JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

Delinquent and criminal behavior among young people, as they negotiate the transition from childhood to adulthood in an increasingly complex and confusing world is the issue that this chapter first examines. Some basic assumptions relating to delinquent behavior are presented, followed by a description of the various factors underlying or contributing to this phenomenon. Some regional variations are highlighted. Effective approaches and measures for preventing juvenile delinquency are detailed, with particular attention given to the development of educational, professional development and community programmes, improvements in family relations and parenting skills, and the value of restorative justice for both perpetrators and victims.

Introduction

Juvenile delinquency refers to children who act against the law. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not all of which can be applied to the causes of youth crime. Youth crime is a major issue and is an aspect of crime which receives great attention from the news media and politicians. (Venkatesh, 1997)

Statistical data indicate that in virtually all parts of the world, with the exception of the United States, rates of youth crime rose in the 1990s. In Western Europe, one of the few regions for which data are available, arrests of juvenile delinquents and under-age offenders increased by an average of around 50 per cent between the mid 1980s and the late 1990s. The countries in transition have also witnessed a dramatic rise in delinquency rates; since 1995, juvenile crime levels in many countries in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have increased by more than 30 per cent. Many of the criminal offences are related to drug abuse and excessive alcohol use.( Klein, 1995)

Basic assumptions

It is impossible to develop effective prevention programmes without understanding the reasons behind juvenile involvement in criminal activity. Different approaches are used in scientific and practical literature on juvenile crime and violence to define and explain delinquent behaviour by young people. To criminologists, juvenile delinquency encompasses all public wrongs committed by young people between the ages of 12 and 20. Sociologists view the concept more broadly, believing that it covers a multitude of different violations of legal and social norms, from minor offences to serious crimes, committed by juveniles. Included under the umbrella of juvenile delinquency are status offences, so called because they are closely connected with the age status of an offender; a particular action or behaviour is considered a violation of the law only if it is committed by a juvenile (examples include truancy and running away). In an attempt to explain the theoretical underpinnings of delinquency, sociologists associate the specifics of youth behaviour with the home, family, neighbourhood, peers and many other variables that together or separately influence the formation of young people's social environment.

Antisocial behaviour may be a normal part of growing up or the beginning of a long-term pattern of criminal ...