What are the Nine Important Characteristics of Juvenile Delinquency?

What are the Nine Important Characteristics of Juvenile Delinquency?

A number of studies have been conducted on juvenile delinquency between 1947 and 1999, quite a few among them being for Ph.D. degrees.

Of the published works, eight studies by Ruthonsha (1947), R.K. Singh (1948), Hansa Sheth (1960), B.K. Bhattacharya (1962), A.D. Attar (1964), Sushil Chandra (1967), S.C. Verma (1969), and Harjeet S. Sandhu (1977) and three studies by the Government of India (1952, 1954 and 1970) are considered to be more significant.

On the basis of these studies and on the basis of data compiled by National Crime Records Bureau, 1998, following characteristics of juvenile delinquency in India may be given:

1. The delinquency rates are many times higher for boys than girls, that is, girls commit fewer delinquencies than boys. The percentage involvement of girls in juvenile delinquency up to 1987 was about 6-7 per cent. This suddenly increased to 13.4 per cent in 1988 due to a change in the definition of juveniles, by which girls in the age group of 7-18 years only were considered as juveniles.

If we take the figures pertaining to the earlier years and work out the percentage of girls within the newly defined range of age, it comes to 13.1 per cent which compares well with 13.4 per cent in 1988.

Thus, the present figures (in 1998) suggest an overall arrest ratio of 2.8 boys for each girl. Of the 18,964 juveniles apprehended under the IPC and the SLL crimes in 1998, 26.1 per cent were girls (ibid., 1998: 246).

2. The delinquency rates tend to be highest during early adolescence (12-16 years age group). After the new definition of the age of juvenile delinquency in 1988, if we calculate the average of ten years from 1988 to 1998, about three-fifth delinquents (61.0%) fall in this age group of 12-16 years.

Earlier (between 1978 and 1987), it was observed that a large number of delinquents (71%) belonged to 18-21 years (late adolescence) age group, 15 per cent belonged to 16-18 years age group, 9 per cent to 12-16 years age group, and 5 per cent to 7-12 years age group.

Now, the percentage share of two age groups has changed. About 17.5 per cent belong to 7-12 years age group and 21.4 per cent to 16-18 years age group (1998: 247). The share of 12-16 years age group has increased from 10 per cent in 1978-87 to 61 per cent in 1998 because from 1988, 18-21 years age group has entirely gone out of the ambit of juvenile consideration.

3. Juvenile delinquency is more an urban than a rural phenomenon. The metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore produce more juvenile delinquents than small cities and towns.

If we take 23 metropolitan cities in India, of the 1,981 delinquents apprehended under the IPC in 1998 in these 23 cities, about three-fifths (62.3%) committed crimes in six cities (Bombay: 9.1%, Delhi: 17.5%, Indore: 8.8%, Jaipur: 13.7%, Nagpur: 5.9%, and Pune: 7.3%) (Crime in India, 1998: 253).

4. Children living with parents and guardians are found to be more involved in the juvenile crimes. At the time of arrest, about three-fourths (73%) of the delinquents were found living with their parents, about one-fourth (22%) with their guardians, and about one-twentieth (5%) were homeless (1998: 256). This shows the role of family environment in juvenile delinquency.

5. Low education background is the prime attribute of delinquency. About two-fifths (38.1%) of the juveniles are illiterate, two-fifths (39.3%) are primary passed, one-fifth (18.5%) are middle and secondary passed, and a very small number (4.1%) is educated up to the high school level and above (1998: 256). Thus, most delinquents come from illiterate and less educated families.

6. Poor economic background is another important characteristic of juvenile delinquency in India. About half (52%) of the delinquents come from homes with an income of less than Rs. 500 per month (i.e., destitute and very poor classes), about one-fourth (27%) from homes with income between Rs. 501 and Rs. 1,000 per month (i.e., poor classes), about one-tenth (14%) from homes with income between Rs. 1,001 and Rs. 2,000 per month (i.e., lower-middle class), and a very small number (5%) from homes with income between Rs. 2,001 and Rs. 3,000 per month (i.e., lower-middle class) or with income above Rs. 3,000 per month (2%) (i.e., middle-middle class) (1998:257). this shows that juvenile delinquency is more a lower-class pheno­menon.

Almost all studies conducted in our country on juvenile delinquency and its relation to the socioeconomic order show that those belonging to the bottom strata have been found to have the highest rates.

The extent to which this is true varies under different conditions; but one general point that has been made in almost all studies (Ruttonsha, Hansa Seth, Sushil Chandra, Verma, etc.) is that the impact of socio-economic status is revealed most strongly the deeper one goes into the delinquency adjudication process.

7. Nine out of 10 juvenile delinquents are first-offenders and only one-tenth is recidivists or past-offenders. The 1998 figures show that 89 per cent were new offenders (ibid. 257). The number of total juveniles apprehended between 1988 and 1998 has gradually declined every year. From about 38,000 (IPC + SLL) in 1988, the number declined to about 30,000 (29,591) in 1991 and about 19,000 (18,964) in 1998 (ibid. 246).

8. Not many delinquencies are committed in groups. In the United States, Shaw and McKay in their study found that 90 per cent children had companions in their delinquencies. In India, it appears, a large number of delinquencies are committed all alone.

9. Though some delinquencies are committed in groups yet the number of juvenile gangs having support of organised adult criminals is not large in our country.