Chapter No.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is unlawful conduct by minors, meaning those under the age of 18
in most states for which there are penalties. A juvenile delinquent is a young person, particularly
a teenager under the age of eighteen, who breaks a state or federal law by committing a crime.

When a juvenile commits a crime, the procedures that take place differ from those of an
adult offender. In all states, juvenile court systems, and juvenile detention facilities, deal
specifically with underage offenders. While it is common for state statutes to consider people
under the age of 18 as minors, the justice system can charge minors even younger as adults, if
the crime committed is very serious.

RISK FACTORS AND PREDICTORS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Many children acquire the label of juvenile delinquent early, often between the ages of 6
and 12 years. Many juvenile behaviors during the pre-teen and teenage years may be
considered normal behavior for children, as they stretch their boundaries, and struggle to
develop their self-perception. There are, however, certain signs that a child might be headed in
a bad direction.
Predictors of juvenile delinquencies may appear as early as preschool, and often
include:
 Abnormal or slow development of basic skills, such as speech and language
 Chronic violation of the rules
 Serious aggressive behavior toward other students or teachers
Studies have found that a number of life circumstances constitute risk factors for a child
to become a juvenile delinquent. While these are many and varied, the most common risk
factors for juvenile delinquency include:
 Authoritarian Parenting – characterized by the use of harsh disciplinary methods, and
refusal to justify disciplinary actions, other than by saying “because I said so.”
 Peer Association – usually resulting from leaving adolescents unsupervised,
encouraging a child to engage in bad behaviors when acting with his peer group.
 Low Socioeconomic Status
 Permissive Parenting – characterized by lack of consequences for bad behavior,
permissive parenting can be broken down into two subcategories: (1) neglectful
parenting, which is a lack of monitoring a child’s activities, and (2) indulgent parenting,
which is the enablement of bad behavior.
 Poor School Performance
  Peer Rejection
 ADHD and other mental disorders
Other Causes of Juvenile Delinquency
 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.
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 most important reason behind juvenile delinquency. The other reason can be
sibling’s 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 to do
something bad a delinquent behavior.
 Economic problems in family
Often the cause of juvenile delinquency is economic problems in family. Youth belonging
from poor economic 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 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 various social problems. There
can be various problems like gender discrimination, age discrimination, racial discrimination,
child labor or violation 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 violence.
 Moral problems in family
Morality is the most important concern 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
Parenting style also matters and many researchers say that it is one of the biggest
reason why teens commit crime. Parents are sometime very harsh and they punish their
children for small issues. Children start disrespecting their parents and they become violent.
Permissive parenting, sometimes called “indulgent parenting,” is a style of child-rearing that
features two key traits:
 being nurturing and warm (which is good for kids), and
 being reluctant to impose limits (which is problematic).

 Poor School Attendance

Poor school attendance is one of the top factors contributing to delinquency. School is
not only a place to learn and grow; it is also a structured routine that provides children with a
goal to accomplish each day. The routine of getting up, getting prepared, attending school,
completing the work, and returning home each day establishes a routine that is a basis for good
choices in the future.

 Poor Educational Standards

The type of school that a child attends may also contribute to their delinquency.
Overcrowded and underfunded schools tend to lack discipline and order. Parental involvement
in school work and school based activities has been found to be a very large deterrent for
delinquent activities.

 Violence in the Home

One of the largest contributing factors to delinquency is violence in the home. Teens
subjected to violent actions, or those who witness it to others, are more likely to act their fears
and frustrations. They often have a “don’t care” attitude and this allows them to get into trouble
more easily.

 Violence in their Social Circles

If the neighborhood is in which a child lives is violent, the children will have a tendency to
be more prone to delinquency. Many people describe this as street survival methods because
the child gets into trouble as a way to stay out of trouble from area gang members or violent
people.

 Peer Pressure
Similar to neighborhood pressures, peer pressure from direct acquaintances can have an
effect on how a juvenile reacts to bad situations. If all of their friends are committing delinquent
acts, the child may feel pressured to do the same to be accepted. The best way to avoid this
type of situation is to be actively involved with who your child is hanging out with on a regular
basis.

 Substance Abuse
Substance abuse in a home or by the child is a very common cause for delinquency.
Children who are exposed to substance abuse often do not have the necessities they need to
thrive and are forced to find these necessities in other ways. Others, who become dependent on
a substance may also need to commit crimes to sustain their habit. Substance abuse, also
known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the
individual or others In some cases, criminal or anti-social behaviour occurs when the person is
under the influence of a drug

 Lack Of Moral Guidance

Parental or adult influence is the most important factor in deterring delinquency. When a
parent or other adult interacts with the child and shows them what is acceptable behavior and
what is considered wrong, the child is more likely to act in a way that is not delinquent. It is very
important for a child to have a bond with a good adult who will influence their actions and show
them the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Even if your child has committed
an act of delinquency, their lives are not over. You, as their caregiver have the chance to turn
around their lives and show them how to change their ways.

STATUS OFFENDERS

A status offense is an action that is prohibited only to a certain class of people, and most
often applied only to offenses committed by minors. Status offense involves conduct that would
not be a crime if it were committed by an adult. In other words, the actions are considered to be
a violation of the law only because of the youth's status as a minor. Common examples of
status offenses include underage drinking, skipping school, and violating a local curfew law.
Age, gender and race are the characteristics of status offender.

Penalties for these offenses generally are less severe than the penalties for other
crimes. A judge may order the juvenile to pay a fine or restitution, order them to go through
counseling or other courses, or order them to live in a foster home or group home instead of
living with a parent or guardian. They can be detained at a secure facility if they violate a court
order. If a parent or guardian of the juvenile is found to have contributed to their behavior, they
may be ordered to undergo counseling or parenting programs.

Labels attached to status offenders in most states show that they are viewed as
juveniles who need care or services rather than punishment. Child welfare programs and
community organizations sometimes will intervene, especially if neglect has played a role in the
juvenile’s offense. If the juvenile continues to engage in misconduct, though, they may
eventually face formal proceedings in court.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN PAKISTAN

 Juvenile delinquency is the beginning of criminal elements in the society. Children of
every state are known as its backbone. Every country or state should take care of its youth as it
is a natural resource to recognize, establish and develop the state. Likewise, increase in the
literacy rate of juveniles is an important factor for development. To reduce the rate of
delinquency it is necessary that juveniles are the priority of the country.

Juvenile justice in Pakistan deals with crimes committed by Pakistani children. The
minimum age for criminal responsibility in Pakistan is seven years. Section 83 of the Pakistan
Penal Code 1860 also protects the rights of children. There are various causes of juvenile
delinquency namely; parental alcoholism, poverty, breakdown of the family, overcrowding,
abusive conditions at home, death of parents during armed conflicts, unemployment, injustice,
absence of appropriate laws, gambling, running away from home, lack of attention by elders,
addiction, peer pressure, illiteracy, electronic media, and discord between siblings count as a
few.

A widespread, continuous and chronic behavior by a psychologically identified deviant

group, threatening general well being of society, is termed as antisocial behavior. Antisocial
personality is thus an individual with traits which consequently prohibits him performing as
normal being in a society. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending is actually a
bio-psycho-social phenomenon.

Unfortunately, Pakistan is among countries where child delinquency rate is relatively

high. What make the situation more critical is that out of Pakistan’s population of 220 million,
half or about 49% are under the age of 18. Among them, 22% are adolescents of age 10-18.
More than four million children are engaged in child labor according to an estimate. Which
means, such a high number of children are susceptible to being exploited and are at risk of
being delinquent. Surprisingly, Pakistan lacks a clear cut difference line between juvenile
criminals and adult culprits, in practice. Fundamental difference between juvenile justice system
and criminal justice system is that the earlier system rehabilitates delinquents and the later is a
system of retribution against adult criminals.

Juvenile crimes are relatively high in urban areas, particularly in Lahore and Karachi
because of amalgam of different economy classes which consequently increases class conflict.
Poorest to richest difference urges will of crime committing among youngsters.

Government of Pakistan promulgated the “Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000,

(JJSO 2000),” This was provided for the protection of juveniles involved in criminal litigations. It
was proved a step forward and promulgated immediately. The statuary age in Pakistan is
furnished as seven to twelve. Juvenile between ages 7-12 lies responsible if he/she realizes
what he/she has committed, otherwise up till 12 minor falls under the category of juveniles.
Contrarily, Hadood Ordinance establishes separate age of maturity for men and women, i-e 16
for females and 18 for males.
 In Pakistan juveniles are reported to be harassed by police officers. Still there are no
rehabilitation centers established separately for delinquents. Though in Karachi and Lahore
some reforms are introduced but its need of hour to spread them to all districts. Juvenile
offenders are even kept with adult criminals. 

In order to reduce the rate of juvenile delinquency in Pakistan, it is essential to take

some measures, such as the elimination of family conflicts. However, the state should give
provisions to avoid overcrowding, the state should provide job opportunities, ensure justice or
give justice which can reduce delinquency, legislatures should be legislated effectively and the
state should ensure its strict implementation. Parents and elders should pay attention to their
offspring. Literacy rate should be increased by providing free education. Discrimination against
juveniles should be finished and electronic media should not display criminal activities through
their channels.

Along with governmental reforms, as an individual of society it’s our social responsibility
to work for the welfare and rehabilitation of these juvenile delinquents. There must be
campaigns to make masses aware about the delinquency and the ways how to react it. Parents,
teachers, and all responsible must be informed and furnished clear-cut concept of juvenile
delinquency and factors causing criminal recidivism.