Juvenile crime is not a naturally born in the boy, but it is largely due either to the spirit of adventure that is to him, to his own stupidity, or to his lack of discipline, according to the nature of the individual.-Robert Baden-Powell.

The children are not only gifts from God but also considered to be the greatest personal as well as national assets. We as a whole have a duty and responsibility that children should be provided and allowed to grow in a healthy and socio-cultural environment so that they become physically fit, mentally alert and morally healthy responsible citizens. The state must provide equal opportunities for the development of all children which can help to reduce inequality and ensure social justice.

The children are expected to be obedient, respectful and have good virtues in them. However, due to certain circumstances, a certain percentage of children do not follow the set social and legal dictum. Such children more often than not get involved in criminal behavior which is known as Juvenile Delinquency or Juvenile crime.

 

Who Is A Juvenile?

The word delinquency has was derived from the Latin word (delinquere) which means away and linquere i.e. to leave thus, mean by to leave or to abandon.
Nowadays, the word is being predominantly used and applied to those parents or guardians who have abandoned and neglected their children. Initially, it applied to all those children who are tangled in illegal and harmful activities.

A juvenile is a teen who has dishonored certain laws which announces his act or omission as an offense. A ‘juvenile’ and a ‘minor’ are used from a different perspective in legal terms. The term juvenile is generally used to characterize a young criminal offender and minor is allied to the legal capacity of a person. Moreover, Juvenile is considered as a young person who has not accomplished a specific age as mentioned in the law of any country and doesn’t abide resemblance as a matured person and who can be made legally accountable for his criminal activities.

Laws Passed By The Government
The laws concerning Juvenile had been formed long back but they have also been changed from time to time. Currently, in all the advanced and civilized countries of the world, the laws concerning the Juvenile have been changed.

In India, the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 has been passed by the parliament. It aims to replace the existing Indian Juvenile Delinquency Law, Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, so that juveniles in conflict with the law in the age group 16-18, involved in Heinous Offences, can be tried as adults. The Act came into force from January 2016.
 

Juvenile Justice System In India

Juvenile delinquency in India is not as tense as it is in the western world. It may be due to varied in living conditions such as greater family and parental control, the stronghold of religious convictions and due regard for moral precepts in Indian society. This does not suggest that the proportion of juvenile delinquency in India is negligible.

The impact of western civilization and temptation for a luxurious life has greatly affected the modern Indian youth. Consequently, there has been considerable growth in crimes committed by juveniles. India seeks to tackle the problem of juvenile delinquency based on three fundamental principles:
(i) Young offenders should not be tried; they should rather be corrected;
(ii) They should not be punished but reformed
(iii) Exclusion of delinquents i.e. children in conflict with the law from the ambit of Court and stress on their non-penal treatment through community-based social control agencies such a Juvenile Justice Board, Observation Homes, Special Homes, etc.

A separate procedure has been laid down for dealing with the neglected and uncontrollable juveniles who have been termed as ‘children in need of care and protection’ under the Juvenile Justice Act,2000. The provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, indicate that unlike countries like USA and England, the courts in India do not have jurisdiction concerning a child in conflict with the law. That apart, the term ‘delinquency’ with juveniles has the same meaning as ‘offenses’ committed by adults.

The only difference between the contents of delinquency and an offense is that an offense committed by an adult person is to be tried in ordinary court whereas the juvenile who commits a delinquent act is tried against in the Juvenile Justice Board through a special procedure.

Certain special provisions also exist in the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which is to provide special treatment and procedure to the young and juvenile offenders.

They are as follows:
(1) Under Sections 82 and 83 of the Indian Penal Code, elaborate provisions regarding the extent of criminal liability of children belonging to different age groups have been provided. A child below the age of seven is doli incapex, i.e. 'incapable of committing a crime.' Similarly, a child between seven and twelve years of age has only limited criminal liability. The contention is to justify a lenient treatment to young offenders as they cannot comprehend the nature and consequences of their actions due to lack of sufficient maturity and understanding.

(2) Under Section 360 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 when any person who is below twenty-one years of age or any woman, is convicted of an offense not being punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and no previous conviction is proved against such person, the court may, having regard to the age, character and antecedents of the offender, and to the circumstances in which the offense was committed, order release of the offender on probation of good conduct for a period not exceeding three years on entering into a bond with or without sureties, instead of sentencing him to any punishment. Such ‘first offenders’ are not to be tried in a criminal court through the ordinary procedure. Instead, they are to be dealt with and corrected through special methods or treatment under the law. The main objective is to separate the young offenders from hardened criminals so that they are not exposed to recidivistic tendencies.

(3) Section 27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 further suggests that a lenient treatment to juveniles has already received statutory recognition in the Indian law. Under this section, if a person below sixteen years of age commits an offense other than the one punishable with death or life imprisonment, he should be given lenient punishment depending on his previous history, character, and circumstances which led him to commit the crime. His sentence can further be commuted for good behavior during the term of his imprisonment.

Further, the proceedings instituted against him are not published to prevent the juvenile offender from stigmatization and embarrassment. His name, address or identity is not disclosed and the general public is excluded from witnessing the trial. The delinquent’s parents may, however, be allowed to attend the trial. The main objective of these closed-door proceedings is to keep off the delinquent from the rigors of procedural law and make the trial simple and less formal.

The principle underlying these legislative measures pre-supposes that youngsters are “innocent” by nature and therefore, society’s attitude towards them should be one of tolerance and generosity. Also, the mental attitude of juvenile delinquent at the time of committing crime certainly differs from that of a confirmed adult criminal hence it would be grossly unjust to punish the two alike.
 

Theories on Juvenile Delinquency

The word Juvenile delinquency has been debated by psychologists, criminologists, and even sociologists from time immemorial. Lots of people having contrasting and concurring opinions have been focusing on the real cause, which can be explained using different theories ranging from classical to modern ones.

Philosophers have come up with different explanations seeking to investigate these tendencies of juvenile crime. Some have associated it with the aspects of race, gender, poverty that are depicted by poor socio-economic status, while others have associated it with childhood events such as sexual abuse or other forms of physical abuse. Peer group influence has also provided large surface areas for juvenile crimes to flourish. There are socially based theories that explain juvenile delinquency together in traditional and modern or advanced perspective. Some of the discussed theories are:-
 

Strain / Institutional Anomie Theory

The Strain theory was written in the 1940s by Robert Merton. The theory clarifies that juvenile delinquency occurs because teenagers don’t have enough resources to make themselves happy. Their goals were not able to be achieved within legal means so they find unlawful means by which to attain their goals. Strain theory emphasizes that most juveniles share similar goals, values, and aspirations; but many juveniles do not have an equal ability or the means to accomplishing such goals, as economic or social success. Merton’s theory of strain was explained into details by Robert Agnew (1992) to enlighten the varieties of delinquent behavior through the general strain theory.
 

Agnew identified three sources of strain:

# Strain caused by the failure to attain positively valued objectives, basically the same as Merton’s theory of anomie.

# Strain caused by the elimination of positively valued incentives from the individual. Examples include the loss of a girl/boyfriend, divorce or separation of parents, death of a loved one, or leaving friends and moving to a new neighborhood or school.

# Strain as the demonstration of negative stimuli, such as child abuse and neglect, physical punishment, family and peer conflict, stressful life conditions, school failure, and criminal victimization.

An example would be a juvenile who has had a goal to get a job and to buy the modern Phone, that juvenile will be saving everything money that he or she gets. But as time goes on if that juvenile finds out that he or she is not keeping up to the amount of the price of the phone, he will either steal a phone or he steal money to purchase the phone. Research has made it clear that pressure such as a family breakup, unemployment, moving, feelings of dissatisfaction with friends and school are positively related to delinquency. In this sense lack of opportunities make makes juvenile use deviant and illegitimate means to achieve their goals.
 

Subculture Theory

Another theory about juvenile delinquency is the subculture theory. In 1955, Albert Cohen developed the subculture theory, which is a culmination of several of his theories. This theory is made from the fact that modern societies have established a culture of separation where isolated groups of people have their own values and norms from the main society. These behaviors have introduced the arts of learning antisocial behaviors that defined by criminal studies as offense. According to Cohen, juvenile delinquency is a product of society. The juveniles commit crimes, such as stealing, because it is not a social norm, and they do it to fit in with their subculture.
 

Differential Opportunity Theory

The differential opportunity theory is concerned with young people who commit crimes. Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin asked these questions, why do people prosper or succeed in life? Why do others commit certain crimes while others don’t? Criminologists have spent time analyzing these questions all day in and out and there have been numerous theories. But Cloward and Ohlin believe that opportunities play a very strong role in juvenile delinquency as lack of money causes strain. If juveniles have more chances to succeed, then they would be less likely to turn to subculture groups for justification more over the differential opportunity theory considers the fact that there can be other conditions besides social factors that add to a juvenile's delinquency.

Cloward and Ohlin's theory believes that the juvenile may be successful throughout school but may fail to find a profitable work or honest job. The failure to find gainful work leads the juvenile to be delinquent and not the social factors. The differential opportunity theory varies from the subculture theory because there are many reasons other than social factors that can lead a juvenile to be delinquent. If the juvenile has more opportunities, they will be more eager to succeed than to join a subculture. This theory was developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin in the year 1960.
 

Risk factors of Delinquency

Research has made it known to us that the following are some risk factors that correlate to the onset of juvenile delinquency:
 

Individual risk factors:

This factor takes about those who are feed up with individual development and personality. It’s likely associated with substance abuse, poor school performance and risk-taking behaviors. Juvenile offenders demonstrate aggression, antisocial behavior, hyperactivity low IQ and emotional factors such as mental health challenges.
 

School and community-based risk factors:

Those happen to be within the environment of the juvenile, like gangs, delinquent peers, disorganized communities, severe school punishment, disorganized neighborhoods, etc.

Supervision, home discord, divorce, antisocial parents, harsh discipline, aggressive parents, broken homes, and large family sizes.
 

Peer risk factors:

This when their friends or group of people rejects them and association with peers who break the law and get into trouble. Having a delinquent group of people together is the strongest risk factor for delinquency during the pre-teen years.

Conclusion
I strongly believe that Juvenile crime can be easily handled if stopped at its source. Offenders usually develop the yearning to commit crimes when they are young, hence it constitutes a very good opportunity to confront their immorality, as children are more flexible and can easily be formed into positive characters. Psycho-social factors also play a very vital role in juvenile crime, as the way people think and live determines the general social decency of the young generation. Views among different groups of people are detrimental to minorities especially when they are negative. Societies with more visible differences such as races are likely to experience more rate of juvenile delinquency.

Each year, millions of juveniles are arrested for delinquency and even more participate or are at risk of participating in acts of delinquency. Delinquents face numerous challenges including risk for incarceration, school drop-out, drug use and an increase in the likelihood of adult criminality. Numerous programs attempt to prevent delinquency and rehabilitate delinquents; however, most fail to produce significant results. Juvenile delinquency has been an issue of society since the colonial era. During this period, juvenile offenders were made to serve the same punishment as an adult.

When the Juvenile Justice System process came up, it seems juvenile delinquency as an act and not a crime. The program can be viewed as a collection of correctional styles introduced to juvenile offenders to solve and prevent certain eventualities from reoccurring. Throughout generations the rate of delinquency has rocketed, the government has reformed different laws and amendments to protect the community. Delinquency has been taken advantage of and will remain if proper action isn't taken.

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