8.1.1. What is juvenile delinquency?

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In the last ten years, crime in the United States and G.B. has increased four times faster than the national population! The problem is much more chilling when one refers to statistics relating to juvenile crime. More crimes are now committed by children under fifteen - by our more precious asset, the youth of the United States - than by over twenty five! Reports from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and from the Federal Bureau of Investigation show a rise in the number of juveniles arrested for serious crimes.

First of all let’s see on survey:

up to 30 per cent of teenagers carry some kind of weapon to protect themselves, with one in five boys carrying a knife, according to a survey which shows widespread concern among young people about their physical safety.

The survey of 24,000 teenagers by the Schools Education Unit of Exeter University shows that two-thirds of girls and one-third of boys fear physical attack.

About a third of girls and a quarter of boys are so fearful of bullying that they are sometimes, often, or very often afraid of going to school.

Almost half of 12-13-year-olds and 60 per cent of 14-15-year-olds consumed at least one alcoholic drink.

About 10 per cent of 12-13-year-olds and 30 per cent of 14-15-year-olds had tried at least one illegal drug, usually cannabis.

So and what is juvenile delinquency? Juvenile delinquency means different things to different people. To some, a juvenile delinquent is a boy or girl arrested for a law violation. To others, a single appearance in juvenile court identifies the delinquent. To many, the term covers a variety of antisocial behaviors that offends them, whether or not the law is violated. Juvenile delinquency is a blanket term that obscures rather than clarifies our understanding of human behavior. It describes a large variety of youths in trouble or on the verge of trouble. The delinquent may be anything from a normal mischievous youngster to a youth that is involved in a law violation by accidents. As a blanket term, delinquency is like the concept of illness. The illness is different, the cause is different, and the treatment is different. The same is true of delinquency. Like illness, delinquency describes many problems that develop from varied causes and require different kinds of treatment. So legally speaking, then, a juvenile delinquent is a child (age defined by statute) who commits any act that would constitute a crime if done by an adult and who is adjudicated as such by an appropriate court.

The police concept classifies the delinquent as the statistical delinquent and personality-disordered delinquent. The statistical delinquent is a youngster who is involved in a delinquent act through impulsiveness. As an example, he is involved in an automobile theft without, at that time, realizing the consequence of his actions.

On the other hand, the personality-disordered delinquent is the youth who is often involved in a series of antisocial acts that necessitates, in most instances, a referral to the juvenile court.

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