CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concepts:
Juvenile • refers to an individual who has not yet reached adulthood or the age of majority. This
term encompasses children, adolescents, minors, youths, or individuals below the age of 18.

**Republic Act 6809: An Act Lowering the Age of Majority from Twenty-One to Eighteen
Years.
Exceptions: a person who is mentally incapacitated or cannot manage their affairs due to
physical or psychological conditions may be placed under guardianship. Certain professions
or privileges may also require an age older than 18.
Approved: December 13, 1989

**Executive Order No. 209, also known as the Family Code of the Philippines.
☆ Article 234. Emancipation takes place by the attainment of majority. Unless
otherwise provided, majority commences at the age of twenty-one years.
Effective: August 3, 1988

Juvenile Delinquent • someone who repeatedly engages in criminal behavior. They may also
have underlying mental disorders or behavioral issues, such as schizophrenia, post-traumatic
stress disorder, or bipolar disorder. • It can also refer to a person, regardless of age, whose
attitude towards others, the community, and lawful authority is such that it may lead them to
violate the law.

Juvenile Delinquency • Juvenile delinquency refers to criminal actions carried out by

individuals who are considered juveniles. • It pertains to acts or behaviors exhibited by minors
that deviate from accepted societal norms, rules, regulations, customs, and cultural
expectations. These acts warrant admonishment, punishment, or corrective measures in the
public interest.

Deviant Behavior • Deviant behavior is characterized by actions that do not conform to

established norms. It involves behaviors that, in some way, fail to meet the expectations of a
group or society as a whole. To understand deviant behavior, the following factors are worth
considering:

Juvenile Crime: • In legal terms, it encompasses various offenses committed by individuals

under the age of 18.. Juvenile offenses can include delinquent acts, which would be considered
crimes if committed by adults, as well as status offenses, which are less serious misbehaviors
like truancy and disobedience towards parents.

Status offenses are actions that only juveniles can commit and are adjudicated exclusively by
juvenile courts. Acts that are considered legal if committed by adults but illegal if committed by
minors. An action that is illegal for minors but not for adults.
Example: truancy, consensual sex, incorrigibility, visiting house of ill-repute, curfew
violations, and underage drinking.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

1
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
History:
Code of Hammurabi – represents the earliest known comprehensive framework that societies
used to regulate behavior and administer punishment for those who violated its rules. It serves
as the foundation for the legal principle known as "lex talionis," which advocates for retributive
justice in the form of "an eye for an eye."
The Hammurabi code of laws, a collection of 282 rules, established standards for
commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice.
Hammurabi’s Code was carved onto a massive, finger-shaped black stone stele (pillar) that was
looted by invaders and finally rediscovered in 1901.

1641 Stubborn Child Law – it authorized the punishment of death for children who defied their
parents. This law was influenced by the Puritans' belief that unaddressed social wrongs would
invite divine wrath upon the entire colony. They also held the belief that children were inherently
sinful and should submit to the authority of adults while engaging in hard labor.

Children Only law – due to increasing demand on the state to take responsibility for improving
the lives of children and eventually new regulations, such as, child labor laws were enacted.

1916 Keating-Owen Act – passed by the United States Congress and became the first piece of
child labor in America. After 2 years it was revised through the case of Hammer V. Dagenhart, it
did lay the groundwork for the passage in 1938 of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
This act limited the working hours of children and forbade the interstate sale of goods
produced by child labor. The Supreme Court later ruled it unconstitutional.

Child-saving Movement – concerned citizens eventually formed a social activist group called
Child Savers, who believed that: children were born good and became bad”. Juvenile children
were blamed for bad environments. The best way to save children was to get them out of “bad”
homes and placed in “good” ones.

Parens Patriae –”Father of the Country” or “Parent of the Nation”- during the heights of child
savers this doctrine was created. It is the right and responsibility of the government to take care
of minors and others who cannot legally take care of themselves.

1818 – a committee report listed “juvenile delinquency” as a major cause of pauperism, the first
public recognition of the term juvenile delinquency.

1899 – the Illinois legislature passed a law creating a juvenile court that became the
cornerstone for juvenile justice throughout the United States. The vision of the child savers and
the founders of the juvenile court was the rehabilitative ideal of reforming children instead of
punishing them.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

2
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Medical Model – established by the Illinois Court Act, viewing crimes as a disease that could be
treated and cured by social intervention. Another emphasis for reform is isolating offenders from
their normal social environment.
Four Ds of juvenile justice during the last half of the twentieth century are:
1. Deinstitutionalization . transfer of mentally disabled people from public or private
institutions, such as psychiatric hospitals, back to their families or into community-based homes.
2. Diversion . implement strategies seeking to avoid the formal processing of an offender by
the criminal justice system.
3. Due Process . legal proceedings according to rules and principles that have been
established in a system of jurisprudence for the enforcement and protection of private rights.
4. Decriminalization . removes prosecutions against an action so that the action remains illegal
but has no criminal penalties or at most some civil fine.

House of Corrections for Juvenile Delinquent

1. Bridewells – it was the first house of corrections in England. They confined both children and
adults considered to be idle and disorderly.
2. Hospice of San Michele (Saint Michael) – this was established in 1704. John Howard, a
former, brought to England from Rome a model of the first institution for treating juvenile
offenders. He was often thought of as the father of prison reform.
3. House of Refuge - it was situated in New York in 1825. It was opened to house juvenile
delinquents, who were defined in its charter as “youths convicted of criminal offenses or found in
vagrancy”.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Stages of Delinquency
a. Emergence. a child begins with petty larceny between 8 and sometime during the 12th year.
b. Exploration. move on to shoplifting and vandalism between ages 12 to 14.
c. Explosion. at age 13, there is a substantial increase in variety and seriousness.
d. Conflagration. at around 15, four or more types of crime are added.

Classification of Delinquency
1. Unsocialized Aggression – rejected or abandoned, no parents to imitate and become
aggressive.
2. Socialized Delinquency – membership is fraternities or groups that advocate bad things
3. Over-inhibited – secretly trained children to do illegal activities such as planting marijuana
or industries making illegal weapons and guns.

Pathway to Delinquency
1. Authority-conflict pathway – children at young or early age begin to show stubborn
behavior. This leads to defiance and later on may result in avoidance to authority.
2. Covert Pathway – it begins with minor, deceitful behavior that leads to property damage.
This will escalate to more serious forms of criminality such as violence. HIDDEN

Compiled by: J.Cabual

3
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Overt Pathway – it will start with minor aggression, physical fighting and then to violence.
OBSERVABLE

Types of Delinquent Youth

1. Socialized Delinquent – result of their social association with people from whom they
learned deviant values.
2. Neurotic Delinquents - result of distortions in their personality and perception of the world
around them. They may commit delinquent’s acts because of insecurities of their masculinity.
Examples are youths who are kleptomaniacs, shoplifters and pyromaniacs.
3. Psychotic Delinquents – youths with severe personality disturbance of their perception of
the society and people around them. Their distorted view of reality and their delusional thoughts
may compel them to commit weird acts that violate the law. They are most likely to commit
violent crimes including murder.
4. Sociopathic Delinquents – youths that are characterized by an egocentric personality. They
have limited or no compassion for others.

Other classification of delinquents

1. Environmental delinquents – they are occasional law breakers.
2. Emotionally maladjusted delinquents – they are chronic lawbreakers who make law
breaking a habit they cannot avoid or escape.
3. Psychiatric delinquents – they are youths who became delinquents due to mental illness or
serious emotional disturbances in the family.
4. Occasional delinquents – these delinquents participate in the group. They do what others
are doing.
5. Maladjusted delinquents – the activity stems from personality disturbance rather than gang
activities or slum residence. They have “weak ego” and “asocial” experienced early and severe
parental rejection. They are disorderly, confused and not dependable with pathological
disturbances.
6. Gang delinquents – they generally commit the most serious infractions, most often sent to a
correctional institution and most often continuous in a pattern of semi-professional criminal
behavior as adults.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Gang - Is frequently associated with groups in socially disorganized and deteriorated inner city
neighborhoods. - It is applied to youths who are engaged in a variety of delinquencies ranging
from truancy, street brawls, and beer running to race riots, robberies, and other serious crimes.

Youth Gang - It is a self-forming union of peers, bound together by mutual interests, with
identifiable leadership, well-developed lines of authority, and other organizational features, who
act in concert to achieve specific purposes which generally include the conduct of illegal activity
and control over a territory, facility, or type of enterprise.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

4
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Characteristics of Gang
1. Organization – this states that a gang or gang members has collective goals. It may
include the Akyat Bahay Gang and the like.
2. Leadership – they have leaders that may decide matters related to the organization.
3. Turf or Territory – it involves identification and control. Identify places like parks,
housing projects, or schools to impose their illegal acts. Crossing turf boundaries and
entering another gang’s territory, often clearly marked by graffiti, involved taking serious
risks.
4. Cohesiveness – it refers to a gang's very close, tight-knit organization with loyal
members bound to one another by mutual friendship and common interests.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Theories of Crime and Delinquency
Theory Proponent Idea/Concept

Supernatural prevalent during the Attribute delinquency to demonic

Theory Middle Ages possession.
(500-1500 A.D.)1

Classical School Cesare Beccaria Belief that individuals are rational and
Theory intelligent beings who possess the capacity for
free will and decision-making.

Jeremy Bentham Hedonism- pleasure versus pain.

Utilitarianism- greatest happiness for the
greatest number of people

Four key justifications:

1. General Deterrence: discouraging from
engaging in delinquent acts or crimes.
2. Specific Deterrence: discouraging repeat
offenders
3. Incapacitation: Incarcerating or confining
wrongdoers
4. Retribution: punished as a just response to
their actions

Neoclassical Gabriel Tarde2 Children, insane, and the incompetent are not
School Theory responsible for their behaviour as adults, the
sane and the competent. And also argue that
some crimes were caused by factors beyond
the offender’s control.

1
AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord”, while BC stands for “before Christ”.
2
Article 12 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) of the Philippines lists circumstances that exempt a person
from criminal liability

Compiled by: J.Cabual

5
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rational Choice Delinquents are rational people who make

Theory calculated choices regarding what they are
going to do before they act.

Routine Activity Before the crime will occur, three elements

Theory must come together:
• Motivated offenders;
• Suitable targets; and
• An absence of people to deter the would-be
offender.

Positive School of “Holy three” crime was caused by factors that are in place
Criminology Cesare Lombroso before the crime occurs. Free will had nothing
Enrico Ferri to do with what people did.
Raffaele Garofalo

Biological These theories locate the causes of crime

theories inside the person.

Charles Darwin In his work, On the Origin of Species, he

argued that God had not created all the
species of animals and that people had
evolved from lower forms of life over millions
of years.

Criminal Cesare Lombroso Criminals were atavistic or throwbacks to an

Anthropometry earlier, more primitive stages of human
development. “Physical stigmata”, “Atavistic
Man”

Physiognomy founded by J. link facial figures and crime

Baptiste Della Porte;
popularized by
Johann Kaspar
Lavater

Phrenology Franz Joseph Gall This theory claims to be able to determine

character, personality traits and criminality on
the basis of the shape of the head.

Gall’s craniology; crime was one behaviours

organically controlled by a specific area of the
brain.

Somatotype William Sheldon relationship between body build and

theory temperament.

Human body consisted of three components:

1. Endomorph – soft

Compiled by: J.Cabual

6
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

temperament–plumpness, corresponds to
viscerotonia temperament tolerant, love of
comfort and luxury, extravert.
2. Mesomorph – square masculinity and
skeletal massiveness—Somatotonia
temperament courageous, energetic, active,
dynamic, assertive, and aggressive and risk
taker.
3. Ectomorph – linearity and
frailty–cerebrotonia temperament artistic,
sensitive, apprehensive, introvert.

IQ and relationship between heredity and crime

Delinquency centered on intelligence. Every person had a
mental age that could be presented by an IQ
score.

Historical Studies3 Henry Herbert On Kallikak Family-people inherit

Goddard feeble-mindedness, which is presently
known as intellectual disability.

Richard L. Dugdale On Jukes family-Margaret/Ada was the

"mother of criminals"--described her children
as "a race of criminals, paupers and harlots”

Psychological Delinquency is a result of internal, underlying

Theories disturbances.

Psychoanalytical Sigmund Freud People have unconscious thoughts,

Theory memories, emotions, and desires that
influence their behavior.
Tripartite Personality:
1. ID – “Pleasure Principle” it is present
at birth. It represents the basic
biological and psychological
drives;libido, eros, and thanatos4
2. EGO –”Reality Principle” it grows
from id and represents the
problem-solving dimension of
personality;
3. SUPEREGO –”Conscience of man”
it develops from ego and is the moral
code, norms, and values the child has

3
Eugenics is the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding
of populations.
4
He borrowed his term for the life force from the Greek deity Eros,, god of love; the flames of love,
otherwise known as libido, symbolize the drive toward life. Later psychoanalysts took the name of the
Greek god of death, Thanatos, to describe Freud's death instinct.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

7
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

acquired. The superego is responsible

for the feelings of guilt and shame and
is more closely aligned with the
conscious.

Behavioral Theory B.F (Burrhus Frederic) Children will repeat rewarded behavior and
and Delinquency Skinner abort punished behavior.
Operant conditioning, a type of learning
where subjects do something and connect
what they do to the response they receive.

Albert Bandura Theory of aggression —children learn by

modelling and imitating others.

Culture Deviance Children do not really commit delinquent acts.

Theory Their behavior may be considered deviant by
the larger society but it is compatible or
acceptable in the neighborhood that they live
in.

Social Clifford Shaw and Delinquency rates would decline or decrease

Disorganization Henry McKay the farther one moved from the center of the
Theory5 city, called zonal hypothesis. Those who are in
the center of the zone tend to be more prone
to delinquency.

Concentric Zone Ernest Burgess Suggests that the interaction between people
and their social, economic, and political
organizations creates this expansion. The
theory is based on the idea that cities grow
outward from the center in concentric circles.

Differential Edwin Sutherland States that crime is learned behavior.

Association People learn criminal behavior through the

5
Shaw and McKay believed that physical characteristics created zones where crime was more likely,
while Park and Burgess believed that inadequate social controls, like unemployment and education,
contributed to crime.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

8
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

theory groups with which they associate.

Strain Theories6 Robert Merton “Goals and Means”--youths may either use
deviant methods to achieve their goals or
reject socially accepted goals or substitute
deviant ones.
Five adaptations:

Albert Cohen “Delinquent boys”--status frustration

Delinquency is the consequence of children
expressing their frustration toward middle
class norms and institutions.

Robert Agnew “General Strain Theory”--Criminality is the

direct result of negative affective states.
Sources of Strain:
a. Failure to achieve positively valued
goals. This type of strain may result from
doing poorly on an exam or not performing
well in sporting event.
b. Denial of previously attained
achievements. This type of strain may stem
from being fired from a job or being “dumped”
by a boyfriend or a girlfriend.
c. Exposure to negative stimuli. An example
of a social interaction that may produce this
type of strain is being picked on by
classmates or receiving a speeding ticket.

Differential Richard Cloward and People in all strata of society share the same
Opportunity Lloyd Ohlin success and goals but that those in lower
Theory class have limited means of achieving them.

Three types of delinquent gangs:

a. The Criminal Gang – close connection of
illegitimate and legitimate businesses.
b. The Conflict/Violent Gang – This gang
aims to find reputation for toughness and
destructive violence. Willing to fight to protect

6
Strain theories state that certain strains or stressors increase the likelihood of crime. These strains lead
to negative emotions, such as frustration and anger.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

9
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

their own and their gang’s integrity and honor.

c. The Retreatist Gang – equally
unsuccessful in legitimate as well as
illegitimate means—“double failures”

Social Control David Matza Delinquents know that what they did was
Theory wrong and feel sorry for it. Children who do
“Neutralization/ delinquents acts pick up cues from other
Drift Theory” children that lead them to believe that
delinquency is acceptable.

Techniques of Neutralization
a. Denial of Responsibility – deny being
responsible for their illegal acts. They may
say, “Alcohol made me do it.
b. Denial of injury – delinquents may believe
that even though what they have done was
illegal, it was not immoral because no one
was seriously injured. Shoplifting may be
rationalized in this way.
c. Denial of victim – deny the seriousness of
their behavior by saying that what they did
was right under the circumstances.
d. Condemnation of the condemners – shift
blame from their own illegal behavior to the
behavior of others. They criticize those who
condemn them.
e. Appeal to higher loyalty –will justify their
illegal acts by claiming that they committed it
in respect to a high authority such as normal
or religious belief, the gang, or a racial or
ethnic group.

Social Bond Travish Hirschi People engage in crime and delinquency

Theory because of broken or weak social bonds.

Elements of Social bond:

a. Attachment – is an emotional element. The
stronger the child’s attachment, the less likely
he or she will commit delinquency.
b. Commitment – is a rational component of
the bond. This refers to the extent that
children participated in productive activities.
Commitment controls juveniles in a sense that
they may fear getting into trouble because it
may hinder them in achieving their goal or
success in life.
c. Involvement – is the amount of time the

Compiled by: J.Cabual

10
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

child spends in productive activities. If these

activities occupy youth the entire day,
delinquency cannot take place.
d. Belief in the moral validity of conventional
norms. Some children believe in the
legitimacy of the society’s rules. Those who
believe in it are less likely to commit
delinquencies.

Labeling theory Frank Tannenbaum delinquents are well-adjusted people; Once

children are labelled delinquent, they become
delinquent— “tagging”.

Edwin Lemert not all labelled delinquents eventually become

delinquents

Howard Becker acquiring a label depends on how other

people react to the behavior itself.

Conflict theory Crime is the outcome of class struggle.

Capitalism is the essential root of crime and
that repressive efforts by ruling class to control
the ruled class produce delin

Atavistic Girl Cesare Lombroso and The female just like the atavistic nature of
William Ferrero male criminals are also seen as biologically
inferior and distinct to noncriminal women.
They believe that women are lower on the
evolutionary scale than men and therefore
closer to “primitive” origins. Women’s
criminality is a product of their biology;female
delinquents were only “occasional criminals”.

Inferior Girl Sigmund Freud “penis envy”--when girls realize they have no
penis, they sense that they are being
punished because boys have something
important, they have been denied.

Unadjusted Girl William I. Thomas behavior of "unadjusted" individuals, such as

delinquents, is a result of social and
psychological factors, not inherent flaws.
Four wishes: for new experience, the wish for
security, the wish for recognition, and the wish
for response.

Deceitful Girls Otto Pollak women are actually as criminal as men but
their criminality is hidden or “masked”. Women
also are more likely to be “instigators” and
men “perpetrators” of crime.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

11
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marxist-Feminist Karl Marx “defines crimes as those actions that threaten

Theories this capitalist-patriarchal system”. Under
patriarchal capitalism, women experience
double marginality.

Differential Robert M. Regoli and Explains how adults oppress children, which
Oppression John D. Hewitt can lead to juvenile delinquency and other
Theory problem behaviors.
The more oppressed the child is, the more
likely she or he will become delinquent.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Factors and Causes of Juvenile Delinquency
Factors Causes

Family Factors • Family dysfunction, including parental neglect, abuse

(physical, emotional, or sexual), or inconsistent discipline.
• Lack of parental supervision and involvement in a child's
life.
• Parental substance abuse or criminal behavior, which can
normalize delinquent behavior.

Peer Influence • Association with delinquent peers who engage in criminal

activities.
• Pressure to conform to group norms and engage in risky or
illegal behavior.
• Influence of peer attitudes and values that support
delinquent acts.

Socioeconomic Factors • Poverty and limited access to resources and opportunities.

• Lack of educational opportunities and low academic
achievement.
• High unemployment rates and limited job prospects.

School Factors • Low academic engagement and performance.

• School dropout or truancy.

Individual Factors • Mental health issues, including conduct disorders, attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or substance abuse
disorders.
• Exposure to school violence and bullying.
• Low self-esteem and selfworth, leading to a desire for
acceptance and validation through delinquent acts.
• Impulsivity and a lack of self-control.

Community and • High-crime neighborhoods with limited social support and

Compiled by: J.Cabual

12
 CRI 184: JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Environmental resources.
• Exposure to violence, gang activity, or substance abuse in
the community.
• Limited access to recreational activities or positive role
models.

Compiled by: J.Cabual

13