JUVENILE

DELINQUENCY
AND JUVENILE
JUSTICE SYSTEM
 JUVENILE
 from the Latin word juvenilis meaning
youthful
 is a child or young person who is not yet
old enough to be regarded as an adult
 refers to a person under the age of 18 but
above the age of 10
 DELINQUENCY
 is the oldest and most
familiar description of
criminal misconduct by a
juvenile
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
 refers to criminal acts and status
offenses performed by juveniles

 is a criminal or antisocial behavior of

the juvenile
 HISTORY OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

 in the Code of Napoleon in France, limited responsibility

was ascribed to children under the age of 16
 in the US child criminals were treated as adult criminals
 HOUSE OF REFUGE – founded in New York city in
1825, bring care and education to unfortunate children
ASSUMPTIONS IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

 1. was that life was hard, and you had to be

hard to survive

 2. was that infant and child mortality were

very high
 CONCEPTS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
 1. Delinquency and Parens Patriae – minors who are
engaged in illegal behavior were viewed as victims of
improper care, custody, and treatment at home
 2. Legal Status of Delinquency – refers to a minor child
who has been found to have violated the penal code
 3. Legal Responsibility of Youth – legal action against
juveniles is considered more similar to a civil action that
determines their need for treatment
CATEGORIES OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS
 1. Children who have allegedly committed an offense that
would be a crime or an offense if it has been committed
by an adult offender
 2. Status offenders who have allegedly violated
regulations that apply only to juvenile, that is, curfew
restrictions, required school attendance, and similar rules
and ordinances
 3. Incorrigible juveniles, those who have been declared
unmanageable and uncontrolled by their parents and the
court
 TYPES OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS

1. STATUS OFFENDERS – are those juveniles

who commit offenses that if committed by
adults, would not be considered crimes

e.g truancy – excessive absences

running away from home
violating curfew
2. JUVENILE
DELINQUENTS – typically a
young person or that person’s
behavior showing or
characterized by a tendency to
commit crime
 CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE
DELINQUENTS
1.PERSONALITY AND DELINQUENCY – delinquents
maintain a distinct personality whose characteristics
increase the probability that they will be aggressive and
antisocial in their action
 personality – defined as the reasonably stable patterns of
behavior, including thoughts and emotions that
distinguish one person from another
2. INTELLIGENCE AND
DELINQUENCY – it has been charged
that children with low IQs are responsible
for a disproportionate share of
delinquency. Delinquent juveniles were
believed to be inherently sub-standard in
intelligence and naturally inclined to
commit crimes
 CAREERS IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

1. CHRONIC OFFENDERS
are responsible for a significant amount of all
delinquent and criminal activity
begin their delinquent careers at a young ag, have
serious and persistent brushes with the law, and
may be excessively violent and destructive
they do not age out of crime but continue their law
violating behavior into adulthood
KEY PREDICTIVE FACTORS
FOR CHRONICITY
 early involvement in criminal activity
 relatively low intellectual development
 parental drug-involvement
 CHRONIC OFFENDERS – had 80%
chance of becoming adult offenders and a
50% chance of being arrested for more
times as adults

 broken family, lack of communication in

home, lack of finances, lack f social and
moral training