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Juvenile Delinquency - criminology board exam reviewer

Juvenile Delinquency
PD 603 - Child and Youth Welfare Code
RA 9262 - Anti Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.
RA 9344 - Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006
Youthful offender - over 9 years old but under 18 years old at the time of the
commission of the offense.
Crime Theories Applicable to Juvenile Delinquency
1. Rational Choice - causes of crime lie within the
individual offender rather than in their external
environment.
2. Social Disorganization - absence or breakdown of
communal institutions and communal relationships
that traditionally encouraged cooperative
relationships among people.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Communal Institutions
Family
School
Church
Social Groups

3. Strain Theory - crime is caused by the difficulty of

those in poverty in achieving socially valued goals
by legitimate means.
4. Differential Association - young people are
motivated to commit crimes by delinquent peers
and learn criminal skills from them.
5. Labelling Theory - once a person is labeled criminal
they are more likely to offend. Once labeled as
deviant, a person may accept that role and more
likely to associate with others who have been
similarly labeled.
6. Social Control Theory - proposes that exploiting
the process of socialization and social learning
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builds self control and can reduce

the inclination

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Juvenile Delinquency - criminology board exam reviewer

to indulge in behavior recognized as anti social.

Four Types of Control That Can Help Prevent Juvenile Delinquency

1. Direct - punishment is threatened or applied for
wrongful behavior and compliance is rewarded by
parents, family and authority figures.
2. Internal - youth refrains from delinquency through
the conscience or super ego.
3. Indirect - by identification with those who
influence behavior because his/her delinquent act
might cause pain and disappointment to parents
and others with whom he/she has close
relationships.
4. Control - through needs satisfaction, if all
individuals needs are met, there is no point in
criminal activity.
Breed vs. Jones - A US court decision where it held that juveniles can not be tried when
acquitted in juvenile court then tried again in adult criminal court.Double jeopardy
applies to juveniles as well as adults.
Juvenile Delinquency - is the participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a
statutory limit.
Juvenile Delinquent - is a person who is typically under the age of 18 and commits an
act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult.
Crimes Commonly Committed by Juvenile Delinquents
1.

Status offenses - is an action that is prohibited only to a certain class of people

and most often applied to offenses only committed by minors. example, under age
smoking.

2.

Property crimes - is a category of crime that includes theft,robbery,motor vehicle

theft,arson,shop lifting and vandalism.

3.

Violent Crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the
victim.

Age of Majority - is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized,recognized or

declared by law.The vast majority of country including the Philippines set majority age at
18.
Young Adult - a person between the ages of 20 and 40 whereas adolescent is a person
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between the ages of 13 and 19.

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Juvenile Delinquency - criminology board exam reviewer

Types/Categories of Juvenile Delinquency

1.

Delinquency - crimes committed by minors which are dealt with by the juvenile
courts and justice system.

2.

Criminal behavior - crimes dealt with by the criminal justice system.

3.

status offenses - offenses which are only classified as such because one is a minor,
such as truancy which is also dealt with by juvenile court.

Truancy - is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling.

Vandalism - Ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable.The term
includes criminal damage such as graffiti and defacement directed towards a property
without the permission of the owner.
Graffiti - is writing or drawings scribbled,scratched or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other
surface in a public place.
Defacement - refers to marking or removing the part of an object designed to hold the
viewers attention.
Types of Offenders That Emerge in Adolescence
1.

Repeat Offender - (life-course-persistent offender) - begins offending or showing

anti-social/aggressive behavior in adolescence or even childhood and continuous in
adulthood.

2.

Age Specific Offender (adolescence-limited offender) - juvenile offending or

delinquency begins and ends during their period of adolescence.

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