Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority.[1] These acts would otherwise be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older.[2] The term delinquent usually refers to juvenile delinquency, and is also generalised to refer to a young person who behaves an unacceptable way.[3]
"Teenage crime" redirects here. For the song, see Teenage Crime (song).
In the United States, a juvenile delinquent is a person who commits a crime and is under a specific age.[4] Most states specify a juvenile delinquent, or young offender, as an individual under 18 years of age while a few states have set the maximum age slightly different.[5] The term "juvenile delinquent" originated from the late 18th and early 19th centuries when treatment of juvenile and adult criminals was similar and punishment was over the seriousness of an offense.[6] Before the 18th century, juveniles over age 7 were tried in the same criminal court as adults and, if convicted, could get the death penalty. Illinois established the first juvenile court. This juvenile court focused on treatment objectives instead of punishment, determined appropriate terminology associated with juvenile offenders, and made juvenile records confidential. In 2021, Michigan, New York, and Vermont raised the maximum age to under 19, and Vermont law was updated again in 2022 to include individuals under the age of 20.[7] Only three states, Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin, still appropriate the age of a juvenile delinquent as someone under the age of 17.[5] While the maximum age in some US states has increased, Japan has lowered the juvenile delinquent age from under 20 to under 18. This change occurred on 1 April 2022 when the Japanese Diet activated a law lowering the age of minor status in the country.[8][9][10] Just as there are differences in the maximum age of a juvenile delinquent, the minimum age for a child to be considered capable of delinquency or the age of criminal responsibility varies considerably between the states.[7] Some states that impose a minimum age have made recent amendments to raise the minimum age, but most states remain ambiguous on the minimum age for a child to be determined a juvenile delinquent. In 2021, North Carolina changed the minimum age from 6 years old to 10 years old while Connecticut moved from 7 to 10 and New York made an adjustment from 7 to 12. In some states the minimum age depends on the seriousness of the crime committed.[11] Juvenile delinquents or juvenile offenders commit crimes ranging from status offenses such as, truancy, violating a curfew or underage drinking and smoking to more serious offenses categorized as property crimes, violent crimes, sexual offenses, and cybercrimes.[12]
Some scholars have found an increase in arrests for youth and have concluded that this may reflect more aggressive criminal justice and zero-tolerance policies rather than changes in youth behavior.[13] Youth violence rates in the United States have dropped to approximately 12% of peak rates in 1993 according to official US government statistics, suggesting that most juvenile offending is non-violent.[14] Many delinquent acts can be attributed to the environmental factors such as family behavior or peer influence.[15][16] One contributing factor that has gained attention in recent years is the school to prison pipeline. According to Diverse Education, nearly 75% of states have built more jails and prisons than colleges. CNN also provides a diagram that shows that cost per inmate is significantly higher in most states than cost per student. This shows that tax payers' dollars are going toward providing for prisoners rather than providing for the educational system and promoting the advancement of education. For every school that is built, the focus on punitive punishment has been seen to correlate with juvenile delinquency rates.[17] Some have suggested shifting from zero tolerance policies to restorative justice approaches.[18]
Juvenile detention centers, juvenile courts and electronic monitoring are common structures of the juvenile legal system.[19] Juvenile courts are in place to address offenses for minors as civil rather than criminal cases in most instances. The frequency of use and structure of these courts in the United States varies by state.[20] Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for people under 18 to be charged and treated as adults.[21]
Juvenile delinquency, or offending, is often separated into three categories:
Currently, there is not an agency whose jurisdiction is tracking worldwide juvenile delinquency but UNICEF estimates that over one million children are in some type of detention globally.[23] Many countries do not keep records of the amount of delinquent or detained minors but of the ones that do, the United States has the highest number of juvenile delinquency cases.[24] In the United States, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention compiles data concerning trends in juvenile delinquency. According to their most recent publication, 7 in 1000 juveniles in the US committed a serious crime in 2016.[25] A serious crime is defined by the US Department of Justice as one of the following eight offenses: murder and non-negligent homicide, rape (legacy & revised), robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson.[26] According to research compiled by James Howell in 2009, the arrest rate for juveniles has been dropping consistently since its peak in 1994.[27] Of the cases for juvenile delinquency that make it through the court system, probation is the most common consequence and males account for over 70% of the caseloads.[28][25]
According to developmental research by Moffitt (2006),[29] there are two different types of offenders that emerge in adolescence. The first is an age specific offender, referred to as the adolescence-limited offender, for whom juvenile offending or delinquency begins and ends during their period of adolescence. Moffitt argues that most teenagers tend to show some form of antisocial or delinquent behavior during adolescence, it is therefore important to account for these behaviors in childhood in order to determine whether they will be adolescence-limited offenders or something more long term.[30] The other type of offender is the repeat offender, referred to as the life-course-persistent offender, who begins offending or showing antisocial/aggressive behavior in adolescence (or even in childhood) and continues into adulthood.[30]
Situational factors[edit]
Most of influencing factors for juvenile delinquency tend to be caused by a mix of both genetic and environmental factors.[29] According to Laurence Steinberg's book Adolescence, the two largest predictors of juvenile delinquency are parenting style and peer group association.[29] Additional factors that may lead a teenager into juvenile delinquency include poor or low, socioeconomic status, poor school readiness/performance and/or failure and peer rejection. Delinquent activity, especially the involvement in youth gangs, may also be caused by a desire for protection against violence or financial hardship. Juvenile offenders can view delinquent activity as a means of gaining access to resources to protect against such threats. Research by Carrie Dabb indicates that even changes in the weather can increase the likelihood of children exhibiting deviant behavior.[31]
Punishment[edit]
In 2020 a ruling abolished the death penalty for juveniles in Saudi Arabia. Despite this Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish was executed in June 2021. He was alleged to have of taken part in anti-government demonstrations at the age of 17. al-Darwish had been detained in May 2015 being placed in solitary confinement for years. al-Darwish claimed that he faced brutal torture and beatings and was forced to sign confessions.[67][68]
One criminal justice approach to juvenile delinquency is through the juvenile court systems. These courts are specifically for minors to be tried in. Sometimes, juvenile offenders are sent to adult prisons.[69] In the United States, children as young as 8 can be tried and convicted as adults. Additionally, the United States was the only recorded country to sentence children as young as 13 to life sentences without parole also known as death in prison sentences. As of 2012, the Supreme Court has declared death in prison sentences unconstitutional for the vast majority of cases involving children.[21] According to the US Department of Justice, about 3,600 children are housed in adult jails.[70]
According to a report released by the Prison Policy Initiative, over 48,000 children are held in juvenile detention centers or prisons in America.[19] The worldwide number is unknown but UNICEF estimates that over 1 million children experience confinement in various countries.[71] Juveniles in youth detention centers are sometimes subject to many of the same punishments as adults, such as solitary confinement, despite a younger age or the presence of disabilities.[72] Due to the influx of minors in detention facilities due to the school to prison pipeline, education is increasingly becoming a concern. Children in juvenile detention have a compromised or nonexistent schooling which to a higher number of drop outs and failure to complete secondary education.[73]
By country[edit]
United Kingdom[edit]
The United Kingdom has three separate and distinct criminal justice systems: England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Young offenders are often dealt with by the Youth Offending Team. There is concern young adult offenders are not getting the support they need to help them avoid reoffending.[95]
In England and Wales the age of criminal responsibility is set at 10. Young offenders aged 10 to 17 (i.e. up to their 18th birthday) are classed as a juvenile offender. Between the ages of 18 and 20 (i.e. up to their 21st birthday) they are classed as young offenders. Offenders aged 21 and over are known as adult offenders.
In Scotland the age of criminal responsibility was formerly set at 8, one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in Europe. It has since been raised to 12 by the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, which received Royal Assent on 6 August 2010.[96][97]
In Northern Ireland, the age of criminal responsibility is 10.
Canada[edit]
In Canada, the YCJA protects the rights of young offenders. It has four main goals to ensure the youth is subject to meaningful consequences that promote the long-term protection of society, to rehabilitate and reintegrate the youth into society seamlessly, and to prevent crime by examining the underlying causes. The YCJA was introduced in 2003, succeeding the Young Offender's Act.
United States[edit]
In the United States, the age of criminal responsibility for federal crimes is set at 11. While this has been set at the federal level, each state is responsible for setting their own age of criminal responsibility. Thirty-one states have no minimum age for criminal responsibility, while the remaining 19 do. North Carolina has the lowest responsibility age of 6 years old and Massachusetts has the highest of 12 years old.[99]
There are 1.5 million cases per year in the US that handle status offenses or criminal offenses by young offenders. However, only 52 juveniles were fully sentenced to prison-time between 2010–2015. Recidivism is common among young offenders, with 67% becoming repeat offenders.[100]
Brazil[edit]
In Brazil, the age of criminal responsibility is set at the age of 18. Anyone that is found guilty of committing crimes prior to the age of 18 is treated to other options rather than jail. These include, for children under 12, foster care options in order to get them a safer family, and, for young offenders over 12, being sentenced to complying with a range of socio-educative measures that can go from a warning to community work and even to internment in specialized facilities, which include basic schooling and occupational training courses that aim at preventing the offenders from resorting to crime to support themselves, although conditions in such facilities are often subpar.[101][102] With a spike in crime rates among young offenders occurring in 2015, along with an almost 40% increase in internments of young offenders, there was a push to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 16, which ultimately failed.[103][104]
China[edit]
Juvenile crime has risen in China with an average increase of 5% per year. In 2021, China lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 in an amendment to its criminal law, and it mandated that such prosecution must be approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.[105]