JAMI MILLIA ISLAMIA

FACULTY OF LAW

Criminology, Penology & Victimology

TOPIC- JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: CAUSES AND EFFECTS

SUBMITTED BY

Afreen parvez

B.A.LL.B (Hons) (Regular)

3rd year, 5th semester

Roll no- 03

201905775

SUBMITTED TO

Mr. Rasheed CA

Jamia Millia Islamia, Faculty of law

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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.
In simple way, juvenile delinquency refers to the act of committing a crime at a young age.
However, a person below 18 years of age, who is involved in some kind of a ‘status offense’
such as vagrancy, truancy and un governability may also be termed as a juvenile delinquent.
Thus, this is a broad term, which does not only refer to under-age criminals. In fact, this term
precisely refers to the violation of a code of conduct, or a regular occurrence of certain
patterns of behaviour exhibited by children or adolescents which garner disapproval.

Juvenile delinquency occurs when a minor violates a criminal statue. 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 17 as minors, the justice system can charge minors even younger as adults, if the crime
committed is very serious.1

There is therefore, the need to analyse 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.

A Latin maxim that suits best for the Juvenile Justice system in India is ‘Nil Novi Spectrum’
which implies that nothing is new on this earth. There has existed a presumption in the whole
world since the ancient period that the Juveniles should be dealt leniently because there exists
a system of thought that says– Young folks generally have a habit to respond in a serious and
prolonged frustration which is accompanied with aggressive approaches.

Merriam Webster- Conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial behaviour that is

beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal action.
Causes of juvenile delinquency

1
Dr. M.S. Chauhan: Criminology, criminal administration and Victimology, CentralLaw agency, pg- 233
Allahabad

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Various causes of juvenile delinquency in India. Every person has different behavioural
patterns so as in case with children also. The behaviour patterns develop in early childhood
and at early stage it is very difficult to identify any kind of behaviour. But as soon as, child
grows up comes out to real world, behaviour patterns changes from time to time and many
circumstances or situation may arose the delinquent behaviour in them. Following are some
of the causes of Juvenile Delinquency:-
1- Adolescence Instability- The biological, psychological and sociological are one of
the important factors in the behaviour pattern of adolescent. At this stage, teenagers become
more conscious about their appearances and fashions, enjoyment, food, play and etc. And at
this age, they want freedom and they wanted to be independent but sometimes they are given
any chances and oppournities by their parents, teachers and elders this leads to development
of anti – social behaviour in them. Thus, this anti – social behaviour, biological changes,
psychological causes are some of the reasons which are responsible for juvenile delinquency.2
2- Disintegration of Family System- Disintegration of family system and laxity in
parental control is also the main cause of increasing rates of juvenile delinquency. In normal
cases divorce of parents, lack of parental control, lack of love and affections are the major
factors of juvenile delinquency.
3- Economic condition and Poverty- Poverty and poor economic condition is also
considered has major contributing factor of increasing juvenile crimes as result of poverty,
parents or guardian fails to fulfil the needs of the child and at the same time children wants
that their desires should be fulfilled by parents by hook or by cook and when their desires are
met they start themselves indulging in stealing money from homes or any other parents. And
this develop habitual tendency of stealing which results into theft at large scale.
4- Migration- Migration of deserted and destitute juveniles’ boys to slums areas brings
them in contact with some anti – social elements of society that carries some illegal activities
like prostitution, smuggling of drugs or narcotics etc. These sorts of activities attract the
juvenile a lot and they may involve themselves in such activities.
5- Sex Indulgence- The children those who have experienced sex assault or any other
kind of unwanted physical assault in their early childhood may develop any kind of
repulsiveness in their behaviour and mind.3 In this age they may become more vagrants or
may want to have sex experience. Too much of sex variance may lead the boys towards the
crime of kidnapping and rapes etc.
2
Kumari; The Juvenile justice system in India 2 nd Edition Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2019
3
A. Siddiquie; Criminology and penology, 23rd edition, central law agency,2019

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6- Modern Life Style- The rapidly changing society patterns and modern living style,
makes it very difficult for children and adolescents to adjust themselves to the new ways of
lifestyle. They are confronted with problems of culture conflicts and are unable to
differentiate between right and wrong.4
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 %. “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 vhttandalism
arrests, 31 % of larceny arrests, and 33% of burglary arrests”.
The number of juveniles engaging in delinquent behaviour 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.
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.
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 totalled 67,900. Out of the 1.7 million,
180,000 were cases were drug-related.
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.5
Effects of Juvenile Delinquency

1-Effects on the Victims- The most obvious people affected by juvenile delinquency are
the victims. Whether the crime involves theft, vandalism, or violence, the victim always
4
https://indianexpress.com/article/i ndia/crime/75-of-juveniles-were-between-16-18-years-of-ae/
5
N.V. Paranjape: Criminology and Penology with Victimology, Central law publications, pg-673, 17 th edition
Allahabad.

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suffers loss. The victim may incur expenses related to lose wages, health care, or
psychological care in addition to the cost of replacing damaged or destroyed items.

2-Effects on the Juvenile Delinquent- The juvenile who commits a crime also suffers
effects that he or she is probably unable to predict. He or she may lose his or her freedom
while being incarcerated or placed on probation. The juvenile may lose ground academically
as well. Although placement in residential detention centres for juveniles may be appropriate
consequences for the adolescent's criminal actions, it also puts him or her in relationships
with other delinquents, who may be more sophisticated or influential. This makes recidivism
likely and, in many states, when a juvenile older than 14 becomes a repeat offender, he or she
can be tried and sentenced as an adult. The delinquency may even have future consequences
on the adolescent's college and career choices.6

3- Effects on the Families- The upheaval and trauma of having a family member who is
a juvenile delinquent can create instability for the other relatives. Not only does the family
have to cope with the needs of the child who is in trouble, but they may also have to raise
large amounts of money to pay for lawyers. In addition, the family has to face the ethical
issues of responsibility to the victims of the child's crime. Families must usually attend group
counselling sessions, which can be disruptive and costly during the time when the child is in
detention or on probation.

4- Effects on the Community- There are a correlation between juvenile delinquency

and drug use, gang involvement, alcohol abuse, and sexual behaviour. All of these issues
challenge communities by making neighbourhoods unsafe and costing large amounts of
public money to be spent on law enforcement and school safety.

5- Effects on Society- Young people who commit serious crimes before they are 18 years
old challenge the future for everyone involved. They may be acting out to protest perceived
abuses that have been perpetrated against them. They may believe that there is no future for
them outside of a life of crime.7 They may be expressing anger or frustration directed against
another person or group or looking for approval from a gang. Whatever the motive, juvenile
delinquency affects too many American individuals, families, and communities. It is a serious

6
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1031/juvenile-justice-system-&-its-delinquenc-in-india.
7
Elliot, Delbert. “Environmental Factors contribute to juvenile crime and violence.” Juvenile crime: opposing
viewpoints. ED A.E Sadler. San Diego: Green haven, pg- 83-84,1997.

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problem that challenges the efforts of government agencies, politicians, educators, faith
communities, and non-profit organizations alike.

Provisions under Indian statutes regarding the Juvenile Justice laws in

India
Constitutional Provisions
The Constitution of India provides a comprehensive study and understanding of child rights.
State owes special care and protection towards them and therefore constitution of India has
provided with several rights dealing with their liberty, development and care, non-
discrimination, educational rights, etc. It is further supported with comprehensive legal
regime. 
Article 15(3) which provides the state to make special laws for women and children. 
Article 39(f) was inserted in the Constitution of India by the 42nd Amendment Act, provides
that the children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in
conditions of freedom and dignity and they must be protected against exploitation and against
moral and material abandonment.8
Article 47 which imposes a duty on the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of
living to improve public health.
Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) Provisions-
Indian Penal Code provides different provisions for the protection of child. According
to Section 82 of the Indian Penal Code, it says “Nothing is an offence which is done by a
child under seven years of age”. Under the age of 7 years, no infant can be guilty of a crime;
for, under that age an infant is, by presumption of law, doli incapax, and cannot be endowed
with any discretion. Section 83 provides an act of a child above seven and under twelve of
immature understanding.9 Where the accused is a child between 7 and 12 years of age, the
capacity to commit an offence only arises when the child has attained sufficient maturity of
understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his conduct.
Section 27 of CrPc, provides that any person who at the date of appearing before the court is
under 16 years of age is not punishable with death or imprisonment for life.
8
Elliot, Delbert. “Environmental Factors contribute to juvenile crime and violence.” Juvenile crime: opposing
viewpoints. ED A.E Sadler. San Diego: Green haven, pg- 83-84,1997.

9
Ved Kumari, Juvenile justice system in India: from walfare to rights(Law in India) Oxford University
press, 1st edition, USA

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According to Section 318 of CrPc where the accused does not understand the proceedings
(though not of unsound mind) the court can have the inquiry or trial, in case of a court other
than High Court if the proceedings result in conviction, the proceedings shall be forwarded to
the High Court with the circumstances of the case and the High Court shall pass the order as
it thinks fit.
CASE LAWS

1- Sanjay Suri v. Delhi Administration

The Supreme Court ordered the release of juvenile under trial prisoners. The judgement also
highlighted that the jail authorities shall not accept the age of the juvenile until and unless the
age is specifically mentioned in the documents supporting detention.10

2- Jayendra v. State of UP

Where the order of the High Court sending a child to imprisonment for committing an
offence was challenged before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court called for the report
by the medical in charge of the jail to determine the age of the child and it was found that the
age of the child at the time of committing an offence was 16 years and 4 months and the
sentence for imprisonment was quashed and the convict was released immediately.11

3- Munna v. State of UP

The apex court released certain directions regarding children in prisons. The supreme Court
held that even if a child is found to be guilty of an offence, he should not be mistreated. They
should not lock-up their fundamental rights when they enter in jail.12

4- Bhoop Ram v. State of UP

The Supreme Court followed the decision of Jayendra v. State of UP and it was also held that
the time of the commission of an offence is sufficient to determine the age of a person.

5- Raj Singh v. State of Haryana

The Supreme Court held that the age of the boy or girl has to be determined at the time of the
happening of an offence, whereas the court overruled this judgment in Arnit Das v. State of
10
Sheela Barsev vs. Union of India1986 SCC 596
11
Juvenile justice (care and protection of children) act, 2015( Act no- 2of 2016)
12
Subramanian Swami vs. Raju through the juvenile justice board(2013) 10 SCC 465

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Bihar, in this case, R.C Lahoti, J. reminds that it is pertinent to note that neither the definition
of juvenile, nor any other provision contained in the Act specifically provides the date by
reference to which the age of a boy or a girl has to be determined so as to find out whether he
or she is a juvenile or not[. Here the Supreme Court held that the age of the boy or girl has to
be determined at the time when they are bought before the competent authority. The rationale
behind this judgment is the apex court has identified the problem that many children have
been lodged in adult jails because they have no evidence to proof their age.

In Raj Singh v. State of Haryana, the juvenile who was less than 16 years of age at the time
of the commencement of the offence was convicted under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs
& Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and was awarded with the punishment of
imprisonment. But the Supreme Court held that under section 2(e) of the Juvenile
Justice(Care & Protection) Act, 1986 defines that a juvenile who has been found to guilty of
an offence was a juvenile, hence the entire trial was quashed.13

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 counselled
and monitored while in school. Juveniles who are at high risk of developing delinquent
behaviour should be watched closely and given special treatment so that they do not end up
offending.
Another way of reducing the number of delinquency cases is by reducing the rates at which
juvenile delinquents recidivist.14 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 recidivist 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.

13
S.M.A Qadri: Criminology, Penology and Victimology, Eastern Book company, pg- 211 Lucknow
14
http://www.thequint.com/news/india/new-juvenile-justice-act-leads-to -fres-problem

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The program should be holistic and thus it should consist of counselling services offered by a
psychologist, recreational facilities, and training. The counselling 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.15
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.
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.

“If every saint has a past then every criminal has a future”...Mahatma Gandhi

15
https://www.penalreform.org

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books -

1- Dr. M.S. Chauhan: Criminology, criminal administration and Victimology, CentralLaw

agency, pg- 233 Allahabad.

2- Kumari; The Juvenile justice system in India 2 nd Edition Oxford University Press, Delhi,
2019.

3- A. Siddiquie; Criminology and penology, 23rd edition, central law agency, 2019.

4- N.V. Paranjape: Criminology and Penology with Victimology, Central law publications,
pg-673, 17th edition Allahabad.
5- Elliot, Delbert. “Environmental Factors contribute to juvenile crime and violence.”
Juvenile crime: opposing viewpoints. ED A.E Sadler. San Diego: Green haven, pg- 83-
84,1997.
6- Ved Kumari, Juvenile justice system in India: from walfare to rights(Law in India) Oxford
University press, 1st edition, USA.

7- S.M.A Qadri: Criminology, Penology and Victimology, Eastern Book company, pg- 211,
Lucknow.
Online resources
1- https://indianexpress.com/article/i ndia/crime/75-of-juveniles-were-between-16-18-years-of-ae/
2- http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1031/juvenile-justice-system-&-its-delinquenc-in-india
3- http://www.thequint.com/news/india/new-juvenile-justice-act-leads-to -fres-problem
4- https://www.penalreform.org
Case laws-
1- Sheela Barsev vs. Union of India1986 SCC 596
2- Juvenile justice (care and protection of children) act, 2015( Act no- 2of 2016)
3- Subramanian Swami vs. Raju through the juvenile justice board(2013) 10 SCC 465

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