Criminology notes onwards Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency: An introduction

 Had studied about Mary Well – kid who killed 2 people at the age of 11. She was arrested and
convicted at that early age. But at the age of 23, she was released. After release, she had a daughter
and then Mary was given an anonymous identity to be able to live freely with her daughter. This is
because our justice system treats adults and children differently. Every justice system promotes a
separate way of treating a child’s criminal activities.
 Juvenile delinquency: Definition
o Juvenile = latin origin, meaning youthful (juvenilis). Delinquency = latin origin, meaning
failing in duty (delinquens).
o A young person who has failed to perform his designated duty.
o Siegel and Welsh:
 It is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger
than the statutory age of majority.
o Psychology dictionary:
 Juvenile delinquency is illegal behavior by a minor that would be considered
criminal against the state.
 Types of juvenile delinquency:
o Violent crimes: Causing harm to a human (murder, rape, torture)
o Property crimes: Causing harm to property (theft, vandalism)
o Status offenses
 Status offenses:
o Involved conduct that would not be a crime if it were committed by an adult.
o The actions are considered to be a violation of the law only because of the youth’s status as
a minor.
o Common status offenses:
 Truancy (skipping school, bunking)
 Violating a city or country curfew
 Underage possession and consumption of alcohol
 Underage possession and consumption of tobacco
 Running away
 Ungovernability (being beyond the control of parents or guardians)
 Historical Background:
o As old as adult crime
o Roman civil law was the first to distinguish between adult crime and juvenile crime.
o Child Saving movement in the 19th century.
 Promoted Parens Patriae: state should act like a kind and loving father to a child
 Promoted Doli Incapex: Nothing is an offense if it committed by a child under 10
years of age. (now its different)
Juvenile Delinquency: Causes and Remedies (always relate it to the theories we’ve studied before)

 Causes or Risk Factors:

o Peer pressure: the group pushes towards criminal activities.
o Family disruption: eg. Mary Well’s mother was a prostitute who was abused by her clients.
So it affects the child.
o Low SES: low socioeconomic status, financial status, society status: those children are at a
higher risk of committing crime.
o Lack of moral training: family and school are primary teachers of this.
o Poor school performance: not just academic. How attached are they to their school,
academics, sports, social circle, extra curriculars.
o Authoritarian parenting:
o Authoritarian parenting: if parents are extremely strict, the children become rebellious.
o Mental disorders: depression, anxiety are quite common in children these days.
o Substance abuse: any child under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the chances increase
further of committing crimes.
 Theories applicable:
o Rational Choice Theory: Human commits on their own will.
 This blames the child for the crime as he’s aware of what he’s doing.
o Social disorganization theory: 3 factors – low SES, residential mobility, ethnic heterogeneity
 Such teenagers commit crimes more often
o Strain theory:
 When kids fail to achieve those goals that are they are extremely pressured to
achieve, then they find alternate ways which are usually crimes as well. For
example: making money or cheating on exams etc.
o Differential association theory:
 Peer pressure applicable, family disruption also applicable.
o Labeling theory: “Bacha kharaab hai, dumb hai, completely useless, parh nahi sakta etc”
o Social control theory and Bond theory:
 If these factors control and influence the child well, then less chance of crime.
 Preventative Measures: Children are the future of the nation, need to treat them well.
o Drug control: both sides, inform kids about its disadvantages and then curtail supply to the
maximum.
o Family counselling: as a family sit and talk about the problems so that they feel connected to
their families. Families that have a lot of violence and disruption, they need to be
counselled.
o Parents training: parents must speak to each other on how to raise their kids into good
citizens
o Social services: if a child is in a violent household, social services takes that kid away to
foster home or up for adoption
o Youth sheltering: The kids that runaway from home, they must be given shelter, education
etc.
o Educational support: make a child education, self sufficient and get him a good job so that
he’s financially independent. Best way.
 o Recreation: making sure that the child has good activities and healthy and positive ways of
spending their time rather than sitting idle or adopting wrong company. Productive activities
like sports, gaming, music lessons etc. they must be affordable and readily available.
o Community Groups: people with similar problems must sit together and discuss and help
each other out. Like alcohol groups etc. they should be there for the children as well.

Juvenile Justice System: An Introduction:

 Background:
o It is the structure of the criminal legal system that deals with crimes committed by minors,
usually between the ages of 10 and 18 years.
o The upper age of eligibility is determined by the juvenile law of each state, which varies.
o A juvenile crime is any offense that could be committed by an adult but is committed by a
juvenile.
o In the juvenile justice system, youth offenders are not tried as adults, as their cases are
heard in a separate court designed for juveniles.
 Aims and objectives:
o Fairness and equity
o Public safety
o Rehabilitation rather than punishment
o Keeping them away from adult criminality: if you keep a 16 year old child with 40 year old
extreme criminals for 10 years, naturally, it will have an adverse effect on them.
o Prevent labelling: if somebody is labelled a criminal at a tender age, then he is likely to stay
that way for life.
o Positive youth development
 Working Limbs: What makes up a juvenile justice system?
o Police
o Prosecution
o Judge
o Lawyer / Defense attorney
o Social welfare officer
o Probation officers: always preferred over sending to jail or waiting for parole.
 Relevant Laws in Pakistan:
o PPC 1860: outdated tbh: Substantive law I guess
o CrPC 1898: Procedural law I guess
o Punjab Youthful Offenders Ordinance (check date, I think its 1983)
o Juvenile Justice Act 1986
o JJSO 2000: Study it just to know its flaws. Was the most relevant but it was changed and a
new act replaced it which is:
o JJSA 2018 (replaced JJSO 2000): most relevant, coz applicable today.
JJSA 2018: Most important legislation / act for juvenile justice system

 18 May 2018: President of Pakistan approved it.

 JJSA 2018 overcomes the shortcomings which were present in Juvenile Justice System Ordinance
2000 and provides a much better system for criminal justice and social reintegration for juvenile
offenders.
 The Act defines a child according to the definition of UNCRC as “ A person who has not attained the
age of eighteen years”
 JJSA 2018 classifies the criminal offences into following three different categories:
o Minor:
 an offence for which the maximum punishment under PPC is imprisonment for up to
3 years with or without fine.
 A juvenile is entitled to bail in minor offences, with or without surety bonds by
juvenile court.
o Major:
 An offence for which punishment under PPC is imprisonment of more than 3 years
and up to 7 years with or without fine.
 Bail shall also be granted in major offences with or without surety bonds by juvenile
court.
o Heinous:
 A serious, brutal or shocking to public morality and which is punishable under the
PPC with death or imprisonment greater than 7 years or life imprisonment.
 A juvenile of less than sixteen years of age is entitled to bail in heinous offences, but
a bail is on discretion of court if juvenile is older than sixteen years of age.
 Salient Features of JJSA 2018:
o Right of Legal Assistant: He gets a lawyer, defense attorney
o Observation Home: A temporary place instead of jail during his trial period.
o Juvenile rehabilitation centers: Should have in Pakistan, in reality its different from on paper.
Very few in Pakistan. (read more on this)
o Determination of age mechanism: Birth certificate, school documents etc. to figure out if
he’s a juvenile.
o Separate challan and trial: a child is not allowed to have a trial combined with any adult. A
child will have a separate trial, not with the adult trial.
o Juvenile trials must be held in a separate juvenile trial court.
o Penalty for disclosure of identity: juveniles have a right to keep their identity hidden (in line
with labelling theory).
o Special provisions: separate trial, separate challan etc.
 Police:
o Not allowed to hand cuff the child
o Has to inform the child’s parents and guardian
 (Read JJSA, VERY important chapter for exam – find data for reality and what is happening on
ground)
 CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AND PROCEDURES:
Criminal Investigation:
 Investigation:
o Latin origin
o Traced back to “Investigatio” meant “Searching into”
o Black’s Law Dictionary: “To inquire into a matter systematically and to make a suspect the
subject of a criminal inquiry.”
o CrPC, Section 1 (L): “Investigation includes all the proceedings under this Code for the
Collection of evidence conducted by a police officer or by any person (other than a
Magistrate) who is authorized by the Magistrate on this behalf.”
 Objectives of Criminal Investigation:
o To prove or disprove that a crime was committed. (eg. Suicide with a note could be a
murder as well. Eg. Insurance fire claim etc.)
o Reconstruction of the incident: have to prove what happened, incident with the sequence
and story. What events led up to the crime.
o Determining the method of committing the crime: method of the crime.
o Disclosure of motive: Why did the person do it?
o Locate and identify suspects.
o Locate, document and preserve evidence in a crime: preserving is very crucial for forensics,
reopening of case etc. contamination of evidence is detrimental to the case.
o Recover stolen property.
o Prepare a sound criminal case for trial.
 Guidelines (principles) for criminal investigation:
o The exercise of legal powers should not be oppressive and should be proportionate to the
crime under investigation.
o Investigation should be carried out as transparently as possible. (Why risk backlash? Keep it
transparent with your colleagues and media)
o Investigators should take all reasonable steps to understand the particular needs of
individuals. (not just suspects, but witnesses etc. too)
o Investigators should have particular regard for vulnerable people and children. (health
issues, mentally unstable, children, elderly)
o Investigators should respect the professional ethics of others. This is particularly important
when working with those whose role is to support the suspects. (for eg. If you’re
interviewing someone, his lawyer can say that my client has the right to not talk. So, the
police should not misbehave with the lawyer because he is simply doing his job well within
the law. For eg. If secretary says boss is not available, then don’t misbehave with the
secretary because that is their job – basically investigator / police should not think that
they’re superior)
 Methods of Criminal Investigation:
o Interviews
o Evidence collection
o Analysis of physical evidence
o Crime scene photography
 o Surveillance: if somebody seems suspicious, then maybe observe their life to find some
clues
o Background checks: check if this is the actual person and not a fake identity, then their
criminal record etc.
o Document searches
o Interrogation (similar to interview, interrogation is a bit stricter)  aim is to get a
confession. (but not beating up people)
 Preliminary investigation:
o Crime is reported first. Then first responder comes. Usually the police officer of the area.
What he does initially is the preliminary investigation.
o Definition: the preliminary investigation is the police agency’s first response to a report that
a crime has occurred.
o Steps:
 Proceed to crime scene.
 Validate the information received.
 Cordon off the area
 Check if there is still immediate danger (for eg. Bomb, murderer in the closeby area)
 Identify possible witnesses.
 Conduct preliminary interviews.
 Arrest suspect if he/she is around.
 Take the “dying declaration” if there is any severely injured person around.
 Get medical care for the wounded.
 Brief the investigator once they arrive.
 Conduct inventory on the evidence taken from the crime scene.

Modern Investigation Techniques:

 Four types: (know the difference properly)

o Intelligence operation
o Data base investigation
o Electronic investigation
o Forensic investigation
 Intelligence operation:
o The process by which governments, military groups, businesses, and other organizations
systematically collect and evaluate information for the purpose of discovering the
capabilities and intentions of their rivals.
o With such information or intelligence, an organization can both protect itself from its
adversaries’ and exploit its adversaries’ weaknesses.
o Law enforcement agencies routinely receive information from a very broad range of
sources.
o This raw information is subjected to a process of evaluation which first of all verifies that its
retention is justified for a law enforcement purpose and then assesses the reliability of the
information itself and of its source, in order to become criminal intelligence.
 o In order to obtain advantage over an opponent, it is imperative to possess the most up to
date, accurate information regarding, amongst other things, their intentions and
capabilities.
o For eg: ISI must always have their radar up to catch any information that they can find. Then
they evaluate that information and once its passed the screening, then they can analyze and
determine how that information can be used to protect Pakistan or exploit the enemy’s
weaknesses.
o According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Control: the steps or intelligence cycle
is: (make the diagram)
 Tasking: divide tasks internally to cover all areas
 Collection
 Evaluation
 Collation: collection in a more organized form. Like after its screened and evaluated,
then organizing that information.
 Analysis
 Inference development: reaching a conclusion based on the analysis.
 Dissemination: letting the concerned people know.
 Forensic investigation:
o Forensic science is the use of scientific methods or expertise to investigate crimes or
examine evidence that might be presented in a court of law.
o Forensic science comprises a diverse array of disciplines, from fingerprint and DNA analysis
to anthropology and wildlife forensics.
o When most people think about forensics, they think about crime scene investigation, in
which physical evidence is gathered.
o There are other forms of forensic investigation, however, such as computer forensics and
subfields that focus on dentistry or insects and crime scenes.
 Electronic Investigation: (subcategory of forensic investigation)
o Use of electronic devices to help in a criminal investigation.
o Can also be called digital investigation or digital forensics.
o Digital forensics is defined as the process of perseveration, identification, extraction, and
documentation of computer evidence which can be used by the court of law.
o The science of finding evidence from digital media like a computer, phone, server, or
network. For example: getting phone records of victim’s phone or other type of evidence
from the victim’s electronic devices.
o Digital forensics helps the forensic team to analyze, inspect, identifies, and preserve the
digital evidence residing on various types of electronic devices.
 Database Forensics: (sub-category of digital forensics which is a subcategory of forensic)
o A database is an organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored
electronically in a computer system.
o Database investigation is the use of such information for solving crimes.
o Common examples of databases used for investigation:
 CNIC
 Criminal record
 Fingerprint
 Facial recognition
 DNA profiling
 Vehicle registration
 Weapons licensing
o You have some previously stored information or list – when you use such records for your
investigation, that is called database investigation.

Interview and Interrogation:

 These are methods of criminal investigation. Important to differentiate between the two.
 Common overlap between Interview and Interrogation: Both used to collect information from
people.
 Interview:
o Investigative interview is an interview conducted to elicit evidence or information from a
person (i.e., witness, victim, complainant, suspect) during the process of an investigation.
o Interviewing victims, witnesses, and suspects is central to the success of an investigation and
the highest standards need to be upheld.
o Interviews that are conducted professionally and quality assured realize several benefits
such as:
 Direct an investigation and gather material, which in turn can lead to a prosecution
or early release of an innocent person.
 Support the prosecution case, thereby saving time, money, and resources.
 Increase public confidence in the police service, particularly with witnesses and
victims of crimes who come into direct contact with the police.
o Without the accounts of those who played a central role in the crime, or those who have
witnesses an important aspect of a crime, other sources of material such as CCTV images,
fingerprints, and forensic material, although extremely important, may have little value.
 Interrogation:
o Formal questioning of suspects of persons to obtain incriminating information and/or a
confession. Interrogation may involve a diverse array of techniques, ranging from
developing a rapport with the subject to torture.
o Most serious level of questioning a suspect.
o Process that occurs once reasonable grounds for belief have been established.
o It is like an interview that is coercive and asks for a reply.
o Various techniques are used in order to trigger a response from the person being
interrogative.
o Basically, two types:
 Custodial: person is in custody and is not free to leave. (after arrest warrant of
course)
 Noncustodial: information from someone who is not officially the person of interest
and who is free to leave.
o Aims to get documented evidence and proof that can be used in the court of law, primarily a
confession.
 Example of Dave: wife filed complaint of domestic violence.
o Dave is in police custody but refusing everything. So how to interrogate?
 Direct confrontation:
 all the evidence is provided to the subject with the police officer giving the
suspect a chance to confess immediately.
 Officer tells Dave that the neighbors saw him hit his wife and his wife has
bruises on her arms. Officer also shows Dave pictures of the hand print on
his wife’s face and tells Dave that they can match the hand print from the
picture to Dave’s hand.
 We have enough evidence basically, so admit it.
  Dominance:
 The law enforcement agent does not let the suspect talk.
 Since Dave is not speaking, Officer is able to continue talking without being
interrupted. Dave is still not speaking.
 Deflection / Minimization:
 Officer will now try to give moral justification for why Dave hit his wife.
 Officer justifies Dave’s actions because it is only correct to help his wife who
was falling, by saying it was an accident or by victim blaming.
 Dave finally starts to talk, and he objects to all of the themes. These
objections give Officer the opportunity to turn the objections into a
justification for the domestic violent.
 Turning objections into justifications:
 Dave says “I’m not a violent person so I would not hit anyone.”
 Officer takes the objections and justifies the domestic violent.
 Officer says “You are not violent but when your wife got in your way you
had to hit her”. Officer was not able to get Dave to answer either of his
justification questions, so he started showing empathy for Dave.
 Expressing empathy:
 Officer expresses empathy for Dave. He tells him that he understands what
is going through and that he gets irritated with his own wife.
 Dave once again remains silent and chooses not to speak with Officer after
he expressed empathy.
 Posing the alternative question: different angle and direction
 Officer says that you will not confess because you are afraid you will lose
your job and not be able to see your kids. You hit your wife to be the main
of the house, and you did not want to lose control over her.
 Dave becomes responsive to the scenario about losing his job and children.
He nods his head at the Officer which is the first admission of guilt.
o Other interrogation techniques:
 Maximization:
 Involves using scare tactics.
 Seriousness of the offense can be exaggerated. (opposite of minimization).
 Knowledge bluff:
 Officer can claim to have information they don’t have so that the suspect
believes there is no way for them to escape now.
 This can also be used for claiming witness statements or confessions from
their partners.
 Rapport building:
 Development of personal rapport with the suspect, often acting like a
friend.
 This can include using sympathy, understanding or in the case of a narcissist,
flattery.
o Interview vs. Interrogation:
Stop and Frisk: