Big Picture in Focus: ULOa.

Explain how family, school, peers, environment, and

church and among other social institutions influence the behavior of a child and
police role in addressing the problem of juvenile delinquency.

Metalanguage

1. Juvenile

o Juvenile is a person who has not reached adulthood or the age of majority.
Regarded as immature or ones whose mental and emotional faculties are not
fully developed.

2. Delinquent

o Delinquent is a person of whatever age, whose attitude toward other

individuals, toward the community, toward lawful authority is such that it may
lead to him into breaking the law.

3. Juvenile Delinquency

o Juvenile delinquency refers to an anti-social behavior or act of minors which

deviates from the normal pattern of rules and regulations, custom, and culture
which society does not accept and which, therefore, justifies some kind of
admonishment, punishment, or corrective measures in the public interest.

4. Juvenile Crime

o In law, denotes various offenses committed by children or youths under the age of
18. Such acts are sometimes referred to as juvenile delinquency.

5. Status Offenses

o Are acts that only juveniles can commit and that can be adjudicated only by a juvenile
court.
Essential Knowledge

Lesson 3

Historical perspective, concepts and philosophies of Juvenile Delinquency

The History of Childhood and Delinquency

“The history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only recently begun to awake.
The further back in history one goes, the lower the level of childcare, and the more likely
children are to be killed, abandoned, beaten, terrorized, and sexually abused.” (DeMause,
1974)

Juvenile Delinquency and separate justice process for juveniles are recent concepts.

Early Conceptualizations of Childhood

CHILDHOOD dates only to somewhere between the 14th and 17th centuries. Prior to this
time, “small people” were either accorded no social presence at all, or were regarded as
miniature adults.

Before 16th Century

- young/s were viewed either as property or as miniature adults.

- by ages 5 or 6, were expected to assume the responsibilities of adults.
- subjected to the same criminal sanctions as adults.

Children as “Non-humans”

Practices which reflected children as non-human:

Infanticide – especially illegitimate, deformed, later born, and girls.

Abandonment – often left on the streets, on door stoops and orphanages,
common form was wet nursing.
Swaddling – depriving the child of use of limbs by wrapping them in endless
bandage; child could be left unattended.
Children as “Miniature Adults”

Practices which reflected children as miniature adults:

Adult punishment for misdeeds – punishment for children were severe, even
death penalty for minor offenses.
Slavery and Apprenticeship – children were commonly sold to slavery,
prostitution, and apprenticeship, sometimes as security on debts, or as political
hostages.
Morality, sex, and prostitution – children were exposed to adult sexuality from
an early age, and even used as prostitutes.

Two (2) age-old mechanisms were employed (teach children a trade or allow them an
opportunity to earn a livelihood).

A) Apprenticeship System
- primary means for teaching skilled trades to the children (middle & upper class) by
a master.

B) Binding-out System
- reserved for poor children.
- children who are difficult to handle or needed supervision were “bound over” to
masters for care.
- under this system, masters were not required to teach the youths a trade.

Result:
Boys were often given farming tasks while girls were assigned to domestic duties.

RELIGION (New England) another powerful force that shaped social life.
- regular church attendance was expected & religious beliefs dominated ideas about
appropriate behavior.
- what was believed to be immoral was also unlawful and subject to punishment by the
authorities.

Punishments:
a) Fines c) Branding
b) Whipping

A reminder to both young and old that violations of community norms would not go
unpunished.

16th and 17th Century

- a different view of the young emerged that recognized childhood as distinct period of
Life.
- Children as corruptible but worth correcting.

Youths began to be viewed, not as miniature adults or property, but rather as

persons who required molding and guidance to become moral and productive members of
the community.

Early 1800s
- social organization of colonial life began to change as a result of economic and
social developments.
- Family-based production unit that characterized colonial social life was giving way
to a Factory-based system in growing towns.
- As parents (fathers) and children began to leave the home for work in the factory.
- as industry developed and as towns grew, communities became more diverse and
experienced problems on a scale unheard of during earlier periods.

End of 1800s
- variety of institutions and mechanisms had been developed in response to problem
children.
The problems presented by children who were believed to be in need of correctional
treatment – proved to be difficult to solve.

Such as:
- homelessness - waywardness
- neglect - criminal behavior
- abuse

Late 1800s
- group of reformers began to advocate a new institution to deal with youth problems.
↓→ Juvenile Court

PARENS PATRIAE: legal philosophy justifying State intervention in the lives of children
when their parents are unable or unwilling to protect them.
: The State as Parent.

The Beginning of Childhood

End of 18th Century

- “The Enlightenment” new cultural transition.
- Known as the beginning of Humanism and Reason.
- People began to see children as flowers - needs fostering in order to bloom. - it was
the invention of childhood, love and nurturing instead of beatings to stay in
line.
- Youth finally began to emerge as Distinct group.

Nature and Extent of Juvenile Delinquency

A delinquent is whose behavior brought him to repeated conflict with the law.
Regardless of whether he has been taken before the court and adjudged as delinquent.
Often a result of a combination of some factors environment of the child ↔ within himself.
Nature will differ because of the environmental forces and because of the nature of the child.

Stages of Delinquency

a.) Emergence
- begins with petty larceny (bet. 18 to 12) b) Exploration
- moves on to shoplifting & vandalism
(bet. 12 to 14)
c) Explosion
- substantial increase in variety & seriousness (age 13)
d) Conflagration
- four or more types of crime are added (around 15 y.o)

Classification of Delinquency
a) Unsocialized Aggression
- rejected or abandoned, no parents to imitate & become aggressive. b) Socialized
Delinquents
- members in fraternities/ groups that advocate bad things. c) Over-inhibited
- group secretly trained to do illegal activities.

Pathway to Delinquency

1) Authority-conflict
- begins at early age with stubborn behavior; leads to defiance then to authority
avoidance.
2) Covert
- begins with minor, underhanded behavior that leads to property damage. This
eventually escalates to more serious forms of criminality.
3) Overt
- escalates to aggressive acts beginning with aggression & leading to physical
fighting then to violence.

Juvenile Delinquency Tendencies

1) Malicious
- expression of defiance.
2) Negativistic
- changeable attitudes like not being satisfied with status.
3) Non-utilitarian
- vandalistic attitude like graffiti.
4) Hedonistic
- doing bad things for pleasure.

Types of Delinquent Youth

a) Social
- aggressive youths
- resents authority/ anyone who make effort to control his behavior. b) Neurotic
- preoccupied with his own feelings (internalizes his conflicts)
c) Asocial (psychotic & sociopathic delinquent)
- cold, brutal fierce - feels no remorse
d) Accidental
- has identifiable character
- social, law abiding

Theories of Juvenile Delinquency

Several theories have been propounded to understand deviant behavior of juveniles.

A. Early General Theories on the Causes of Delinquency

(1) Demonological Theory

This was developed during the middle ages. Hence, the oldest perspective or theory.
It was based on the belief of primitive people that every object and person is guided by a
spirit. This theory promoted the notion that persons should not be held responsible for their
actions when they do evil things because their body is possessed by evil spirits.

(2) Classical Theory

Postulated by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham, Classical theory was
consistent with the Utilitarian view that people weigh the benefits and costs of future action
before they decide to act. This was based on the assumption that people are rational, have
free will, and therefore able to choose.
It promoted the idea that people choose criminality the same way when they choose
conformity, that youths commit crime because they think or imagine that greater good
things can be earned through conformity. This is because people by nature are hedonistic.
HEDONISM is a doctrine that pleasure is the highest good in life and that moral duty is
fulfilled through the pursuit of pleasure.

(3) Positive or Italian Theory

This theory was developed by Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri, and Raffaele
Garofalo. Positive theory promoted the idea of determinism as a way of explaining crime
and delinquency.

DETERMINISM means every act has a cause that is waiting to be discovered in the natural
world.
Positivists believed that the causes of juvenile delinquency could be identified
through the application of the scientific method. Once causes were discovered, the
individual offender could be treated (or rehabilitated) much as the medical doctors treat the
causes of harmful illness.
Positivists rejected the idea of Classicists, that punishment of delinquent offenders has an
inherent positive value. They replaced punishment with individualized treatment

strategies for each offender. They believed that the causes of rime and delinquency are
varied. Thus, it logically follows that treatment of offenders must be varied also.

(4) Critical Theory

This theory is much more significant in criminological analysis on the causes of
juvenile delinquency. Critical criminologists and sociologists view juvenile delinquency as a
by-product of existing social arrangements. The concepts of power, influence, inequality,
and conflict guide this theory in exploring and clarifying the nature of juvenile delinquency.
This theory blames delinquency on the imbalance of power within the human society.
Powerful people consciously or unconsciously create rules that favor their lifestyle.
Criminal behavior may therefore reflect the consensual reality held by powerful people.
Powerless people, on the other hand, have very few opportunities to express their social
and political views. Hence, in order to express or show dissatisfaction or disapproval with
the policies made by powerful people, they attempt to commit serious acts which powerful
people consider as crime or delinquent acts.

B. Biological Theories

Early biological theories claim that criminal behavior is a result of biological or

genetic defect in the individual. Contemporary biological theories focus more on variations
in genetic and other biological factors in interaction with the environment and are less likely
to refer to biological defects or abnormalities.

(1) Lombrosian Theory

This was developed by Dr. Cesare Lombroso, a prison doctor in Turin, Italy and
known as the Father of Criminology. His job was to examine hundreds of criminals. This
theory holds the following assumptions:

a. Criminals have many stigmas, such as symmetrical faces, enormous jaws,

large or protruding ears, and receding chins.
b. Criminals are atavistic beings who look differently and think differently. Having
the mentality of primitive people, they are incapable of living in modern society. c.
Criminals are classified as epileptic, insane and inborn.

(2) General Inferiority Theory/ Hooton’s Theory

Proposed by Earnest Hooton. This theory has the following assumptions:

a. Crime is the result of the impact of the environment upon low grade human
organisms and that criminals were originally inferior people.

b. Crime exist because there are some inferior people who are responsible for them.
c. Men with mediocre builds are people who tend to break the law without
preference because crimes are like physical make-up, characterless.
d. Criminals should be permanently exiled to self-governing reservations, isolated from the
society, sterilized to prevent future offspring.

(3) Willian Sheldon’s Theory

According to Sheldon, body type affects a person’s entire personality or
temperament.

People are classified in three (3) ways:

a. Endomorphs – people who tend to be fat, round, soft, and have short arms and legs.
b. Mesomorphs – people who have athletic and muscular physique; with active,
assertive, and aggressive personality. Delinquency exists because there are
mesomorphic men or youths who are responsible for its occurrence.
c. Ectomorphs – people who are basically skinny with lean and fragile bodies.

(4) Genetic Theory

This theory assumes that:

a. Crime and delinquency is committed by people who have abnormal genetic structure
or chromosomal abnormalities.
b. DNA is the transmitter of genetic materials (genes).
c. Extra Y chromosome is responsible for aggressiveness and thus, criminal activity.
Men with extra Y chromosomes are taller and have a 10 to 20 percent greater
tendency to break the law than genetically normal XY males.

C. Psychological Theories

These theories assume that:

a. Delinquency is a result of internal, underlying disturbances.
b. These disturbances develop in childhood and tend to become permanent features
of the individual character.
c. Since the individual has problems, he or she must be the focus of attention if the
problem is to be solved.

(1) Psychogene Theories

These are theories which blame delinquency on impulses that are rooted in the child
rather than in his environment. Psychogenic believe that it is easier to change a person
than it i s to change an environment.

1.1 Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory

The proponent of this theory was Sigmund Freud. He believed that people
develop in a series of stages. When abnormalities occur, the person is more likely to
experience conflict. Conflict stems from the person’s basic drive (ID) and social controls.
Because conflict is painful to confront, people tend to push into their unconscious mind
those experiences that produce conflict. Finally, people use defense mechanism to handle
personal conflicts.

The Four (4) Elements in Freud’s Theory

a. Human nature is inherently anti-social. Every child possesses a set of primitive anti
social instincts that Freud called the ID.
b. Good behavior comes through effective socialization. Through socialization, the child
learns internal control.
c. The life-long features of the human personality originate in early childhood. By age 5,
all the essential features of the child’s adult personality have been developed. d.
Delinquent behavior is the result of a defective superego.

The Three (3) Parts of Human Psyche (personality)

a. ID – it is the unconscious portion of the personality dominated by the drives

(cravings) for pleasure and by inborn sexual and aggressive impulses. If left unchecked, it
may destroy the person.
b. EGO – this is the rational part of the personality; it grows from the ID. It represents
problem solving dimensions of personality.
c. SUPEREGO – it grows out of Ego. It represents the moral code, norms, and values
the individual has acquired. Hence, it is responsible for feelings of guilt and shame.

If the parts of the human psyche co-exist in a unified and harmonious way, the
person is mentally healthy. When the parts come into conflict, the person is maladjusted
and there is a high probability that he will commit delinquent acts.

(2) The Low-IQ Theory

This theory claims that:

a. People with low intelligence are easily led into law-breaking activities by the
wiles of some more clever people.

b. People with low intelligence are unable to realize that committing offenses in a
certain way often leads to getting caught and eventual punishment.

(3) Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Theory

This theory claims that:
a. Juvenile delinquency is caused by immaturity and hyperactivity.

b. Grade schoolers usually experience attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,

which is characterized by:
1) short attention span
2) day dreaming
3) sluggishness
4) preoccupation
5) impulsiveness
(4) Frustration-aggression Theory
This theory claims that people who are frustrated will act aggressively, and people
who engage in aggression are frustrated first.
Frustration is a behavior directed at anticipated goals or expectations. It develops
when a person experiences the blocking of some goal. It involves hopes and unfulfilled
expectations. It is not a feeling or an emotion but a failure of objectives and goals.
Frustration leads to anger which makes aggression more likely to happen.
Aggression is a behavior whose goal is to inflict damage or injury on some objects or
persons.

D. Social Class Theories

1) Social Disorganization Theory

This theory was recognized early in the twentieth century by sociologist Clifford Shaw
and Henry McKay. According to this theory, disorganizes areas cannot exert social control
over acting-out youth; these areas can be identified by their relatively high level of change,
fear, instability, incivility, poverty and deterioration, and these factors have direct influence
on the area’s delinquency rate. It is not, then, some individual property or trait that is the
cause of delinquency, but the quality and ambiance of the community in which the
adolescents are forced to reside. In the areas where there is no sense of collective efficacy,
delinquency rates will be controlled no matter what the immediate economic situation is.

2) Anomie Theory
Advocated by Emile Durkheim, anomie is normlessness produced by rapidly shifting
moral values. This occurs when personal goals cannot be achieved using available means.
Anomie refers to a breakdown of social norms and a condition where norms no
longer control the activities of members in society. Individuals cannot find their place in

society without clear rules to help guide them. Changing conditions as well as adjustments
in life lead to dissatisfaction, conflict, and deviance.

3) Strain Theory
Strain theory contends that certain classes are denied legitimate access to culturally
determined goals and opportunities, and the resulting frustration results in illegitimate
activities or rejection of the society’s goal.
According to Sociologist Robert Merton, although most people share common values and
goals, the means for legitimate economic and social success are stratified by

socio-economic class. Consequently, these youths may either use deviant methods to
achieve their goals or reject socially accepted goals and substitute deviant ones.

Sources of Strain according to Robert Agnew include:

a. Strain caused by the failure to achieve positively valued goals.
b. Strain caused by the disfunction of expectations and achievements.
c. Strain as the removal of positively valued stimuli from the individual.
d. Strain as the presentation of negative stimuli.

(4) Differential Opportunity Theory

Delinquent subcultures, according to Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin, flourish in the lower
classes and take particular forms so that the means for illegitimate success are no more
equally distributed than the means for legitimate success. They argued that the types of
criminal subcultures depend on the area on which they develop. They stated that the varying
form of delinquent subcultures depended upon the degree of integration that was present in
the community.

Three Types of Delinquent Gangs (Cloward & Ohlin)

a. The Criminal Gang – emerges in areas where conventional as well as non-

conventional values of behavior are integrated by a close connection of illegitimate and
legitimate businesses. This type of gang is stable than the ones to follow. Older criminals
serve as role models and they teach necessary criminal skills to the youngsters.
b. The Conflict/ Violent Gang – non-stable and non-integrated, characterized by an
absence of criminal organization resulting in instability. This gang aims to find reputation for
toughness and destructive violence.
c. The Retreatist Gang – equally unsuccessful in legitimate as well as illegitimate means.
Members are known as double failures, thus retreating into a world of sex, drugs, and alcohol.

(5) Class Conflict Theory

According to Richard Quinney and William Chambliss, conflict theory is based upon the
view that the fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces

operating within the society. The Criminal Justice System and Criminal Law are thought to
be operating on behalf of the rich and powerful social elites, with resulting policies aimed at
controlling the poor. The criminal justice establishment aims at imposing standards of
morality and good behavior created by the powerful on the whole of society. Focus is on
separating the powerful from the have nots who would steal from others and protect
themselves from physical attacks. In the process, the legal rights of poor folks might be
ignored. The middle class are also co-opted; they side with the elites rather than the poor,
thinking they might themselves rise to the top by supporting the status quo.

(6) Differential Oppression Theory

John D. Hewitt and Robert Regoli proposed that much serious juvenile delinquency
is a product of the oppression of children by adults, particularly within the context of family.
The maltreatment of children has been found to be highly correlated with both serious and
moderate delinquency as well as other problem behaviors.
This theory suggest that the oppression or maltreatment of children establishes a
sociological, if not legal excuse for child’s delinquency. It argues that adult perception of
children forces youths into socially defined and controlled inferior roles, including the
socially constructed “juvenile delinquency” role that separates youthful and adult offenders
for treatment and control.
E. Interpersonal Theories

1) Differential Association Theory

This theory asserts that criminal behavior is learned primarily within the interpersonal
groups and that youth will become delinquent if definitions they have learned favorable to
violating the law exceed definitions favorable to obeying the law within the group. This
theory was introduced by Edwin Sutherland.

2) Social Learning Theory

This theory views that behavior is modelled through observation, either directly
through intimate contact with others, or indirectly through media. Interactions that are
regarded are copied, whereas those that are punished are avoided.

Social Learning theory suggests that children who grow up in a home where violence
is a way of life may learn to believe that such behavior is acceptable and rewarding. Even if
parents tell children not to be violent and punish them if they are, the children will still model
their behavior on the observed parental violence. The family may serve as a training ground
for violence since the child perceives physical punishment as the norm during conflict
situations with others.

F. Situational Theories

1) Drift Theory (Neutralization Theory)

This theory proposes that juveniles sense a moral obligation to be bound by the law.
Such a bind between a person and the law remains in place most of the time. When it is not
in place, delinquents will drift.
David Matza and Gresham Sykes suggest that delinquents hold values similar to
those of law-abiding citizens, but they learn techniques that enable them to neutralize those
values and drift back and forth between legitimate and delinquent behavior. They further
suggested that juveniles develop a distinct set of justifications for their behavior when it

violates accepted social rules and norms. These neutralization techniques allow youths to
drift away from the rules of the normative society and participate in delinquent behaviors.
While most adolescents accept the rules of society, they learned these techniques to
release themselves temporarily from moral constraints.
Drift is a process by which an individual moves from one behavioral extreme to
another, behaving sometimes in an unconventional manner and at other times with
constraint.

Five Techniques of Neutralization:

a. Denial of responsibility
b. Denial of injury
c. Denial of victim
d. Condemnation of condemners
e. Appeal to higher loyalties

Sykes and Matza’s Theoretical model were based on the following observations:

a. Delinquents express guilt over their illegal acts.

b. Delinquent’s frequently respect and admire honest, law abiding individuals.
c. A line is drawn between those they can victimize and those they cannot.
d. Delinquents are not immune to the demands of conformity.

G. Societal Reaction Theories

1) Labelling Theory
Developed by Howard Becker, Labeling theory views that youths may violate the law
for a variety of reasons including poor family relations, peer pressure, psychological
abnormality, and pro-delinquent learning experiences. Regardless of the cause of
individual’s behaviors detected, the offenders will be given a negative label that can follow
them throughout life. These labels include “troublemaker”, mentally ill, “junkie”, and more.

H. Control Theories

1) Social Control Theory

This theory by Travis Hirschi states that members in society from bonds with other
members in society or institution such as parents, pro-social friends, churches, schools,
teachers, and sports team. The social bonds include the ties and affection that develop
between children and key people in their lives; commitment to social norms of behavior and
to succeed in regards to such values as getting good education, a good job and being
successful; involvement in activities; and finally, that most persons are brought up to
believe in and respect the law.

2) Self-derogation Theory
Introduced by Howard Kaplan, self-derogation theory states that all motivation to
maximize our self-esteem, motivation to conform will be minimized by family, school and
peer interactions that devalue our sense of self. Interactions and behavior may be
selfdefacing or self-enhancing.

3) Interactional Theory
Originated by Terrence Thornberry, this theory states that weakening of a child’s
social bond is the fundamental cause of delinquency. Interactional theory examined the
changing nature of relationships over the life course. It emphasized the reciprocal nature
between many of the variables used to explain delinquency.
4) Self-control Theory
This argues that it is the absence of self-control rather than the presence of some
forces or factors such as poverty, anomie, opportunities for deviance, delinquent peers,
exposure to definitions favorable to deviance, etc. that leads to deviance. This theory
rejects the notions that deviance is learned, that deviance simply results from the
individual’s inability to effectively control his or her impulses.

I. Other Theories

1) Culture Deviance Theory

This theory links delinquent acts to the formation of independent subcultures with a
unique set of values that clash with the mainstream culture. It argues that children learn
deviant behavior socially through exposure to others and modeling of other’s action.

2) Structural Functionalism Theory

Some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in society to
engage in non-conforming rather than conforming behavior. These structural and
ideological dreams can cause great distress for those who cannot reach these goals.
Juveniles who engage in crimes do so, according to this perspective, as a means to
defy society’s defined goals and innovate their own goals of delinquent behavior.

3) Rational Choice Theory

Advocates of these theory argue that in many cases, deviance is a result of high
calculation of risks and awards. Prospective deviants weigh their own chance of gain
against the risk of getting caught, and thereby decide a course of action.
Juveniles, however, do not always choose the most rational actions. Their values
and motives are different from an adult criminal. Adolescents are also notorious for not
thinking before they act. These actions which constitute delinquency may come as a result
of acting against authority, or to rebel against cultural norms and goals.

4) Routine Activities Theory

The theory was developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson. This theory
claims that crime is a normal function of the routine activities of modern living; offenses can
be expected by capable guardians. The routine activities approach gives equal weight to
the role of both the victim and the offender in the crime process. Criminal opportunity is
significantly influenced by the victim’s lifestyle and behavior. The greater the opportunity for
criminals and victims to interact, the greater the probability of crime; the reduced
interaction, the more opportunity for crime to decline.
Factors affecting Routine Activities Theory:
a. Lack of capable guardian
b. Suitable target
c. Motivated offenders

5) Learning Theories
This set of theories advances that delinquency is learned through the close
relationship with others. It asserts that children are born “good” and learn to be “bad” from
others. Learning theories hold that children living in even the most deteriorated areas can
resist inducements to crime if they have learned proper values and behavior. Delinquency,
by contrast, develops by learning the values and behavior associated with criminal activity.

Factors and causes of Juvenile Delinquency

The problem of juvenile delinquency is attributed to factors such as family, peers,

environment, school, and mass media that affect the socialization of children.
Socialization is the process through which children learn the ways of a particular
society or social group so that they can function within it.

FAMILY
The first and most basic institution in the society in developing child potential in all its
aspects:

- Emotional
- Intellectual
- Moral & Spiritual
- Physical & Social

It is within Family that the child learns to curb his desires and accept rules that define
time, place, and circumstances under which highly personal needs may be satisfied in
socially acceptable ways.
 Family Conditions that Influence the Development of Juvenile Delinquency

1. Separation of parents/ broken home

2. Family desertion
3. Both working parents
4. Parental rejection
5. Single-parent household
6. In-law problems
7. Lack of parental guidance
8. Family displacement
9. Low-income parents
10. Teenage pregnancy
11. Latchkey children

Family Structure
 Family size & birth position had been found to have predictive effects on
delinquency.

1) FAMILY SIZE
- Parents of larger families tend to give less parental attention to their children.
Predictive factor; greater chance to become delinquent;
- Lacking educational success;
- Perform poorly in school & score low in IQ test.

2) Child’s Birth Order in the Family

Birth order affects delinquent behavior;
- Delinquency are more likely among middle children than first or last children; -
First child receives individual attention & affection of parents;
- Last child benefits from parent’s experience of raising children; Some cases,
the delinquent child is the first or last child.

Relations between Parents and Children

Strongest predictive factor for delinquency – criminal parents. Related to the

relationship of parents toward their children; Parents provide a model of behavior for the
children to copy.

1) FAMILY REJECTION
Some children are rejected by their parents; Deprived of one or both of their parents
through abandonment, hospitalization, divorce, death or intervention of public agencies.

According to John Bowlby (British psychologist)

“even a short absence on the part of the mother could have deleterious effects on the
psychic well-being of the child”.

2) Discipline in the Home

Inadequate supervision and discipline in the home have been commonly cited to
explain delinquent behavior. Where discipline is erratic or harsh, children tend to become
delinquent in adolescence. Such parents differ from normal parents in punishing harshly,
and in giving many commands. Certain are children are difficult to discipline; shouting and
incessant commands are a parental reaction to the child’s constant misbehavior.
The fact that parents of normal children can make their children behave worse
simply by giving more commands is an indicator that discipline is a shaping factor.
Family Model

1) The Corporate odel

M
The Father is the chief executive officer, makes the most, the final word. The Mother
is the operating officerimplements
and the Father’s policy and manages the staff (children)
in turn have privileges and responsibilities basedniority.
on their se

2) The Tea
m Model
The Father is the head; the Mother is the chief of the training table and cheer leader.
The children
, suffering frequent performance anxiety, play the roles and stay in shape with
conformity calisthenics.

3) The Military Model

4) The Boarding School Model
The Father is the rector or the headmaster and is in charge of training school minds
and bodies. The Mother is the dorm counselor who oversees the realm emotion, illness,
good works, and bedwetting. The children are dutiful students. The parents have nothing
left to learn; there is but teach and test.

5) The Theatrical Model

The Father is the producer and plays the role, the Mother, the stage manager,
doubles in the part of a mother. the children, the stagehands, also act the roles of girls and
boys. No writer is necessary because the lines are scripted., the roles are sex stereotypes,
the plot predictable.

Quality of Home

Poor family home life, measured by marital adjustment and harmony within the
home, also affects the rate of delinquent behavior among children more than whether or not
the family is intact.
Happiness of marriage, good marital relationships and strong family cohesiveness in
homes are the key whether or not the children become delinquent.

1) Broken Home
This does not refer to the separation of parents leaving their children behind, but
includes the presence of parents who are irresponsible that children experience constant
quarrel in the home. Broken homes are associated with increase risk in deviant behavior.
Effects of Family Breakdown to the Children

a. Being brought up by one parent instead of two, decreases the amount of

surveillance, which protects against delinquency.
b. Divorce plunges the family into poverty, which is associated with deviance and
forces the family to find accommodation in a high delinquency area.
c. People who divorce are less stable character than normal and pass their instability
unto their children.

2) Single Parent Family

Majority of single parent families are the products of divorce. Part of the effect is
simply that of the strained relationships between the parents prior to family breakdown.

Parenting Styles
1) Authoritative Parents

They are warm but firm. They set standards for the child’s conduct but form
expectations consistent with the child’s developing needs and capabilities. They give a high
regard on the independent of the child and self-direction but assume the ultimate
responsibility for their children’s behavior. They deal with their child in a rational,
issueoriented manner, engage in discussion and explanation with their children over rules
and discipline.

2) Authoritarian Parents
They place a high value on obedience and conformity tending to favor more punitive,
absolute and forceful disciplinary measures. They are not responsive to to their children
and show little warmth and support. Open and constructive discussion is not common in an
authoritarian household because authoritarian parents believe that the child should accept
without question the rules and standards established by the parents.
Parents tend to discourage independent behaviors of children; instead they place
importance on restricting the child’s dependence.

3) Indulgent Parents
They behave in responsive, accepting, benign or kind, and more passive ways in
matters of discipline. They place relatively few demands on the child’s behavior, giving the
child a high degree of freedom to act as he or she wishes.
Indulgent parents are likely to believe that control is an infringement or violation on
the child’s freedom that may interfere with healthy development. Instead of actively shaping
their child’s behavior, these parents consider themselves as resources the child may or
may not use.

4) Indifferent Parents
They are fairly unresponsive to their child and try to minimize the time and energy
they must devote to interacting with the child or responding to the child’s demands. In
extreme cases, indifferent parents may be neglectful. They know little about their child’s
activities and whereabouts, show little interest in their child’s experiences at school or in his
or her friends, and rarely consider the child’s opinion when making decisions.

Parenting Skills

The following are ways of developing parenting skills: a.

Notice what the child is doing.
b. Monitor it over a long period of time.
c. Model social skill behavior.
d. Clearly state house rules/ policies.
e. Consistently provide same punishments for transgressions and disobedience.
f. Provide reinforcement for conformity.
g. Negotiate disagreements so that conflicts and crisis do not escalate.
Child Abuse

Can be defined as causing or permitting any harmful or offensive contact on a child’s

body; and any communication or transaction of any kind which humiliates, shames, or
frightens the child.
Further, it is defined as any act or omission which fails to nurture or in the upbringing of the
children.

Types of Child Abuse

1. Physical Child Abuse – is an act of deliberately inflicting physical injuries on a child.

This may include burning, hitting, punching, shaking, kicking, beating, or otherwise
harming a child.

2. Emotional maltreatment/ Psychological Child Abuse – is when an adult demeans the

child’s worth and dignity as a human being by constant scolding and ridiculing. This
could lead to a child with very low self-esteem and many hang-ups and
psychological problems.

3. Child Neglect – is the failure to provide for the child’s basic needs. It can be physical,
educational, or emotional.

Physical Neglect can include not providing adequate food or clothing, appropriate
medical care, supervision, or proper weather protection.
Educational Neglect includes failure to provide appropriate schooling or special
educational needs, allowing excessive truancies.
Psychological Neglect includes the lack of any emotional support and love, never
attending to the child, spousal abuse, drug & alcohol abuse, including allowing the child
to participate in drug and alcohol use.

4. Sexual Abuse – is any act of maliciously molesting the child sexually whether the
sexual act is consummated or not. It includes fondling a child’s genitals, making the
child fondle the adult’s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and
sexual exploitation. To be considered child abuse these acts have to be committed
by a person responsible for the care of a child or related to a child.

Typology of Child Abusers

1) Mentally Disordered Abuser – a person who has defective mental ability.

2) Parentally Incompetent Abuser – an individual whose practice of disciplining the child
is in the same way he/she was disciplined.

3) Situational Abuser – a parent who only abuses the child when he/she is confronted with
a particular situation, one who is usually non-abusive but “fly off the handle” when some
circumstances develop.

4) Accidental Abuser – a parent who exercises poor judgment in his/her parenting

decisions, poor judgment results to child abuse.

5) Subcultural Abuser – a group of people who share a number of values, norms, and
attitudes in common.

6) Self-identified Abuser – parents who are abusive, although some of this kind of
abusers want to stop abusing their children, they cannot, and they are afraid to make
their discipline practices known.

7) Institutionally Prescribed Abuser – some institutions are grounded with beliefs that are
abusive to children. Child abuse may occur in:
a. Homes
b. Schools (private or public)
c. Day care centers
d. Preschools
e. Detention centers
f. Correctional facilities
Other Contributory Factors to Juvenile Delinquency Problem
Delinquency as a Police Problem

Police Work on Delinquency

1. Juveniles and the Police.

At work, the police have to constantly bear in mind that juvenile delinquents
should be handled in a different manner from the adult offenders. Most juvenile
delinquents are immature boys and girls lacking in judgment, who need understanding
and guidance rather than punishment.

2. Police Services.
Police who work with juvenile offenders usually have skills and talents that go
beyond those generally associated with regular police work. In large police
departments, juvenile services are often established through a special unit. A large
proportion of justice agencies have written policy directives for handling juvenile
offenders. When officers on patrol encounter a youngster committing a crime, they are
responsible for dealing with the problem initially; they generally refer the case to the
juvenile unit or to a juvenile police officer for follow-up.

3. Police Roles.
Juvenile officers operate either as specialists within a police department or as
part of the juvenile unit of a police department. Their role is similar to that of officers
working with adult offenders: to intervene if the actions of a citizen produce public
danger or disorder. Handling juvenile offenders can produce major role conflicts for
police. They may
experience a tension between their desire to perform what they consider their primary
duty,

law enforcement, and the need to aid in the rehabilitation of youthful offenders. Police
officer’s action in cases involving adults are usually controlled by the law and their own
judgment or discretion. In contrast, a case involving a juvenile often demands that the
officer consider the “best interest of the child” and how the officers’ action will influence
the child’s future well-being.

4. Police Attitudes toward Youth and Crime.

The police today have more positive attitudes toward youthful offenders than in
the past. However, there are hindrances that hold them to really work hard toward the
betterment of police-youth relations. Disparities and discrimination in police
decisionmaking, regarding which juvenile to arrest and which to release with just a
warning, most of the time produce negative perception of the police.

5. Police and Violent Juvenile Crime.

Police and other justice agencies are experimenting with different methods of
controlling violent youth. Some of these methods, such as placing more officers on the
beat, have existed for decades; others rely on state-of-the-art technology to pinpoint
the

locations of violent crimes and develop immediate countermeasures. One key

component
of any innovative police program dealing with violent juvenile crime is improved
communications between the police and the community.

6. police and the Rule of Law.

 When police are involved with criminal activity of juvenile offenders, their actions
are controlled by statute, constitutional case law, and judicial review. Police methods of
investigation and control include:
a) Arrest procedure
b) Search and Seizure
c) Custodial Interrogation

The Arrest Procedure

When a juvenile is apprehended, the police must decide whether to release the
youngster or make a referral to the juvenile court. Cases involving serious crimes
against property or persons are often referred to court. Less serious cases, such as
disputes between juveniles, petty shoplifting, runaways, and assault of minors, are
often diverted from court action.
The law of arrest for juveniles is generally the same for adults. To make a legal
arrest, an officer must have a probable cause to believe that an offense took place and
that the suspect is the guilty party.

Probable Cause is usually defined as falling somewhere between a mere suspicion

and absolute certainty.

In misdemeanor cases, the police officer must personally observe the crime in
order to place a suspect in custody. For a felony, the police officer may make the arrest
without having observed the crime if the officer has probable cause to believe the crime
occurred and the person being arrested committed it.

Search and Seizure

Do juveniles have the same right to be free from unreasonable search and
seizures as adults? (Sec.2, Art. III of the Philippine Constitution).

Most courts have held that the Constitutions ban against unreasonable search
and seizure applies to juveniles and that illegally seized evidence is inadmissible in a
juvenile trial. To exclude incriminating evidence, a juvenile’s attorney makes a pretrial
motion to suppress the evidence, the same procedure that is used in the adult criminal
process. The Supreme Court has ruled that these rules are applied to juveniles as well
as to adults.

Custodial Interrogation
 In past years, the police often questioned juveniles without their parents or even
a lawyer present. Any incriminating statement arising from custodial interrogation could
be used at a trial. However, in the 1966 Miranda case, the Supreme Court placed
constitutional limitations on police interrogation procedures with adult offenders.

Miranda held that persons in police custody must be told the

following: a) They have the right to remain silent.
b) Any statement they make can be used against them.
c) They have the right to counsel.
d) If they cannot afford a counsel, it will be furnished at public expense.

One problem associated with custodial interrogation of juveniles has to do with

waiver of Miranda rights:
-

- Under what circumstances can juveniles knowingly and willingly waive the
rights given to them by Miranda?
- Does a youngster, acting alone, have sufficient maturity to appreciate the
right to remain silent?

Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you further
understand the lesson:

References

1. Alviola, A. & Canaman J.C (2012) Juvenile Delinquency, Wiseman’s Books Trading, Inc.Project 6,
Quezon City.