School: Patria Sable Corpus College

Clalao East, Santaigo City

Intsructor: Jffrey V. Tamolang
Subject: Juvenile Delinquency

I. IINTRODUCTION TO JUVENILE DELINQENCY

In popular usaqge the term juvenile elinquency is used to alarge number of

disapproved behavioir of children and youth. Inthis sense, almost anything theat the
youth does that others do not like is called juvenile delinquency.
Juvenile delinquency are major problems that a society is suffering and will
continue to suffer until the there is a significant social and econoimis changes thake place
resulting in a redirection of many young’s people behavior and efforts. To prevent and
control delimquency, we must first know something about the nature of delinquency and
the dimensions of the problem. WE need to know how serious delinquency is? Who are
the youth involved? We also need knowledge asbout the people who bwcome delinquent,
an information such as where most dwlinquent live and under what economic conditions.

A. Basic concepts and Definition

1. Definition of terms
Juvenile – is a child or young person who under the legal system maybe
dealt with for an offense in a manner different fromthat adult.
Delinquuency- can be defined leagally as acts required by law. In the
sociological point of view, delinquency refres to any action, course or onduct that is not
approved by majority of the people. In general teerm, it is reffered for ANY misconduct
or misbehavior (deviant behavior)that is tantamount to felony or offense. However,
delinquency is distinct from crime, in the sense that the former maybe in the form of
violation of a law, ordinance or rule but it is punishable only by small fine or a short term
imprisonment or both.
Juvenile delinquent – child or youth who commits a criminal offense and
is in need of supervision or treatment.
Groupings:
a. Children aging below 7 years.
b. Children aging from 7-12- not capable or not having criminal intent.
c. Children aging below 12 but below 18 years.
Juvenile justice system – refers to the application of criminal justice to
minors and youth offenders through the cooperation of the criminal justice system. In th e
Philippines, this applies to persons below 18 years of age.
Youthful offender – is a child, minor or youth, including one who
emancipated(freed) in accordance with law, who is over (9) years but under (18) years of
age at the time of the commission of the offense.
Status offenses – are certain acts or omissions, which may not be
punishable if committed by adukts, but become illegal only because the person is under
age and the act was committed primarily by children, minors, juveniles, youthful
offenders or others persons in need of supervision or assistance.
 Exampls of Status offenses:
- truancy from school(meaning of truancy)
- sexual or immoral conduct
- use of profane language
- running away from home
- smoking, drinking or use of prohibited drugs or substance
- disobedience to parents or school officials
- association with criminals or delinquent companions
- mendicancy
Parens Ptriae – is a doctrine that does not consider delinquent acts as
criminal violation, thus making delinquents noncriminal perspons ans
cannot be found guilty of a crime and punished like an adult criminal. This
doctinre viewed minors who violates law as victims of improper care,
custody and tresatment at home. Thus, in Parens Patriae, the State
becomes the father.
Nuclear family – composed of the father, mother and children
Extended family – composed of members other than the fathe, mother, and
children ex. In-laws, relatives, house helpers, employees, etc.
2. Juvenile delinquency
It has been suggested by sociologiust and of course criminolgists that
juvenile delinquency reflects the combination of many factors:
a. First, juvenile delinquency includes that behavior specifically defirned
as delinquent according to the various existing laws and ordinances concerning children
or youth
b. Second, the definition of juvenile delinquency must also take into
account the social reality that is reflected through the meadia. Books, movies, and
television help many people to define a particular reality for them. If the media
systematically portrays particular behabvior as delinquent, they often come to be
accepted as real.
c. Finally, while almost all children engage in behavior that is in violation
of juvenile codes, we believe that, ultimately, juvenile delinquents by people who have
the power, authority, or influence to make such definiton.
But to have a more specific view on Juvenile Delinquency, it may be
defined as any action or cnduct of children/youth that are not conventional or not
normally accepted by the people. Acts od delinquency maybe violations og the criminal
law. Juvenile Delinquency is a descriptive term for any misbehavior or deviant behavior
committed by children such as those minor offenses of misdemeanors, or those acts
defined by juvenile codes or laws.
According to Marcelino Villanueva, he defines Juvenile Delinquency as an
anti-social act or behavior, which deviates from the normal pattern or rules and
regulations, custom and culture which society does not accept and which, therefore,
justifies some kind of admonishment, punishment, or corrective measures in th epublic
interest, and it is being committed by minors. However, those person adjudged to be
delinquent under an age fixed by law are called juvenile delinquent.

3. Objectives of Studying Juvenile Delinquency

 The study of delinquency exmines why juveniles break the law, cionsiders
the impact of the family, the neighborhood, and the school on delinquent behavior,
examines the beahaiors and social characteristsics of juvenile deleinquents and discusses
the measures and programs needed to prevent and control delinquent behavior. The
following are some ot the objectives of studying it:
a. to detrmine its naure and extent and crime in the Philippines today;
b. to ascertain the various factors, reasons, causes that made up
delinquency ; and
c. to adopt adequate measures toward the prevention suppression and
recurrence of juvenile delinquency in the Philippine Society.

B. Nature of Juvenile Delinquency

A delinquent is one whose behavior is brought him into repeated conflict

with the law, regardless of whether he has been taken before the court and adjudged a
delinquent.
1. Types of Delinquent Youth
a. Social – an aggressive youth who recents the authority of anyone who
makes an effort to control his behavior.
b. eurotic – he has internalized his conflicts and preoccupied with his own
feelings.
Asocial – his delinquent act has a cold, brutal, ficious quality for which
the youth feels no rumors.
d. Accidental – he is less identifiable in character, essentially socialized
law abiding but too happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and becomes
involved in some delinquent act not typival of his general behavior.
2. Different Apprroach Toward Delinquency
a. Biogenic Approach
Biogenic approach views the law breaker as a person whose
misconduct is the result of faulty biology. The offender is hereditary defective, he or she
suffers from the endocrine imbalance or brain pathology, his or her body structure and
temperament pattern have produced the law breaking.
b. Psychogenic Factor. It tells us that the offender behaves as she or he
does in response to psychological pathology of some kind. The critical casual factors in
delinquency are – personalutty problems, to which juvenile misbehavior is preaaume to
be response.
c. Sociogenic Approach. It attributes the variations in delinquency pattern
to influence social structures. They account for the individual offender by reference to
learning process with which go in youth gangs, stigmatizaing contacts with social control
agencies and other variables of that time.
3. Typoes of Behavioral Disorders
a. Anti-social; behavior – it is characterized by deisrespect or disobedience
for authority.
b. Lying – it does not cure lies by attacking the liars for the lies indicates
need which require attention among the most important needs of a achild, such as love,
security, praise, peace, attention, happiness, uderstanding, respect, and acceptance.
 c. syealing – undiscipline desire for possession, loose morals at home
parental indifference, lack of proper clothing and other school requirements,
undisciplined pleasure seeking
d. truancy – cutting classes without any reasonable course: unattractive
school life, fear of punishment, proximity to p[lace of vices
e. Vagrancy – wandering away from home: disagreeable home conditions,
feeble-mindedness, misdirected love for adventures
f. Emotional disorders – jealousy reactions, temper tantrums (), fear
reaction
4. Causes of Behavioral Disorders
a. Predisposing factor. Inherited propensities which cannot be considered a
criminal one unless there is a probability thata crime will be committed
b. Precipitating factor. Elemnts which provoke crimes or factors that are
signified to the everyday adjustments of an individual, like personal problems,
necessities, imitatioj, curiosity and ignorance and diseases.

C. Explaining Crime and Delinquency

1. Biological Theories
These are groups of theories which claimed that physical appearance
reveals the character in amanner that criminals have distinctive physical characteristics
that makes thewm identifiable as delinquents of criminal offenders.
a. Lombrosian theory The proponent o fthis theory is Cesare Lombroso
who is a prison doctor in Turin, italy wnd whose job is to examine hundreds of criminals.
1. Criminals have many stigmata (distinctive physical features)
such as symmetrical faces, enormous jaws, large or protruding eras and receding chins.
2. Criminals are atavistic beings who look differently and think
differently, having the mentality of primitive peoplewho are incapable of living in the
modern society.
3. Criminals are classified into theree:
i. Epileptiv
ii. Insane
iii. Inbron
Born criminals have physical quirks; they are insensitive to
pain and characterized by a “ a lack of moral sense, including an absence of repentance
and remorse, and other manifestations such as physical argot or slang, the ttendency to
express ideas pictorially, and the extensive use of tattoing.
* Critques on Lombroso’s theory
- Lombrosian Theory was flawed as it was based only on his
findings from exmaning criminals. He did not conduct studies
on non-offenders’ character. Hence, there is no valid
comparison as to the differences between tnh ephysical
characteristics of a criminal or non-criminal.
- The theory of Atavism (regression to an earlier stage of a
development turned out to be unjustifeied leap of imagibnation.
- There is no such thing as a physical criminal type.
 b. General Inferiority theory- hooton’s theory. The propnent of this teory
Earnest Hooton (Hravard Professor of Anthropology)
1. Crime is the result of of the impact of environment upon low
grade human organisms and that were criminzalas were originally inferior
people.

2. Psychological
3. Sociological
4. Explaining Delinquent Behavior.

II. FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

A. FAMILY AND DELINQUENCY
1. The Family and Models of Family Life
2. The family in a democratic society
3. Two General View concerning Family and Delinquency
4. Family Conditions
5. Social Class
B. OTHER FACTORS OF DELINQUENCY
C. INSTITUTIONS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE CHARACTER BUILDING
OF A CHILD
1. School
2. Church
3. NGO’s
D. THE POLICE, COURT AND JUVENILE
E. DRUGS AND DELINQUENCY
F. FEMALE DELINQUENCY

III. DIVERSION AND CORRECTION

A. CONCEPTS OF DIVERSION AND CORRECTIONS OF DELINQUENTS
B. DIVERSION AND PROGRAMS
1. Some ewarlydiversion programs
2. Police diversion
3. Court diersion alternatives
C. IMPACT OF DIVERSION ON THE JUVENILE SYSTEM
D. INSTITUTIONAL MODELS AND ALTERNATIVE CORRECTIONAL
STRATEGIES
E. CONTEMPORARY VIEW ABOUT JUVENILE CORRECTION

IV. THE PHILIPPONE JUVENILE SYSTEM

A. THE CHILD
1. rights and duties
2. the policy of the state on child welfare
 B> THE PARENT
1. righgts and obligation of parents toward their children
2 Parental authority
3. liabilityof the parents
C. THE YOUTHFUL OFFENDER
1. care and custody
2.suspension of sentence
D> INSTITUITIONALIZED TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION OG
YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS
E. CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE
PHILIPPINE SETTING

V. SALIENT FEATURES OF RA 7610