Juvenile Delinquency: Definition and Meaning

In a developing nation like India, juvenile delinquency is a common occurrence. Around the world, many children participate in formal adult equity frameworks. These children are typically the ones who struggle with money, so when they are abandoned and impoverished, they are at a significant risk of being used for sexual purposes or trafficked. Yet for children who are already having trouble with the law, lengthy trial processes for arrests can ruin their entire adolescence. As a result, many of them have reduced chances of recovery and reintegration into society.

What is Juvenile?

The Juvenile Justice Act of 1986's Section 2 has a definition of the word "juvenile" in clause (h). In clause (e) of section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act of 1986, the term "delinquency" is defined.

What is Juvenile Delinquency?

Juvenile Delinquency is the term used to describe a minor breaking the law.

• Delinquency is an antisocial and criminal behavior that a person under the age of 18—i.e., a person who is not an adult—commits.

• Delinquency is another name for juvenile delinquency. As an individual enters adulthood, his antisocial and criminal behavior can be considered a felony.

Hence, we can define juvenile delinquency as the juvenile counterpart of crime.

Who are Juvenile Delinquents?

Typically, children between the ages of 10 and 17 who have committed a criminal act are classified as juvenile delinquents. Rehashed wrongdoers and age-specific guilty individuals are the two main categories of guilty parties.

• Rehash Wrongdoers − Rehashed wrongdoers are often referred to as "life-course continuous wrongdoers." These juvenile offenders start off at fault or implying other lone behaviour throughout pre-adulthood. Repeat offenders continue to engage in illegal activities or coercive behaviors even after they reach maturity.

• Age-Particular Guilty Parties − Particularly guilty parties by age - Age-Related Offenders claim that juvenile-reprobate behavior begins in youth. In any instance, unlike repeat offenders, the age-specific guilty party's behaviors come to an end before the minor becomes an adult.

Adolescents' behaviors when they are young are frequently a good indicator of the type of criminal they will grow up to be. While age-specific offenders no longer exhibit criminal behavior as adults, they frequently experience more mental health issues, substance misuse, and financial difficulties than adults who did not exhibit delinquent behavior as children.

Legality of Juvenile Delinquents

The Juvenile Justice Act of 1986 was the first piece of centralized juvenile justice legislation; before that, each state had its own juvenile justice legislation, which varied in how juveniles were handled by the various state legal systems. The Indian Constitution contains provisions in Article 15's clause (3) as well as Articles 39, 47, and 45's clauses (e) and (f).

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which includes the rights to life, safety, development, and participation, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989. On December 11, 1992, the Indian government approved the aforementioned UN Convention and reenacted the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, which was already in place.

Conclusion

Children make up around 25% of the global population. They must rely on what is offered to them since they lack the means to protect themselves. They are the victims of their environment. They make us happy, they make us cry, and they give us hope. They are the offspring of the entire planet, as well as yours and mine. Children in India who are malnourished, begging for food on the streets, and lacking in the basic requirements of life make up about half of all children in the nation. The time has come for the government to step in and deal with these issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is the cause of Juvenile Delinquency?

Ans. Juvenile delinquency is risk-related to family features such inadequate parenting abilities, family size, domestic strife, child abuse, and antisocial parents (Derzon and Lipsey, 2000; Wasserman and Seracini, 2001).

Q2. What are the major types of delinquency?

Ans.Juvenile delinquency falls into three categories: delinquency, criminal behavior, and status offenses. Delinquency includes juvenile offenses that are prosecuted by the juvenile justice system.

Q3. Who is juvenile delinquency in India?

Ans. Juvenile delinquency refers to the antisocial or criminal activity of the child (below 16 years of age for boys and 18 years for girls) which violates the law. In true context, that same activity would have been a crime if it was committed by the adult.

Q4. What are the primary reasons behind juvenile crime?

Ans. Several factors have been examined and found to have the potential to lead to adolescent delinquency. The school-to-prison pipeline, biological and personality variables, disabilities, disorders, and family medical history are a few of these.