Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice System

Juvenile Delinquency

It refers to an anti-social acts or behaviors committed by minors which are contrary to the norms of the society.

It involves oftentimes misdemeanor, but may include also offenses and felonies.

Child-in-Conflict with the Law

Under RA9344 the term used for juvenile delinquent

Delinquency

are acts committed by minors; Acts that merely breaks ‘cultural law’ or norms; A child is under the process known as juvenile justice system.

Code of Hammurabi

used by society to regulate behavior and at the same time punish those who disobeyed the rules.

Stubborn Child Law

In 1641, General Court of Massachusetts passed a law which stated that children who disobeyed their parents could be put to death

Roman Law and Canon (Church) Law

Approximately two thousand years ago, made distinction between juveniles and adults based on the notion “Age of Responsibility”

Ancient Jewish Law

The Talmud specified condition under which immaturity was to be considered in imposing punishment.

There was no corporal punishment prior to puberty, which was considered to be the age of twelve for females and thirteen for males. In addition, no capital punishment is to be imposed on those offenders under twenty years of age

Codification of Roman Law

In 5th century B.C., this law resulted in the "Twelve Tables", which made it clear that children were criminally responsible for violation of law and were to be dealt with by same criminal justice system as adults.

Under this law, children came to be classified as "Infans," or "Proximus Infantiae."

In general, "infans" (7 years old below) were not held criminally responsible, but those approaching puberty (above 7 to 14 for boys and above 7 - 12 for girls) liability was based on their capacity to understand the difference between right and wrong.

Anglo Saxon Common Law (Law based on custom or usage)

children under the age of 7 were presumed incapable of forming criminal intent and therefore were not subject to criminal sanctions.

Children between 7 - 14 were not subject to criminal sanctions unless it could be demonstrated that they had formed criminal intent, understood the consequences of their actions, and could distinguish right from wrong.

Children over 14 were treated much the same as adults.

Middle of 19th century

The middle of the nineteenth century also included the child-saving movement.

Concerned citizens eventually formed a, social activist group called Child Savers, who believed that children were born good and became bad.

Juvenile children were blamed on bad environments.

The best way to save children was to get them out of "bad" homes and placed in "good" ones.

This lead to the creation of the doctrine “Parens Patriae”- parent of the state

Parens Patriae Doctrine

is a doctrine that does not consider delinquent acts as criminal violation, thus making delinquents non-criminal persons and cannot be found guilty of a crime and punished like an adult criminal.

This doctrine viewed minors who violate the law as victims of improper care, custody and treatment at home.

Thus, in parents patriae, the State becomes the father.

PD 603

" The Child and Youth Welfare Code"

Under the said law, a person who is over nine (9) but under twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of the commission of the offense who committed a crime is known as a YOUTHFUL OFFENDER;

PD 1179 - amends the Child and Youth Welfare Code by requiring a youth offender to apply for suspension of his sentence

PD 1179

Under the said law, it defines a youthful offender as a child, minor or youth, including one who is emancipated in accordance with law who is over nine (9) years but under eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.

RA 9344

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006

• 15 and below are exempted from criminal liability

• over 15 and below 18 are likewise exempted unless acted with discernment and this child are called "Child in Conflict with Law”

Pope Clement XI

In 1704 in Rome, established the Hospital of St. Michael's, the first institution for the treatment of juvenile offenders.

The stated purpose of the hospital was to correct and instruct unruly youth so they might become useful citizens.

Robert Young

In 1788, he established the first private, separate institution for youthful offenders in England.

The goal of the institution was to educate and instruct in some useful trade or occupation the children of convicts or such other infant poor as engaged in a vagrant and criminal course of life

Albert K. Cohen

The first man who attempted to find out the process of beginning of the delinquent subculture.

Kingwood Reformatory

This was established for the confinement of the "hordes of unruly children who infested the streets of new industrial towns" of England.

New York Committee on Pauperism

In 1818, the committee gave the term "Juvenile Delinquency" Its first public recognition by referring it as a major cause of pauperism.

1899

The First Juvenile or "family" court was established in Cook County Illinois

1899 - 1967

This has been referred to as the era of "socialized juvenile justice".

Bridewells

It was the first houses of corrections in England. They confined both children and adults considered to be idle and disorderly.

Hospice of San Michele

Saint Michael was established in 1704.

John Howard, a reformer, brought to England from Rome a model of the first institution for treating juvenile offenders. He was often thought of as the father of prison reform.

House of Refuge

It was situated in New York in 1825.

It was opened to house juvenile delinquents, who were defined in its charter as "youths convicted of criminal offenses or found in vagrancy." By the middle of the nineteenth century many states either built reform schools or converted their houses of refuge to reform schools.

The reform schools emphasized formal schooling, but they also retained large workshops and continued the contract system of labor.

Types of Delinquent Youth 

Social -an aggressive youth who resents the authority of anyone who make an effort to control his behavior.

Neurotic- he has internalized his conflicts and preoccupied with his own feelings

Asocial- his delinquent at have a cold, brutal, ficious quality for which the youth feels no humors.

Accidental- he is less identifiable in his character, essentially socialize law abiding but too happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and becomes involved in some delinquent act not typical of his general behavior.

Stages of Delinquency 

• emergence

• exploration

• explosion

• conflagration

• outburst

Emergence

the child begins with petty larceny between 8 and sometimes the 12th year.

Exploration

he or she then move on to shoplifting and vandalism between ages 12 to 14.

Explosion

at age 13 up, there is a substantial increase in variety of seriousness

Conflagration

at around 15 up, four or more types of crimes are added.

Outburst

Those who continue on adulthood will progress into more sophisticated or more violent forms of criminal behavior.

Classification of Delinquency

• unsocialized aggression

• soacialize delinquency

• over-inhibited 

UNSOCIALIZED AGGRESSION

Rejected or abandoned, NO parents to imitate and become aggressive.

SOCIALIZE DELINQUENCY

Membership of fraternities or groups that advocate bad things

OVER-INHIBITED

Group secretly trained to do illegal activities, like marijuana cultivation.

BIOGENIC APPROACH

views the law-breaker as a person whose misconduct is the result of faulty biology.

The offender is a hereditary defective, suffers from endocrine imbalance or brain pathology, his or her body structure and temperament pattern have produced the law breaking.

PSYCHOGENIC APPROACH

It tells us that the offender behaves as she or he does in response to psychological pathology of some kind.

The critical casual factors in delinquency are - personality problems, to which juvenile misbehavior is presume to be a response.

SOCIOGENIC APPROACH

attributes the variations in delinquency pattern to influence social structures.

They account for individual offender by reference process, which go on in youth gangs, stigmatizing contacts with social control agencies and other variables of that time.

PREDISPOSING FACTOR

Inclinations or inherited propensities, which cannot be, considered a criminal one unless there is a probability that a crime will be committed.

PRECIPITATING FACTOR

Elements which provokes crimes or factors that are signified to the everyday adjustments of an individual, like personal problems, necessities, imitation, curiosity, ignorance, and diseases.

Home

"cradle of human personality".

FACTORS AFFECTING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

• individual risk factors

• family

• environment

• school

• other department or agencies of the government

The Criminal Gang

Emerge in areas where conventional as well as non-conventional values of behavior are integrated by a close connection of illegitimate and legitimate businesses.

This type of gang is stable than the ones to follow. Older criminals serve as role models and they teach necessary criminal skills to the youngsters.

The conflict/violent gang

Non-stable and non-integrated, where there is an absence of criminal organization resulting in instability.

This gang aims to find reputation for toughness and destructive violence.

The Retreatist Gang

Is equally unsuccessful in legitimate as well as illegitimate means.

They are known as double failures, thus retreating into a world of sex, drugs, and alcohol.

Social Disorganization Theory

It was recognized early in twentieth century by sociologist Clifford Shaw and Henry Mckay.

According to this theory, disorganized areas cannot exert social control over acting-out youth; these areas can be identified by their relatively high level of change, fear, instability, incivility, poverty and deterioration, and these factors have a direct influence on the area's delinquency rate

Anomie Theory

Advocated by Emile Durkheim. Breakdown of social orders as results of loss of standards and values that replaced social cohesion.

A - Absence

Nomos- Laws or standards.

Anomie- refers to the breakdown of norms.

Strain Theory

young people turn to delinquency when they feel pressure to achieve goals they can’t reach legally. When they fail to meet society’s expectations, they get frustrated and may break rules or commit crimes to prove themselves or gain what they want.

Differential Opportunity Theory

says that not all young people have the same chances to achieve their goals, whether in legal or illegal ways.

Some grow up in areas where crime offers more opportunities than education or jobs, so they may join delinquent groups to succeed in their own way.

Differential Oppression Theory

young people, especially those often controlled or mistreated by authority figures, may feel powerless. Because of this unfair treatment, they might rebel or turn to delinquent acts as a way to fight back or regain control over their lives.

Differential Association Theory

Asserts that criminal behavior is learned primarily within interpersonal groups and that youths will become delinquent if definitions they have learned favorable to violating the law exceed definitions favorable to obeying the law within the group.

This theory was introduced by Edwin Sutherland.

Example: The family may serve as a training ground for violence since the child perceive physical punishment as the norm during conflict situations with others.

Social Learning Theory

This theory view that behavior is modeled through observation, either directly through intimate contact with others, or indirectly through media; interactions that are rewarded are copied, where as those that are punished are avoided.

Drift Theory (Neutralization Theory)

It proposed that juveniles sense a moral obligation to be bound by the law. Such a bind between a person and the law remains in place most of the time, they argue. When it is not in place, delinquents will drift

Labeling Theory (Social Reaction Theory)

Crime is caused by societal reactions to behavior, which include exposure to the juvenile justice system.

Once children are labelled delinquent, they become delinquent (Tannenbaum, 1893).

Social Control Theory

young people commit crimes when their bond to family, school, and community is weak. If they don’t feel connected or responsible to others, they’re more likely to break rules or get involved in delinquent acts.

Self-derogation Theory

young people who feel bad about themselves or see little self-worth are more likely to do wrong things. When they lose confidence or feel rejected, they may turn to delinquent behavior to feel better or gain acceptance from others.

Self-control Theory

suggests that deviance simply results from the individual's inability to effectively control his/her impulses.

argues that it is the absence of self-control rather than the presence of some force or factor such as poverty, anomie, opportunities for deviance, delinquent peers, exposure to definitions favorable to deviance that leads to deviance

Culture Deviance Theory

Links delinquent acts to the formation of independent subcultures with a unique set of values that clash with the main stream culture.

This theory argues that children learn deviant behavior socially through exposure to others and modeling of others action.

Rational Choice Theory

They argue in many cases, deviance is a result of highly calculation of risks and awards. Prospective deviants weigh their own chance of gain against the risk of getting caught, and thereby decide a course of action.

Juveniles however do not always choose the most rational actions. There values are different from adult and their motives are different from an adult criminal.

Adolescent are also notorious for not thinking before they act. These actions which constitute delinquency may come as a result of acting against authority, or to rebel against cultural norms and goals.

Marriage

is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic.

Such a union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the marital structure created is known as wedlock.

Age 18-21

Needs parental consent for marriage

Age 22-25

Needs parental advice for marriage

void ab initio

The marriage of a person below 18 years of age even with the consent of the parents

Authority of Solemnizing Officer

(a) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction.

(b) Any priest, rabbi, imam or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits granted to him by his church and provided that one of the contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer's church or religious sect.

(c) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in cases of articulo mortis. A marriage in articulo mortis between passengers or crew members may also be solemnized not only while the ship is at sea or the plane in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of call.

(d) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a military operation. A military commander of a unit who is a commissioned officer, shall likewise have the authority to solemnize marriages in articulo mortis between persons within the zone of military operation, whether members of the armed forces or civilians.

(e) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul. Marriages between Filipino citizens abroad may be solemnized and the issuance of the marriage license and the duties of the local civil registrar and the solemnizing officer with regard to the celebration of marriage shall be performed by said consular official.

(f) Under the Family Code, governors, mayors and ambassadors are not authorized to perform marriages. However, under the Local Government Code, mayors are now authorized to perform marriages within their jurisdiction.

Articulo Mortis

point of death.

Valid marriage license

The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue, and shall be deemed automatically cancelled at the expiration of said period if the contracting parties have not made use of it

Marriage in Articulo Mortis

In case either or both of the contracting parties are at the point of death, the marriage may be solemnized without the necessity of a marriage license and shall remain valid even if the ailing party subsequently survives

Marriage in remote places

If the residence of either party is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar.

Marriage of people who have previously cohabited for at least 5 years

no license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wives for at least five years and without any legal impediment to marry each other.

The contracting parties shall state the foregoing facts in an affidavit before any person authorized by law to administer oaths.

Marriages between pagans or Muslims

who live in non-Christian provinces, and who are married in accordance with their customs.

marriage ceremony

It shall be held with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses.

Filiation

is the civil status or relationship of the child to the father.

children may be by nature or by adoption.

It may be legitimate or illegitimate while paternity is the civil status relationship of the father to the child.

Legitimate Child

• One conceived or born during the marriage of the parents.

• Children conceived as a result of artificial insemination of the wife with the sperm of the husband or that of a donor or both are likewise legitimate children of the husband and his wife, provided, that both of them authorized or ratified such insemination in a written instrument executed and signed by them before the birth of the child. The instrument shall be recorded in the civil registry together with the birth certificate of the child.

Illegitimate Child

Children conceived outside the valid marriage

R.A. No. 9255

Illegitimate children may use the surname of their father if their filiation has been expressly recognized by the father, either through:

• record of birth in civil register

• father's admission in public document

• father's admission in private handwritten document

Legitimated Child

• Takes place by a subsequent valid marriage between parents.

• The annulment of a voidable marriage shall not affect the legitimation.

• Any children can be legitimated as long as there are no disqualifications by any impediment to marry.

• Legitimated child will enjoy the same rights as legitimated children.

Adopted Child

Legally made the son or daughter of someone other than the biological parent.

PARENTAL AUTHORITY (PATRIA POTESTAS)

is the mass of rights and obligations which parents have in relation to the person and property of their children until their emancipation, and even after under certain circumstances.

SUSPENSION OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY

1. Conviction of parent for crime without civil interdiction

2. Treats child with excessive harassment and cruelty

3. Gives corrupting orders, counsel or example

4. Compels child to beg

5. Subjects to or allows acts of lasciviousness

GROUNDS FOR THE PERMANENT TERMINATION OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY:

1. Death of parents

2. Death of child

3. Emancipation of child

4. Parents exercising parental authority has subjected the child or allowed him to be subjected to sexual abuse

GENERAL RULE: A child under 7 years of age shall not be separated from the mother UNLESS the court finds compelling reasons to order otherwise. Paramount consideration in matters of custody of a child is the welfare and well-being of the child (Tonog v. CA)

Family

• Denotes a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, Father affinity, and co-residence.

• Basic unit of society

• Basic social institution

• Foundation of nation (Art. 149, FC)

Nuclear family/Conjugal or Elementary

family composed of a father, mother and a child or children

Extended family

composed of members other than the father, mother, and children, e.g ., in-laws, relatives, household helps, employees, etc.

Corporate Model

Father is the Chief Executive Officer. Mom, the operating officer who implements dad’s policy and manages the Staff(children), who in turn have privileges and responsibilities based on their seniority.

Team Model

Dad is the head coach; mom is the chief of the training table and head cheerleader. The children, suffering frequent performance anxiety, play by the rules and stay in shape with conformity calisthenics. In the team family, competition is the name of the game and winning is everything

Military Model

Dad’s the general. Mom always on guard duty with a special assignment to the nurse corps when needed. Rank justifies arbitrary behavior. Sympathy is for softies. Discipline is all. Unruly children are sent to the stockade. Insubordinate wives risk dishonorable discharge. Punishment is swift and sadism is called character building

Boarding Model

Dad, the rector, or headmaster, is in charge of training strong minds and bodies. Mom, the dorm counselor, overseas the realm and emotion, illness, good works, and bed wetting. The children are dutiful student. The parents of course, have nothing left to learn, theirs is but to teach and test

Theatrical Model

Dad, the producer, also plays the role of the Father. Mom, the stage manager, doubles in part of Mother. Children, the stagehands, also act the roles of girls and boys

PD 603

"Child and Youth Welfare Code"

It was approved on December 10, 1974 and took effect on June 10, 1975.

R.A. 6809

Lowering the age of majority from 21 to 18 years of age

RA 9344

"Juvenile Justice Welfare Act of 2006"

It was approved on April 28, 2006.

RA 10630

Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines

amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 9344

RA 9262

"Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004"

RA 7610

"Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act."

R.A. 8369

The law that established the "Family Court"

R.A. 8552

An act establishing the rules and policies on the domestic adoption of Filipino children or also known as "Domestic Adoption Act of 1998."

R.A. 8043

An act establishing the rules to govern inter-country adoption of Flipino children or also known as "Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995."

R.A. 6972

“Barangay Level Development and Protection of Children Act”

Creation of a Day-Care Center in energy barangay.

R.A. 9255

An Act allowing illegitimate children to use the surname of their father amending for purpose

Art. 176 of E.O. 209

otherwise known as the "Family Code" of the Philippines.