. Especially, kids with disability should have equal inclusion in schools and colleges. In case of any disability parents and teachers should talk to the teens about their problems and they should try to solve their problems. From early childhood parents should ensure that their children meet people of their age and know how to behave in the society.

The educational policy makers and juvenile justice should work together to understand the needs of students with learning disabilities. This can bring a lot of positive impact on the individuals with learning disabilities and on the society. A lot of studies in recent years have focused on the improvement of academic treatment programs for students with learning disabilities. These studies suggest that remedial instruction is effective in improving the learning ability of the youth and thereby preventing delinquent behaviors.

Peer group influence

Peer group is a very strong force that can cause delinquent behavior in the adolescent. Adolescents want to get peer group acceptance and they are afraid that if they will not participate in similar activities they will get rejected. There is a growing concern that parents should know about their children’s peer group. They should have a good friendly relationship with their children’s friends. As a result, they will know any negative influence on their kids.

Gangs and cliques

Youth can easily become part of a gang or clique during their age they think it appropriate to be powerful and to be part of a large group. Often strong groups and gangs are ones that are indulged in negative actions. These gangs and cliques exist everywhere in society. You should make your child well aware of the problems they can face if they become part of any such group. For instance, tell them about the punishment fro different law breaking or deviant activities. As a result, of this awareness they will stay away from becoming part of these groups.

Peer group rejection

Sometimes youth do not get acceptance in their peer group for some reason. For instance, kids with disability, financial problems, behavior issues, and moral misconduct can get very few friends than other kids. Consequently, negative groups take an opportunity to take them as a part of their group. Coupled with, negative groups they engage in deviant activities. Of course, this gives them a satisfaction to be part of a strong group than to stay alone.

Solution

Peer group influence is very strong on teens and parents should see the friends of their children. They should create a healthy and friendly relationship with their children. In this way children feel free to share anything and everything with their parents. Likewise, parents should know about the problems children are facing in getting accepted in a group.

Society

Society itself sometimes become very negative and create difficulties for the youth. As it is a strong force in developing personality of the teens. Developing negative feelings from society can become a reason behind juvenile delinquency.

Labeling

It can destroy the personality of the youth and make the teen a criminal forever. Labeling means that society labels a teen criminal once he commits a crime. Although, this is the first time but due to the tagging the adolescent will perceive himself a criminal. He will repeat similar crime or other crimes in future. Moreover the adolescent will no longer feel any embarrassment in committing crimes.

Solution

Community and society as a whole can play a big role in the prevention of the juvenile delinquency. According to Wright 1977, there is an increased need of community partnership in the prevention of the juvenile delinquency. Wright and his fellow Dixon did a research on the community prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency and they concluded that the policies and the prevention plans from different communities have yet not proved to be effective. There need to be new policies that have better chances of delinquency prevention and high utility in the society.

Causes and Solutions of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is also known as teenage crime. It is like any crime that human beings commit but these crime differ becasue they are committed by young people. Before coming of age girls and boys have less understanding of the world. Parents, friends and teachers are all responsible along with the juvenile who commit a crime. This is why courts do not punish the teenagers like they punish the adults when they commit a crime. There are separate juvenile courts and the purpose of juvenile punishment is to help the teenager understand the importance of staying away from crimes.
There are various theories of juvenile delinquency and various researchers have reported different reasons of delinquency. Most of the delinquent teenagers belong from low social, economical or psychological background. Some of the most common causes of juvenile delinquency are as follows.

Family is the basic socialization agency for the children. Children learn basic concepts about good and bad from their family, they make their values and set the norms of society. Family can make or break the personality of the children. In family the most important role is played by the parents and siblings. Most of the adolescents who show delinquent behavior in any form belong to families that could not give firm foundation to the children. Broken families, single parent families, separated families, frequent parents fight, lack of trust and confidence among the parents, criminal parents or psychological problems in parents can be the msot important reason behind juvenile delinquency. The other reason can be siblings rivalry or unequal treatment between children. Parents and elder siblings have the responsibility to mold the personality of the children. When parents or siblings do not show moral behavior or they commit crime children or younger siblings also get motivation t o do something bad a delinquent behavior.

Often the cause of juvenile delinquency is economic problems in family. Youth belonging from poor economical status easily get involved in criminal activities. They want to improve their status and for this purpose they use negative path, in this regard often people do not support teenagers who belong from poor status and they go for criminal activities.

Psychological problems in parents or siblings can also be a risk factor of juvenile delinquency. Mental illnesses or other psychological problems like depression, frustration, aggression or hyper behavior showed by the parents can make the child feel deprived and inferior among friends. Sometimes children adopt depression and anger from parents or elder siblings.

In many families parents or elder siblings are involved in various social problems. There can be various problems like gender discrimination, age discrimination, racial discrimination, child labor or voilation of animal rights. Children and youth learn what they see in their family, in many rich families parents do not feel shame in child labor and children could not understand that child labor is against society and against morality. Social problems cause stress and due to stress teens get involved in voilence.

Morality is the most important concen among teens today. Teens should know how to respect family and other people. They should give the due respect to everyone they know and meet. Some parents do not take care of their elders, and it is a known fact that such children who see their parents disrespecting their elders, their children never respect their parents and elder siblings.

Parenting style also matters and many researchers say that it is one of the biggest reason why teens commit crime. Parents are some time very harsh and they punish their children for small issues. Children start disrespecting their parents and they become violent.

Solution:

The family should have a positive attitude towards life and towards society. Parents and elder siblings should show the children positive values, norms and standards of society in this way the children will be able to show the right behavior to the society. Family is the role model of every child and a model behavior by the parents and siblings can give motivation to the child to behave positively. Government should support families that have poor economic status so that they can improve their financial condition. Parents should also teach children the importance of respecting laws of society. Parents should tell their children the consequences of breaking laws that government has made for public safety and betterment. Parents should make sure that they observe equality of rights, justice and condemn discrimination.

Personal Reasons:

Sometimes parents or family has nothing to do with the delinquent behavior of the juvenile, neither does the teachers or neighborhood have to do with the delinquent behavior of the teenager. There are sometimes personal reasons responsible for the delinquent behavior. Sometimes the adolescent faces hardship in life due to some psychological or physical problem that he is going through. A physical handicap will go through many problems in life as the society does not accept a person who does not have similar capacities and abilities that a normal person has. Society is often cruel towards a handicap and this unequal and unjust attitude of the society develops negative feelings in the person. The negative feelings make the person commit crime even if he belongs to a good family. This is a very common reason for commiting crime in adolescence. Those adolescents who are suffering from some psychological or physical problem want to take revenge from society, friends, family or peer group.
In modern society racial differences are also a very strong reason behind juvenile delinquency. Racial diffferences can cause several big crimes by the adolescents as adolescents become aggressive and they want to take revenge from the society for the unequal treatment that the society shows to them. Drug use is also a very common cause of juvenile delinquency. Those juveniles who use drugs usually get involved in criminal activities as most of their friends belong to criminal class.

Psychological and mental concerns are also important when talking about juvenile delinquency. Mental disability is another big cause of juvenile delinquency. Mentally ill boys or girls can commit any crime without knowing the consequences of it. Statistics show that mental illnesses are one of the biggest reason behind juvenile delinquency in America and other developed countries.

Drug use has become widespread among teenage boys and girls. Drugs use is prohibited by laws in many societies. Drug use in youth can be dangerous as they can commit voilent crimes when they take drugs.

Physical disabilities can also cause juvenile delinquency. Juveniles that are physically or mentally handicap usually want to take revenge from other people for their complexes. They want to achieve success in life using negative means.

Solution:

Parents can take the responsibility of fighting against any odd that their children have in their personality. Children especially teenage children have not reached the age of maturity where they know the difference between good and bad. Their parents do know what’s good and what’s not and they should keep an eye on their children. They should know about the friends of their children and their other mates. In case of any disability parents and teachers should talk to the teens about their problems and they should try to solve their problems. From early childhood parents should ensure that their children meet people of their age and know how to behave in the society.

Peer group influence:

Peer group is a very strong force that can cause delinquent behavior in the adolescent. When friends commit crime adolescents often learn to do it and they cannot understand the consequences of the crime. Peer group rejection can aslo be the cause of juvenile delinquency. Adolescents can aslo show delinquent behavior when they cannot get similar resources as their friends have. Parents should ensure that their children are hanging out with friends who belong to their class as this will prevent adolescent jealousy which can cause several crimes in adolescents. Parents should also see that their children are going out with good friends that belong to respectable families. They should not become part of any gang.

Youth can easily become part of a gang or clicque during their age they think it appropriate to be powerful and to be part of a large group. Often strong groups and gangs are ones that are indulged in negative actions. Peer group influence can be positive and it can be negative.

Abusive behavior is the first step towards commiting crimes. When teens become part of a clicque that is abusive and that does not know how to behave the teen also get involved in negative means.

Sometimes youth do not get acceptance in any group as they do not have a strong personality and due to peer group rejection they commit crimes.

Solution:

Peer group influence is very strong on teens and parents should see the friends of their children. They should create a healthy and friendly relationship with their children. In this way children feel free to share anything and everyhting with their parents.

Society:

Society itself sometimes become very negative and create difficulties for the youth. Society is a strong force in developing perosnality of the teens. Developing negative feelings from society can become a reason behind juvenile delinquency.

Labeling can destroy the personality of the youth and make the teen a criminal forever. Labeling means that society labels a teen criminal once he commits a crime, though this is his first time but due to the tagging he will percieve himself a criminal. He will repeat similar crime or other crimes in future. He will no longer feel any embarrasement in commiting crimes.

Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Effects

Abstract

Given the widespread family, societal, community, and individual costs that come with high rates of juvenile delinquency, one cannot help to wonder what the government is doing about it. It is also everybody’s concern that the government may not be doing enough to make a difference.

It is important to note, at this point, that one can effortlessly appear non-delinquent after a correctional program, while deep inside him/her the delinquent characteristics are intact. Delinquency programs for the youth have continually focused on individual behavior while ignoring community, family, and neighborhood factors, which are the most critical factors contributing to delinquent behavior.

It is common knowledge that the problem of juvenile delinquency is immense in the society, and thus a change of tact is critical if the society is to overcome this problem. This paper will explore other various factors that lead to juvenile delinquency, and propose solutions to this problem.

Introduction

Delinquency refers to the violation of a law by a child. It is analogous with the commitment of a crime by an adult. Juvenile delinquency is an issue of great concern in law enforcement, and correctional circles.

Every state in the U.S. is aiming to reduce the number of juveniles being recruited to delinquency, and the number of juvenile delinquents recidivating.

Despite the efforts taken in a bid to reduce the number of delinquents and recidivists, the U.S. continues to record high numbers of juvenile offenders in juvenile correctional facilities. This, therefore, calls for a nuanced approach in the issue of juvenile delinquency.

It is critical to understand the extent of growth of juvenile offending. Statistics released by bureaus in various states indicate that the rate of juvenile offense is increasing. Offending patterns among groups that have, in the past, been described as risk groups for juvenile delinquency are worsening, or at least, unchanging.

There is therefore, the need to analyze the causes of Juvenile delinquency, evaluate the effects that delinquency has on the society, and come up with interventions that can lead to a reduction in the rate of delinquency, and recidivism, among juveniles. This paper describes the problem of juvenile recidivism, and suggests ways in which the rate of delinquency can be reduced.

Juvenile delinquency statistics

A substantial percentage of arrests made each day in the U.S. comprises of people below the age of 18. It is estimated that the percentage for violent crime arrests currently stands at about 17 % (Barker 1). “Juveniles accounted for 16% of all violent crimes arrests and 32% of all property crime arrests in 1999. They accounted for 54% of all arson arrests, 42% of vandalism arrests, 31 % of larceny arrests, and 33% of burglary arrests” (“Juvenile Justice” 1).

The number of juveniles engaging in delinquent behavior in various states is dependent on racial disparities. Currently, black juveniles constitute the highest number of youths being held in residential custody. Their number is almost twice the number of Hispanics held in residential custody, and it is five times the number of white juveniles held in residential custody in the United States (“Juvenile Justice” 1).

In a number of cases, Juveniles are tried in adult courts. In fact, the Kansas and Vermont states in the U.S. have statutory provisions that allow the trial of juveniles as young as 10 years of age in adult courts. This situation may need review. This is because youth who are held in adult prisons tend to have a higher rate of recidivism than those in juvenile systems (“Juvenile Justice” 1).

In the United States, more than 1.7 million juvenile delinquency cases were disposed in the year 1997. Two thousand of the aforementioned cases were criminal homicide. Forcible rape constituted 6,500, while aggravated assault cases totaled 67,900. Out of the 1.7 million, 180,000 were cases were drug-related (“Juvenile Justice” 1).

The statistics outlined above show the seriousness of the issue of delinquency in the United States. Given the effects that delinquency has in the society, it is vital to understand the causes of delinquency. It is also critical to come up with solutions and prevention strategies for delinquency.

Causes of juvenile delinquency

There has been heated debates world over among criminologists, psychologists, and sociologists concerning the possible causes of delinquency in juveniles. The causes that are included in the following discussion are those that have been proven through practical research.

One of the leading causes of delinquent behavior among juveniles is peer influence. Research shows that young people who form relationships with positive individuals and groups that pursue positive commitments tend to shun delinquent behavior. On the other hand, juveniles can engage in activities that do not have concrete objectives and commitments.

These kinds of activities are likely to lead to volatile relationships that may encourage delinquent behavior. Examples of these behaviors include drinking and smoking. Other behaviors without commitment that juveniles may engage in include watching television, and spending too much time watching movies.

Despite the fact that most people attach no harm to these activities, research has proven that the more time peers spend time watching television, the more likely they are to engage in delinquent behaviors (Mandel 1).

Another factor that has been proved to contribute to juvenile delinquency is family influence. It is even suspected that family influence contributes to delinquent behavior more than peer pressure. Research has proven that families in which there is no strong emotional bonding tend to have juveniles who turn out to be delinquent.

This is because the juveniles may develop psychological problems like rejection and low self-esteem, which may lead to delinquent behavior. Other causes of psychological problems like trauma and low self-esteem are also linked to delinquency. The two can originate from sources outside the family.

Children who are abused or exposed to family violence are likely to be delinquents. Some studies have linked genes to delinquency, arguing that children who are raised by criminals and drug addicts are likely to become delinquent. Another risk is a family in which there are no effective communication channels. Children who are raised in this kind of a family may have issues that they want to address, but they may lack audience.

This is likely to make them result to delinquent behavior. Non-traditional families like reconstituted families and single parent families may also be a factor. Research has shown that children who are raised by single parents or divorcees tend to be more delinquent than their counterparts who are raised in traditional families are (Mandel 1).

Race is a significant factor in predicting delinquent behavior. The main reason why race is a determinant factor for delinquency is that minority groups are not accorded the same treatment as other races. This makes them to live disgruntled lives, which may make them have delinquent behavior.

Once the trend of delinquency is set in a certain race, the peer influence then fuels recidivism and fresh offense. It is important to note that numerous scholars argue that race is not the factor, but racism is (Mandel 1).

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 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 an 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.

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.

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.

Conclusion

From the discussion above, it is clear that delinquency is an 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.

Juvenile Delinquency: Causes, Types, Factors, and Control

The problem of juvenile delinquency is becoming more complicated and universal, and crime prevention programmes are either unequipped to deal with the present realities or do not exist. Many developing countries have done little to deal with these problems, and international programmes are obviously insufficient. Developed countries are engaged in activities aimed at juvenile crime prevention. Still, the overall effect of these programmes is relatively weak because the mechanisms in place are often inadequate to address the existing situation.

What is Delinquency?

It was William Coxson who, in 1484, used the term ‘delinquent’ to describe a person found guilty of a customary offence. In simpler words, it may be said that delinquency is a form of behaviour or rather misbehaviour or deviation from society’s generally accepted norms of conduct.

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary has defined delinquency as deviant or criminal behaviour, usually among young people, and increases juvenile delinquency.

Who are Children and Juvenile?

Na me of the Act

A child/juvenile is a person who is under the age of

The Majority Act, 1875

The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890

The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929

The Suppression of Violence Against
Women and Children, 2003

The Bangladesh Shrama Ain, 2006

The children act, 2013

What is Juvenile Delinquency or Crime?

Juvenile delinquency has, for sometimes past, been a subject creating much social concern and, as such, has prompted many investigators and researchers to probe into its causes. The most exciting aspect of the issue of juvenile delinquency is that at every age, it has been regarded as a problem peculiar to contemporary society,

While the fact is that, like adult criminal behaviour, it has always existed in some form or the other, there is no apparent reason to expect that it will not remain so in the future. It is, therefore, necessary that as much meticulous care as is possible is taken to mould tie behaviour and outlook at every step and stage. Blind severity in youth produces an anti-social attitude in maturity (Ahamed 1966). It is sometimes argued that delinquency is not a criminal status. But this view has been exploded by Paul W. Tappan, who asserts that euphemistic terminology such as «hearing» instead of «trial» or «disposition» instead of «sentence» should not conceal from us the fact the nature of the entire procedure may be little different from that of a criminal court. Still, it may be even worse, for it may abandon the fundamentals of justice to promote superior justice (Tappan 1951: 170).

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Delinquency is a legal term initially used in 1899 when Illinois passed the first Law on juvenile delinquents’ behaviour. Juvenile delinquency is typically defined as an act committed by a minor that violates the government’s Penal Code with authority over the area in which the action occurred.

Juvenile delinquency is a subculture. It is today recognised as a social cum human problem. The difference between the delinquent and the non-delinquent is the degree of exposure to this delinquency culture pattern. ‘Juvenile delinquency’ refers to illegal anti-social behaviour by children. So, it is the term used for offences committed by children under a particular age limit.
Generally, ‘Juvenile Delinquency’ means those activities committed by under-aged persons forbidden by society or the Penal Code. But there are many disagreements among criminologists and sociologists on defining this multidimensional phenomenon. As a result, no standard or universal definition of the concept of delinquency has been developed as yet.

According to Paranjape, «Juvenile delinquency refers to a large variety of disapproved behaviours of children and adolescents that society does not approve of and some kind of admonishment, punishment or corrective measure is justified in the public interest». On the other hand, the Second United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in August 1950 in London explained that juvenile delinquency is restricted to all violations of criminal Law and minors’ maladjusted behaviours, which society disapproves.

Considering the following vital issue: (a) age and accountability of the accused; (b) probably the deleterious influence of the family on him; (c) inadequate guardianship role, particularly in this respect; (e) being the closest situation to an adult crime that may progressively be merged into one another and so on. The problem of delinquency has been guaranteed by all possible ways and means.

‘Juvenile delinquency’ refers to illegal anti-social behaviour by children. So, it is the term used for offences committed by children under a particular age limit. According to the Children Act, 1974, the age limit for children is 16 years in Bangladesh. But in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989- ‘Juvenile’ refers to a person under 18 years. So, children’s laws and policies in Bangladesh are not consistent with UNCRC. The definition of a child or a juvenile is not uniform in the laws of Bangladesh. Different legislations provide different age limits for delinquents, but all are within 12 to 18 years of age.

Sutherland (1949) defines juvenile delinquency as adolescents acting out subterranean values or impulses that are an accepted part of a culture but nonetheless tend to be obscured and, to a greater or lesser extent, controlled in the mainstream of society.

Span (2002 ) observed juvenile delinquency as the anti-social behaviour of a minor, not more than 18 years of age, which violates the general welfare of people in a larger society. Ozanne et al. (1998) research suggests that juvenile delinquency is an act of cultural resistance. The simplest definition of the significant child-related issue in many countries is ‘children who act against the law’.

However, there are other definitions of the child in various other legislations. A few examples of the Child Marriage Restraint Act section 2(a) defines a child and a minor if male as one under 21 years of age and if female under 18 years of age. The Bangladesh Labor Act, 2006 section 2(8) says Kishore means someone who has reached the age of 18 years. The Vagrancy Act, section 2(3), provides that a child means a person under 14 years.

From some viewpoints, there is a difference between adult criminals and juvenile delinquents, a product of modern legal philosophy. Delinquency has sociological implications given factors are as age and criminal accountability, and recognition of parental responsibility to ensure social obedience of the child. In this study, juvenile delinquent means juveniles the age of 8 to 18 years who commit delinquency for the first time and has discharged under probation and after-care services under the supervision of a PO.

Types of Juvenile Delinquency

According to the developmental research of Moffitt (2006), two different types of offenders emerge in adolescence. One is the repeat offender, referred to as the life-course-persistent offender, who begins offending or showing aggressive anti-social behaviour in adolescence (or even childhood) and continues into adulthood; and the age-specific offender, referred to as the adolescence-limited offender, for whom juvenile offending or delinquency begins and ends during their period of adolescence. Because most teenagers tend to show some form of anti-social aggressive or delinquent behaviour during adolescence, it is essential to account for these behaviours in childhood to determine whether they will be life-course-persistent offenders or adolescents-limited offenders. Although adolescent-limited offenders tend to drop all criminal activity once they enter adulthood and show less pathology than life-course-persistent offenders, they still show more mental health, substance abuse, and finance problems, both in adolescence and adulthood, than those who were never delinquent.

Features of Juvenile Delinquency in Bangladesh

All the political and socio-economic variables changed the rate and pattern of adult crimes and juvenile delinquency. Many social factors contribute to the commission and increase of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the frequency of juvenile offences has risen with the rise in population. The socio-cultural and economic changes occurred in the growing industrialisation and urbanisation of global and national media influence. The urbanisation process has affected family life in our country, causing the breakdown of family values and the subsequent growth of social disorganisation, which has worsened the juvenile delinquency situation in Bangladesh.

Current Trends of Juvenile Delinquency

b) The number of drug-related crimes is growing.

c) The process of globalisation and greater mobility of large population groups has led to increased criminal activity associated with intolerance towards members of other cultures.

d) The difficulties encountered by immigrants and their descendants in certain countries are sometimes related to the high levels of group crime deriving from the activities of the ethnically based delinquent groups.

e) In many cases, juvenile crimes are linked to less apparent sources of motivation; various actions may reflect, for example, the standards of particular subcultures, teachings or traditions deriving from religious radicalism or the compulsion to use violence as a means of contracting gender identity.

f) Children and adolescents under challenging circumstances constitute a ready reserve for organised crimes, participation in armed conflicts, human and drug trafficking, and sexual exploitation.

g) The disintegration of families, poverty, and the death of parents in armed conflict or from HIV / AIDS has led to the forced independence of many young people worldwide.

Cause of Juvenile Delinquency in Bangladesh

Problematic family is a crucial cause for the deviation of the juveniles. The absence of a father or mother due to death or divorce, lack of parental control, lack of home discipline, sour relations between father and mother, and the presence of criminals among the family members are the principal indications of a problematic family. Due to these problems, a child’s mental growth takes an abnormal course. In slum areas, adult males and females get married several times. They have children of their first and second marriages. These children are not usually taken care of. These uncared children become notorious criminals in different organised gangs. The juveniles of a well-off family with a father residing abroad derail due to a lack of father’s guidance. They get a tremendous amount of money from their father. Affluence and the father’s absence make the juvenile involved in a vicious circle.

Due to poverty, loss of land by river erosion, and unemployment, many people have been migrating from different parts of the country to Dhaka and other metropolitan cities. Large scale migration from village to town started in the 1980s. Many women from rural areas came to the city and started working in garment factories. This titanic migration had to degenerate effect on city life, destroying the social equilibrium of Dhaka, Chittagong and some other metropolitan cities. The people coming from villages usually take shelter in slum areas, pavements and streets. They are deprived of basic necessities and basic amenities of life. The father and mother of the family go out of their abode in the first hour of the day to earn money, leaving their children uncared for and uncontrolled. In this situation, the politicians use children (popularly known as Tokai) in their political activities, including picketing and ransacking cars and shops. They have also utilised organised gangs in their criminal activities.

The surrounding environment of slum areas, smuggling zone and crime-prone areas are very vulnerable for the juveniles. When residing in such places, juveniles come in contact with criminal patterns and learn criminal techniques, and then they become notorious criminals. Action movies and obscene pictures hurt the mindset of juveniles. The violence and sexuality visualised in the film make the juvenile go to brothels and involve them in violent activities. There is no single cause or simple explanation for the development of delinquency behaviour, but there are different causes of delinquency. The various reasons are being followed.

In the context of Bangladesh, juvenile delinquency is a burning issue that severely affects our social life. But for this crisis, not only our juveniles are blamed mainly, but our present social structure, culture and overall mismanagement of our economy are also responsible. On 27th October 2004, the ‘Daily Noyadigonta’ published a report on juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. This report emphasised that juveniles are involved in various criminal activities through underworld connections. They are engaged in theft, pick-pocketing, murder, arms and bomb caring, drug-selling etc. The report showed that the Godfathers used them for holding their arms and drugs. These juveniles are involved in various criminal activities for the lack of parent’s care and poverty, and the Godfathers properly utilise their (juveniles) weakness of poverty (Noyadigonto, 27th October 2004: 8). In an article, Md. Anwar Hossan (2002) has identified various factors of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. The vital factors which influence juveniles to involve in multiple criminal activities are- imitation, mass media, child labour, the influence of slums, poverty, lack of constructive recreation, peer group association, family crisis etc. (Hossan, 2002: 19-25).

Mohammed Afsar Uddin (1995) identified many factors for the involvement of juveniles in criminal activities in his ‘Juvenile Delinquency in Bangladesh’. The vital factor for juvenile delinquency is– Psychological factors, cultural factors, family conditions, family control & relationship. When a particular society breaks down; there nobody can replace himself quickly with the normal norms and traditional rules of society. In this circumstance, the juveniles feel pressure and frustrated because of society’s present depression and imbalance. So juveniles involve in many ananti-socialctivities for the current societal depression. People migrate from villages to urban because of in-industrialisation and ur-urbanisation various working sources etc. As a result, people are cut off from their previous norms, values, rules-regulations and other customs. Therefore, people feel many cultural problems in the present situation. The existing cultural conflict in society severely affects the juvenile, which leads them to be involved in many criminal activities. Condition of family, control over children by family also promotes the juvenile to involve in various crimes. Data about family control over juveniles show that 57% of juvenile families have control of their juveniles, leading them to be involved in many delinquent activities gradually (Afsaruddin 1995: 25-28).

In Bangladesh, the poor and the children of wealthy families are involved in many anti-social activities. The rich family gives their children vast amounts of money for expenditure, which influences them to indirectly activate any criminal activities. In many poor families, the family members are always involved in quarrels because of poverty, which negatively impacts the children’s minds; children spend most of their time with their friends outdoors to be relieved from family crises, which gradually influences them to involve in many criminal activities.

Dealing with Juvenile Delinquency

The procedures followed in the juvenile justice system differ significantly from those observed for adult offenders. Each state has specific programs or systems that deal with juvenile offenders. Juvenile offenders come into police contact in several ways. Some are caught committing a crime and arrested; others are referred to the police by parents or school officials. Once the police have become involved, they may choose to deal with a juvenile offender in several ways. The police can:

a) issue a warning and release the minor

b) detain the minor and notify the parents to pick him up

c) refer the case to juvenile court

d) arrest the minor and refer the case to juvenile court

If the case goes to court, the minor and the parents meet with a juvenile court intake officer. The intake officer can handle the matter informally, refer the juvenile to a probation officer, dismiss the case, or file formal charges. When deciding whether to file charges, officers often consider:

b) the offender’s age

c) the offender’s previous record

d) the offender’s educational or social history

e) the ability of the parents to control the offender’s behaviour or seek help

If dealt with informally, the minor reports to a probation officer, is given advice and is ordered to perform community service, pay fines, attend treatment, or enter probation.

If charges are filed in juvenile court, the minor is arraigned, at which time his charges are read before a judge. The judge then decides whether to detain or release the juvenile until the hearing. After appearing in court, three things are possible:

a) Plea Agreement – the minor may enter a plea agreement with the court. This often requires the juvenile to comply with specific conditions, such as attending counselling, obeying a curfew, or paying restitution.

b) Diversion – the judge may divert the case, which means he retains control over the matter until the juvenile successfully completes treatment programs or performs community services. If the juvenile fails to comply, formal charges may be reinstated.

c) Adjudicatory Hearing – the judge may decide to have an adjudicatory hearing, a trial in a juvenile case. While both sides argue the case and present evidence, a juvenile trial before a judge, not a jury. If the judge decides the juvenile is delinquent at the end of the hearing, he may order punishments such as probation, community service, or even detention in a juvenile centre.

Preventing Juvenile Delinquency

Prevention of juvenile delinquency serves at-risk youths, their families, and the public as it can stop the transition of juvenile offenders to adult offenders. Prevention services are offered by different government and private agencies and include such services as:

§ Substance Abuse Treatment

§ Family Planning Services

The availability of education, and encouragement of minors in obtaining an education, play a large role in preventing juvenile delinquency. This is because education promotes social cohesion and helps children learn to make good choices and practice self-control.