Juvenile Crime Is Increasing at A Terrifying Rate
Juvenile Crime Is Increasing at A Terrifying Rate
Juvenile Crime Is Increasing at A Terrifying Rate
MODULE 1
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Juvenile activity or behavior involves young people who are not yet adults.
Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.
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
According to the FBI, a juvenile is anyone under the age of 18 regardless of how each individual
state defines a juvenile. A delinquent is an individual who fails to obey the laws. Juvenile
delinquency is defined as an individual under the age of 18 who fails to abide by the laws.
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:
1. Juvenile delinquency includes the behavior specifically defined as delinquent
according to the various existing laws and ordinances concerning children or youth.
2. 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.
3. 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.
Brief History of Juvenile Delinquency
The harsh beginning - Children were viewed as non-persons until the 1700's. They did
not receive special treatment or recognition. Discipline then is what we now call abuse.
There were some major assumptions about life before the 1700's. The first assumption
is that life was hard, and you had to be hard to survive. The people of that time in history did not
have the conveniences that we take for granted. For example, the medical practices of that day
were primitive in comparison to present-day medicine. Marriages were more for convenience,
rather than for child-bearing or romance. The second assumption was that infant and child
mortality were high. It did not make sense to the parents in those days to create an emotional
bond with children. There was a strong chance that the children would not survive until
adulthood.
At the end of the 18th century, "The Enlightenment" appeared as a new cultural
transition. This period of history is sometimes known as the beginning of reason and humanism.
People began to see children as flowers, which needed nurturing in order to bloom. It was the
invention of childhood, love and nurturing instead of beatings to stay in line. Children had finally
begun to emerge as a distinct group. It started with the upper-class, who were allowed to attend
colleges and universities.
Since ancient times, enlightened legal systems have distinguished between juvenile
delinquents and adult criminals. Generally, the immature were not considered morally
responsible for their behavior. Under the Code Napoléon in France, for example, limited
responsibility was ascribed to children under the age of 16. Despite the apparent humanity of
some early statutes, however, the punishment of juvenile offenders was often severe until the
19th century.
Prior to the 20th century, juvenile offenders were often treated as adults. The first
development contrary to this in the United Kingdom was the establishment of Borstal training
center in place of normal imprisonment, which was intended to build up the offender's character.
They were unsuccessful, and since the 1960s, policy has been directed away from the detention
of young offenders towards treatment in the community, beginning with avoiding court
altogether. The police are encouraged to caution juveniles who admit an offence, unless they
are persistent offenders.
When juvenile offenders are dealt with more formally, they are tried by a dedicated
juvenile court, having as little contact with the mainstream system as possible. There is
considerable emphasis on parental responsibility, and the parents may be ordered to pay the
juvenile's fine, or be liable to pay a sum of money if the child is in trouble again.
If the courts need to punish juveniles, they can utilize community sentences. Attendance
centers orders, for example, require juveniles to attend during their leisure hours at centers
where they will be given a program of constructive activities. Supervision orders put juveniles
under the supervision of a social services department, and may include compulsory activities.
Those aged 15 and over may also be sentenced to probation orders (supervision), community
service orders (compulsory work under supervision), or a combination of both.
If juveniles are to be detained, those aged 15 or over may be held in a young offender
institution for between 2 and 12 months. Younger offenders can only be detained in the most
serious of cases, and there are national units to deal with them. All Offenders aged 10 to 13 can
be detained only if convicted of manslaughter or murder.
Perceived Causes of Delinquency
Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile crime focus either on the individual or
on society as the major contributing influence. Theories focusing on the individual suggest that
children engage in criminal behavior because they were not sufficiently penalized for previous
delinquent acts or that they have learned criminal behavior through interaction with others. A
person who becomes socially alienated may be more inclined to commit a criminal act. Theories
focusing on the role of society in juvenile delinquency suggest that children commit crimes in
response to their failure to rise above their socio-economic status, or as a repudiation of middle-
class values.
Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from disadvantaged
families, ignoring the fact that children from affluent homes also commit crimes. The latter may
commit crimes because of the lack of adequate parental control, delays in achieving adult
status, or simply because they get enjoyment from it. All theories, however, are tentative and
are subject to criticism.
The family unit has also experienced changes within the past two or three decades.
More families consist of one-parent households or two working parents; consequently, children
are likely to have less supervision at home than was common in the traditional family structure.
This lack of parental supervision is thought to have an influence on juvenile crime rates. Other
identifiable causes of delinquent acts include frustration or failure in school, the increased
availability of drugs and alcohol, and the growing incidence of child abuse and child neglect. All
these conditions tend to increase the probability of a child committing a criminal act, although a
direct causal relationship has not been established.
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 House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 8858, which
lowers the age of criminal liability from 15 to just 12 years old, on Monday, January 28. Under
the bill, minors aged 12 to 17 years old who commit serious crimes (e.g. murder, parricide,
kidnapping, infanticide, etc.) will be sent to the nearest Intensive Juvenile Intervention and
Support Center.
The bill initially proposed to lower the age to as low as nine years old, but legislators increased it
to 12 after facing a backlash from the public. PNP’s data shows that there had been hundreds of
cases involving children aged 11 and under since 2016. But comparing the total for each year,
the numbers have considerably and steadily gone down in the past three years.
In 2018 alone, crimes involving nine to 11-year-olds decreased by 52 percent. Comparing this to
the 2016 figure, it shows that “children in conflict with law” (CICL) have decreased by more than
half at 56 percent. There were more CICL recorded by the PNP belonging to age groups 12 to
15 and 16 to 17, reaching thousands compared to the previous age groups’ hundreds. Still, the
trend had been the same for the past three years.
Except for an uptick in 2017 (it increased by two percent from the previous year), CICL aged 16
to 17 decreased by 30 percent in 2018 from the previous year and 29 percent from 2016.
Similarly, CICL aged 12 to 15 have decreased year-on-year by 40 percent in 2018 and two
percent in 2017. It also declined by 42 percent from 2016 to 2018. If there’s one thing in PNP’s
dataset that could note an increase in CICL over the last three years and probably help Sotto’s
case, it could be found under the “undetermined” section.
Internalizing disorders
Aggressiveness
Parental criminality
Parent-child separation
School factors
Academic failure
Delinquent peers
Gang membership
Community and neighborhood factors
Poverty
Community disorganization
} The prevalence (how widespread youth crime in the society) of different kinds of
offending at each stage but also about the percentage of person initiating and
terminating. Termination at about 18 or 19.
} The gap between male and female involvement in status and non-victimizing offenses of
serious types.
} A larger proportion of boys than girls report having broken the law and that boys break it
frequently.
} As of value of goods stolen increases, so does the sex ratio showing male involvements.