In childhood a person imitates the behavior of others.
Some behaviors are socially acceptable and some anti-social behavior is done by the child knowingly or unknowingly.
When a child becomes a victim of circumstances and behaves anti-socially, it is known as 'juvenile delinquency'.
Such behaviors usually occur during adolescence.
Juvenile delinquency is defined as juvenile delinquency.
Illegal behavior of a person between the ages of 7 and 18 is generally considered a juvenile offense.
Since the word ‘crime’ refers to a legal concept, the concept of juvenile delinquency has been expressed by some scholars as a legal concept.
According to Friedlander, “Juvenile delinquency is the act of committing a child that is prosecuted under the law. Severe form of child against whom legal action may be required Anti-social attitudes are called juvenile delinquency. ”
According to the Dictionary of Sociology, "juvenile delinquency refers to anti-social acts of children and adolescents below a certain age who are explicitly prohibited by law or which have been interpreted as offenses in law and some official action has been taken against them."
According to a study by Dr. Hansa Sethe, "In sociological research, the term 'juvenile delinquent' refers only to a child who has been officially prosecuted by police officers or judicial authorities."
Thus, for a juvenile offender, the same behaviors that are considered a crime by law are considered offenses.
According to the sociological concept, the behavior of a child which does not fit into the socio-cultural expectation of the society obstructs the process of socialization and creates disintegration for the family and the community is called juvenile delinquency.
The Indian Parliament has recently passed a bill to address the rising incidence of juvenile delinquency in India and its age.
According to the bill, as per Section 2 (12) of the Juvenile Justice Act, which came into force on December 31, 2015, a child is a person up to the age of 18 years.
When a child up to that age behaves against the norm, it is called 'juvenile delinquency' and a child who behaves in such a manner is called a 'juvenile delinquent'.
Discuss the causes of juvenile delinquency. Or explain the role of ‘family’ as a cause of juvenile delinquency.
Many causes are responsible for juvenile delinquency and the peculiarity of these causes is that all these causes are interconnected in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish them.
Scholars researching juvenile delinquency have divided the causes of juvenile delinquency into two categories: 1. Social and economic reasons and 2. Personal and psychological reasons.
1. Social and economic reasons: Social and economic reasons have a strong impact on the behavior of children. Social and economic factors include family, school, peer group, mass media, urban environment, working circumstances, etc.
(1) Family:
A healthy or balanced 'family' is one where both parents are present, each member of the family is doing his or her part, the family's financial situation is good, and the family adheres to ethical standards.
If one of these traits of a balanced family is deficient, the balance of the family becomes unstable and problems arise, leading the children to commit criminal acts.
In a fractured family where the parents are separated or divorced or one of the two has died, the child may not receive enough love, warmth, affection, security, etc. He is not taught restraint.
Thus, without proper socialization the child turns to the path of deviation.
Socialization depends on a healthy home environment.
But if the family environment or circumstances are heterogeneous, there is extreme difficulty in living in the house, there is lack of health facilities, there are daily quarrels between husband and wife in the house, there is harassment of the child at home by the stepmother, parents are involved in criminal activities, mother or father Unstable-minded-addicted or mischievous.
In such circumstances children experience a tense mood.
So they leave home and run away.
In the outside world, the question of sustenance arises. Children placed in this awkward situation turn to criminal activities.
(2) School:
If there is excessive discipline at school, the child is repeatedly mentally abused, the child has to be subjected to corporal punishment - in such circumstances the child is guilty of running away from school.
(3) Peer group:
The child is directly affected by his friends.
According to Dr. Hansa Seth, "the company of bad friends is also responsible for a child's deviant behavior."
The child learns to behave contrary to social norms if he is accompanied by a vicious friend with bad habits in the circumstances of flawed socialization.
(4) Mass media:
Children are inadvertently pushed into criminal activity by the excesses of information media like movies, newspapers, magazines, television etc.
News of criminal behavior and pornography circulating in the mass media have a distorting effect on the child's psyche.
Curiosity, curiosity, ignorance, and a lack of discernment of good and bad cause the child to behave in a disorderly manner.
(5) Urban environment:
The urban environment encourages the criminal behavior of children to some extent.
Since criminal behavior can be concealed in an urban community, the child has no fear of identity.
Factors such as slums, population density, etc. reduce the effectiveness of social control.
Consequently, such an environment plays a part in increasing the child’s criminal activity.
(6) Working circumstances:
If the child has to work due to poverty at home and the working conditions in the job are such that if he makes a mistake in doing the work, he is afraid of severe corporal punishment or beating from Seth.
This situation stimulates the child's tendency to lie, cheat or run away.
When a child has to work in a dirty living neighborhood, there are opportunities for the child to watch and learn about criminal activities.
These occasions directly or indirectly play a role in turning a child into a criminal activity.
2. Personal and psychological reasons:
Personal and psychological reasons for juvenile delinquency also play an important part.
If the child is unable to think right or wrong, the child turns to breaking the standard behavior.
The child's rebellious attitude, arbitrariness, insecurity, cowardice, lack of self-control, inferiority complex, lack of empathy, frustration, despair, violent activity, etc., many factors lead the child to behave anti-socially or against the norm.
Thus, no child is a criminal from birth but the environment and personality factors around the child play an important role in making the child a criminal and behaving in a way that is not normal.