Juvenile Delinquency 1

Juvenile Delinquency
Delinquency and Its consequence: A case
Fifteen years old, adolescent boy named X, detained and brought to court, filing a case of rape to an eight years
old girl residing next room. He was from poor family. He had no parents and staying with brother’s family in a
rented house and was continuing study in grade 8. Actually, he had friendship with the girl for two months. One
day, while he was alone, he called the girl in his room and told her to sleep with him as a friendly manner. Later,
he rubbed his penis to vaginal area of the girl from backside. Girl told her mother about the happening in next
day while she felt more pain and the issue came out. Then the girl’s parent filed the case in police. Since than,
his family members also didn’t cared him thinking that he did wrong and he is bad. Doctor’s report says that the
vaginal area is red and swelling, but there is no any physical damage inside.
Now, the effects of the problem situation to different parties are:
1. Victim side
 Physical harm, swelling.
 Stress, traumatic feeling, sadness, fear, and diminished ego.
 Aggression on family members, loss of social respect.
 Breakdown of relationships with offender’s party.
2. Community
 Feeling of unsafe thinking that it may happen to others also.
 Feeling of disturbance on social values and norms.
3. Offender side
 Breakdown of family and social relationships, social avoidance.
 Fear of consequences and stress or guilt feeling.
 Threatened to survival need and development needs like education etc.
 Breakdown of relationships with victim’s party.
 Decreased social respect of family.
Now what to do? so that everyone affected by the case get proper justice? How to restore these damages as
original state? How to manage the offender?

Definition of Delinquent Behavior

The child and adolescent behavior which is harmful to others, community and the self is taken as delinquent.
Juvenile delinquency refers a broad range of child and adolescent deviant behaviors including socially
unacceptable behavior, status offences and criminal acts. Deviance refers behavior that is contrary to the
standards of conduct or social expectations of a given group or society (Martin).

Delinquent behavior is harmful action prohibited by law and is carried out by youths approximately up to the
age of eighteen. (In Nepal, childhood age is taken as up to sixteen years till now by law.) Government laws
legally prohibit two types of offences for juveniles: Index offence (harmful to other people and society) and
status offence (much harmful to self and less harmful to others and society). The concept of juvenile
delinquency has not always referred to the same type of behavior everywhere in the world due to difference of
cultural values.

Delinquency Deviances
Status Offenses
Among the behaviors that are violations of law when committed by a juvenile are habitual truancy, violating
curfew, running away, ungovernable conduct, being beyond the control of parents, and using tobacco and
alcohol.

Running away from home is a status offense that is typically seen in boys and girls both. Girls who run away
are often likely to engage in prostitution and other antisocial acts in their effort to survive. Many of them reach
in India, knowingly and unknowingly and involve in prostitution. Most street children are runaway children who
involve in vandalism, theft and drug use.
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Curfew violation is another common status offense. For juveniles over the age of sixteen the most likely status
offense is an alcohol violation, and for juveniles under fifteen years of age the most likely status offense is
truancy (runaway from school or study). But in Nepal, many status offenses are not taken as illegal.

Nowadays, there is a practice to address status offenders outside the formal court system. It is found that status
offenders as the risk group of index offence. Therefore, they should be addressed through preventive approach
of delinquency. As the alternatives to the formal justice system for status offenders, community-based
interventions for status offenders are the recent practices. Nowadays, they have been addressed as the children in
need.

Runaways and being Street Children-A Status Offense

A runaway child is one that leaves home without permission and stays away overnight. Such children cite a
feeling that their parents don't love them or that their parents are being too strict as the two most common
reasons why they run away. Experts caution that parents need to pay close attention to their children's behavior
in order to pick up any warning signs indicating their children may decide to run away from home.

Teens run away for a variety of reasons. According to Child and Youth Health of South Australia (CYH), many
teens leave home impulsively after an argument with their caregiver/parents. Often, they don't know how to
express their feelings and believe that running away will make their parents "come around." Others run away
because they are afraid of punishment or they think their home has too many rules and limits. And still others
flee because something seriously wrong is occurring in their lives or difficulty to alive due to poverty. Consider
these additional, specific reasons why a child might run away from home, cited by the Nemours Foundation:
 Significant lack of family communication
 Feelings of not belonging or not being good enough
 Physical or sexual abuse
 Fighting or violence between parents
 Problems with parents or blended families (step-parents, step or half-brothers and sisters)
 Problems with non-parental living situation (other relatives, foster care or group home)
 Parental alcohol or drug use or Kids' alcohol or drug use
 Loss of a parent due to divorce or death
 Parental financial difficulty - ongoing or unexpected
 Moving to a new area or school during adolescence
 Friend or peer influence
 Power of gangs

About half of the street children are there as the consequence of runaways from home. A research from CPCS
(2007) in 430 street children in Kathmandu showed that 63% street children had both parents alive and 31% had
only one parent alive. Within them, 27% left home independently and 22% with friends; these are runaways and
remaining others (51%) were throwaways. The research found the reason of coming to live street as:
Looking for a job-65%; Due to peer pressure-54%
Was violence at home-51%; Lack of food to eat at home-27%
Political conflict-12%
Modern juvenile justice system has turned toward social support model to address most of the status offenses.
These children are classified as children in need.

Index Offences
The index offences include the offenses of murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Juveniles are
arrested more frequently for robbery and sexual assault than for any other crime. Juveniles who commit murder
are predominately male. Girls tend to engage in more indirect, verbal and relational aggression such as
excluding peers from groups, and are less frequently engaged in the most serious forms of violence, such as
homicide and sexual violence. Males and females also appear to have different motivations for their crimes, as
demonstrated by their different choices of victims.
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Types of Index Offences

Violent offenses (Murder, Rape, Robbery, Assault etc.); Property offenses (Burglary, Theft etc.); Drug offences
like Drug trafficking, and Public offences like Weapons are frequent index offences in Nepal. We can classify
them as follows.

Murder Includes homicide, non-negligent killing, and voluntary homicide. Does not include negligent
homicide, involuntary homicide that is classified as other violent offenses.
Rape Includes forcible intercourse or penetration with a foreign object. Does not include nonforcible acts,
nonviolent sexual offenses, or commercialized sex offenses.
Robbery Includes the unlawful taking of anything of value by force or threat of force. Armed, unarmed, and
aggravated robbery, and armed burglary are included.
Assault Includes aggravated assault, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon.
Other violent offenses Includes involuntary manslaughter, negligent or uncontrolled homicide, nonviolent or
non-forcible sexual assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, child or spouse abuse, cruelty to a child, hit-
and-run, and terrorization.

Property offenses
Burglary Includes any type of entry into a residence, industry, or business with or without the use of force with
the intent to commit a wrongdoing or theft.
Larceny/theft Includes grand theft, grand breaking and entering to steal, and any other felony theft, including
theft of rental property.
Other property offenses includes motor vehicle theft, forgery, fraud, receiving or buying stolen property,
arson, reckless burning, damage to property, criminal mischief, vandalism, possession of burglary tools, and
unlawful entry.

Drug offenses
Drug trafficking includes trafficking, sales, distribution, possession with intent to distribute or sell,
manufacturing, and smuggling of controlled substances.
Other drug offenses Includes possession of controlled substances and other drug law violations.

Public-order offenses
Weapons Includes the unlawful sale, distribution, manufacture, alteration, transportation, possession, or use of a
deadly weapon or accessory.
Other public-order offenses Includes driving-related offenses, flight/escape, probation violations, obstruction
of justice, public disturbance, libel, prostitution, and tax law violations.

Sex offences
a. Sexual Abuse: Involves any contact or interaction whereby a vulnerable person, (usually a child or adolescent) is
used for the sexual stimulation of an older, stronger, more influential person.
b. Sexual Assault: Impolite sexual conduct of a man or women towards another man, woman, or child,
accompanied by the threat or danger of physical suffering or injury or inducing fear, shame, humiliation, and
mental torture.
c. Rape: The crime of forcing another person to commit sex acts, especially sexual intercourse without consent.

Delinquency Picture
After the case happened and complains from victim side, the delinquency cases come in the contact with
government authority and the case goes to the court. In public offence cases, police arrests delinquents directly
and brings to CDO office. These delinquents have been called “Children in Conflict with Law”.

The police record of five years (1999-2003) showed in total of cases-2673; 58% were from Kathmandu district
alone. Out of 2673 cases, 1689 were public offences (vandalism, traffic obstacles, obstruction of supply,
carrying weapons, public pornography etc.). District administration office had heard 65% of these cases
because Nepal has the legal provision that DAO has responsibility to hear public offence cases.
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In the same duration, the court study at 52 districts showed that out of 734 cases, 273 were theft, 130 murder,
111 rape, 71 dacoit, 52 narcotic drugs and 97 others (KSL, 2003). Within these, 161 cases were reported in
Kathmandu district court. The decision of court was 147 acquittals, 131 imprisoned and fined, 101 imprisoned
only and 57 fined only.

The KSL study on street children (2003) showed that unwanted behaviors of street children were cigarette
taking 75%, begging 55%, pick pocketing 55%, stealing money 50%, fight 52.50%, alcohol use 45%, Glue
sniffing 43.75%, drug use 43.75%, Telling lies 41.25%, and beating others 25%.

A survey (2006) on residential child at correction home, Bhaktapur found that 31% children were related to theft
or dacoits, 20%-public offences, 17%-physical assault and 14%- rape case. From these facts, we can
understand the nature of delinquent behavior in Nepalese children.

Theoretical Explanations of Delinquency

Biological Theories

 There is research evidence that serotonin, a chemical stored in the brain, with other brain
chemicals, is related to communication among neurons and impulse control which both are
related to delinquency. e.g., ADHD.
 Inherit genetic predispositions and neurological deficits can play a part in delinquency
causation. But, existing studies are not conclusive to the link between hereditary and
subsequent criminal behavior.

Psychological Theories
Psychological theories ascribe deviant behaviors to cognitive and personality disorders brought on by
one’s environment. The psychological perspective assumes:
 Criminals and delinquents do not (or cannot) differentiate right from wrong.
 Psychological abnormalities are caused by a number of factors, including detrimental
behavioral conditioning, mental problem, and learning from toxic environments.
 Offenders have disordered or abnormal personalities.
 Some offenders cannot control themselves.
 Personality develops during childhood, which affects behavior during adulthood.

The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Delinquent behavior is seen as a symptom of conflict that is taking place within the psyche of the
offender. For example, They tend to: 1) seek immediate gratification, 2) consider satisfaction of their
personal needs more important than relating to others, and 3) satisfy instinctive urges without
considering the social implications of their actions (Siegel 1992).

Modeling
A. Bandura emphasized aggression and discovered a tendency to copy aggressive behavior from
models who are rewarded.

Sociological Theories
Several elements are commonly present in sociological explanations of delinquency and crime:
 Socioeconomic conditions and pressures shape individual and collective behavior.
 Inequality and deprivation are associated with delinquency and criminality.
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 Delinquency and crime are associated with underclass conditions such as poverty,
neighborhood degeneration, low educational achievement, inadequate housing, and family
dysfunction.
 Disruption in social cohesion
 A breakdown in social control
 State of “normlessness” in relation to the accepted norms of the greater society. Norms are
rules, and a consensus, about the way people should behave in society.
 Conflict of two groups

Model of Justice
Modern juvenile justice system focuses more to psychological and social aspects of delinquency and restorative
approach. It focuses to address all affected parts of the cases for social harmony. For example, in the above case
of juvenile offender (attempt rape case), the justice means;

1. Victim
 Psychological relief and maintenance of Ego:- Justice professionals acknowledged the offence
and offender is charged equivalent to his/her misdeeds, ensuring fund to recover physical,
bodily damage or psychological harm
 Counseling, psychotherapy or social supports to help get rid from stress, traumatic feeling,
sadness, fear, and mental deviations.
 Reintegration to community to improve social respect and reconciliation of offender-victim
family members to feel safe further
 Reestablishment of good relationships with offender’s party
2. Community
 Make community responsible to solve the problem so that they establish good relationship with
offender as well as victim and they don’t feel unsafe from that offender.
 Allow them opportunity to save their social values so that they become free from cognitive conflict.
3. Offender
 Application of counseling, psychotherapy, community service, fine, penalty and many other
techniques of behavior modification for correction or reform and make offender free from
stress/fear.
 Applying consequences properly that discourages delinquent acts but supports child rights/values.
 Control of further delinquency ensuring family, community or government supervision.
 Make family and community responsible to solve his/her case to increase social acceptance.
 Helping to fulfill basic survival and development needs so that less possibility of re-offence.
 Reestablishment of relationships with victim’s party through mediation, community service etc.
 Helping to maintain social respect of offender’s family members through community intervention.

Court focus on correction to delinquent and community reintegration. It will choose and order for
appropriate setting what will not provide vicarious reinforcement of offending behavior as well. Court also
orders to arrange for victim support.