Juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquencyAny discussion of juvenile delinquency raises two fundamental questions: who are juveniles and what constitutes delinquency?
In answer to the first question, the most common criterion employed is chronological age. The vast majority of the laws dealing with juvenile delinquency throught out the world provide and age limit beyond which special procedures and measures meant for juvenile are inapplicable. This age limit varies from one country to another – in Republic of Moldova the age limit is 18 years.
So, is well known that the juveniles are one of the most valuable resources for strong and healthy society; meanwhile they are one of the most vulnerable groups, who require care, attention and attitude from adults, being required a safe environment for each child.
The second question is more difficult to answer. I think that juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending is a negative behaviors of children and teens that may result in crimes or illegal action, frequently causes widespread problems in communities. Juvenile delinquency is a complex social problem that significantly impacts all members and processes of a social structure. Juveniles are capable of committing the same crime as adults. However, some acts are considered delinquent simply because of the offender’s status as a minor. The majority of crimes committed by juvenile are offenses such as theft and shoplifting, vandalism; drug and alcohol use, disorderly conduct and simple assaults that do not result in serious injury. Criminologists, social scientists, lawmakers and policymakers have focused their efforts on examining the causes of juvenile crime and on developing programs and public policies to prevent delinquency and correct juvenile offenders. Delinquency prevention is the broad term for all efforts aimed at preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal or other antisocial activity.
As a result of poverty, limited educational and vocational training opportunities, school dropout, use of drugs and psychotropic substances, migration and lack of parental control, harmful influence of adults, violence and abuse, underdeveloped social control network , children drift into deviant behavior which results in an antisocial or social dangerous behavior by committing crime. Others problems are namely the gap between the kindergarten enrolment in rural and urban areas, school dropout, the lack of qualified teaching staff, the equalization of grades and unequal admission conditions for Transnistrian students, the lack attractive specialities that would meet market requirements, ethnic segregation in schools, and the structural reform of the education system confirm once again the need to strengthen previously initiated reforms.
Because the development of delinquency in youth is influenced by numerous factors, prevention efforts need to be comprehensive in scope. It is impossible to develop effective prevention programs without understanding the reasons behind involvement in a criminal activity. Some people believe that imposing strict laws will cause a drop in juvenile delinquency rates, but I think sometimes imposing strict rules merely give the children more of an incentive to break them.
In my opinion the most effective way of preventing juvenile delinquency and keeping at risk children away from crime is to tackle the problem before it happens.
The treatment given to juvenile delinquent depends on his offense and of the factors that made him delinquent. I think about three types of prevention delinquency programs: primary prevention programs target the general population of youth and include efforts to prevent smoking, drug use and teen pregnancy; secondary programs target youth at elevated risk for a particular outcome, such as delinquency or violence a group that might include those in disadvantaged neighborhoods, those struggling in school, or those exposed to violence at home; the first opportunity for prevention is with pregnant teens or at risk children in early childhood.
Prevention initiatives are not always easily transferred from one socio-cultural environment to another. Programs that work effectively in one country may be totally inadequate in others. Also, some programs may have some success but probably won’t reach all children who might commit a crime.
One of the most frequent measures of treatment applied by juvenile court is probation. A juvenile delinquent is placed under the supervision of a probation officer whose duties are to befriend and assist him with a view to his rehabilitation. Probation is essentially social case work because it is the task of the probation officer to find regular employment for his charge and assist in his family problems whenever necessary. In some European country, a measure analogous to probation known as ,, supervised freedom “ is often practiced. The tendency in these countries is to employ full – time personnel although in the past volunteers have played a more important role.
Regretful that in Republic of Moldova still is employed measure such as corporal punishment, the rehabilitative value of which is doubtful. Under the Moldovan law, policeman and social workers, along with others actors, play an important role in preventing and combating juvenile delinquency. Ignorance showed by relevant authorities with regard to legal provisions on juvenile delinquency and mechanisms for their implementation leads to incorrect and insubstantial resolution of case of delinquency. Constitutional authorities, international organization and institutions as well as civil society organizations involved in childrens rights problems need not only to propose a set of recommendations to improve the current situation but also to apply in practice the Criminal Justice System in Moldova accepts and encourages using psychosocial programs for preventing and treatment the juvenile delinquency. So, according to the art.53/104 or art.109 of Criminal Law of Republic of Moldova, the law enforcement institutions (prosecutors or judges) have responsibility to refer the child to psychosocial programs or community services. Unfortunately, such programs are not developed and this make more worsens the ability of reintegration and reeducation of children with problematic behavior.
To solve this problem we need get involved all forces and resources, focusing in particular on the role of: family, school and community members to prevent and treat de juvenile delinquency. Everyone must understand the consequences of migration of the parents, education negligence, abuse or violence against children.

Author: Cristina Josanu