Juvenile Delinquency and Justice System

Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice System

• Family is the first and most basic institution of society, responsible for developing a child's potential in all aspects.
• The family molds the child to learn to curb desires and accept rules that define the time, place, and circumstances under which highly personal needs may be satisfied in a socially acceptable way.
• The family is the most important social unit to affect children, and it is composed of father, mother, and child.

Types of Family Structure

• Conjugal Family: consists of husband and wife without children.
• Nuclear Family: consists of father, mother, and children.
• Extended Family: consists of the nuclear family together with other relatives such as other ascendants and descendants.
• Other types of family structures include:
  • Joint Family: married children within their spouses and children living in one residence.
  • Household: several people may or may not be related to one another, having the same residence and sharing responsibilities.
  • Truncated Family: grand-parent – grand-children relationship.
  • Stem Family: similar to the extended family, but they do not share common residence.

Models of Family

• Corporate Model: Father is the CEO, Mother is the Operating Officer, and Children are the Staff.
• Team Model: Father is the Head, Mother is the Chief of the training table & cheerleader.
• Military Model: Father is the General, Mother is the Guard on duty, and Children are the Grunts.
• Boarding School Model: Father is the Head Master, Mother is the Dorm Counselor, and Children are Dutiful Students.
• Theatrical Model: Father is the Producer, and Mother is the Stage Manager.

Elements of an Ideal Home

• Structural Completeness: presence of both father and mother.
• Economic Security: capability to provide for the basic needs and wants.
• Cultural Conformity: typical family beliefs and practices.
• Moral Conformity: moral uprightness, Christian way of living.
• Physical and Psychological Normalcy: normal physical and psychological development.
• Emotional Adequacy: affection, support, love, and care between family members.
• Religious Homogeneity: both parents profess the same religion.
• Functional Adequacy: among members of the family.

Causes of Delinquency in the Family

• Faulty development of the child.
• Lack of parental guidance.
• Parental rejection.
• Broken homes.
• Lack of love.
• Unfair treatment.
• Too harsh or too lenient discipline.
• Unfavorable parental example.
• Family disruption due to migration.
• Marital discord or family problems.
• Nuclear family versus extended family.
• Single parenthood.
• Lack of guidance leading to joining bad company or gangs.

School

• A public instrument for training young people.
• Considered the second home of a child, with teachers as the second parents.
• Responsible for the training of a young person's intellectual, moral, and social skills.

Instances of Deviant Conduct Attributed to School Inadequacy

• Failure of teachers to detect and address problems of children.
• Poor academic atmosphere.
• Membership in school gangs or friendships with the wrong crowd.
• Lack of facilities for curricular and extra-curricular activities.
• Failure of teachers in character development of students.
• Failure to finish school, resulting in out-of-school youths with a lot of time to waste.

Environment

• The place where the child grows up, the people around him, and the conditions both physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental.
• The culture, norms, and behavior of the child's surroundings may influence the upbringing of the child.
• Environmental influence can lead to behavior modification, such as:
  • Rampant drug addiction.
  • Vices such as gambling and drinking.
  • Association with criminal groups or gangs.
  • Exposure to sex and violence in media.

Poverty

• Jobless people are poor, making them susceptible to crime commission.
• Poverty reflects on the children of poor families, whose physical and health welfare are being set aside, giving more priority to food.

Mass Media

• Sources of education, as great or even greater than traditional institutions.
• Influences the lives of children, with a focus on the values being taught and the images of adult social roles.
• Can lead to violent behavior, especially when advertising targets youth.

Police

• The first line of defense against crime.
• Must work closely with other components of the criminal justice system.
• Important for police-juvenile relations, as it helps prevent delinquency.

Peers, Companions, and Juvenile Gangs

• These groups interact with the youth in a positive and negative way.
• Negative outcome of a relationship can lead to problems, practically derived from different values, personality structures, and emotional composition of people around the youth.
• Group behavior continues to be a source of delinquent acts.

Religion

• Inculcates a set of moral beliefs that lead to socially approved behavior.
• Becomes a causative factor in juvenile delinquency when its traditional role in prevention fails.
• Religious leaders must take an active part in the problem of delinquency behavior among the youth.

Other Factors

• Unemployment.
• Emotional Immaturity.
• Too Much Ego.
• Psychopath Personality.### Legal Separation and Annulment
• Legal separation: separation from bed and board, but marriage remains valid
• Annulment: marriage is null and void, never existed in the first place

General Grounds or Conditions for Annulment

• Polygamy: marrying someone already married
• Forced Consent: marrying under duress or threat
• Fraud: marrying based on lies or misrepresentation
• Incest: marrying within familial relationships
• Mental Illness: spouse was mentally ill or emotionally disturbed at time of marriage
• Mental Incapacity: spouse was under influence of alcohol or drugs and unable to give informed consent
• Inability to Consummate Marriage: spouse was physically incapable of having sexual relations
• Underage Marriage: marrying without parental consent or court approval

Divorce

• Two types: No-Fault Divorce and Fault-Based Divorce
• No-Fault Divorce: grounds include irreconcilable differences, irreparable breakdown, and loss of affection
• Fault-Based Divorce: grounds include adultery, abandonment, domestic violence, and drug/alcohol abuse

Parental Authority

• Patria Potestas: sum of rights of parents over their children
• Joint Parental Authority: exercised by both father and mother, with father's decision prevailing in case of disagreement
• Substitute Parental Authority: exercised by grandparents, oldest brother/sister, or relative with actual custody
• Special Parental Authority (Loco Parentis): exercised by teachers, principals, or head of schools

Classification of Children

• Legitimate: born inside marriage
• Illegitimate: born outside marriage
• Legitimated: illegitimate child raised to legitimacy through subsequent marriage
• Adopted: person who becomes a legitimate child through a juridical act of adoption

Child and Youth Welfare Services

• Child Caring Institution: 24-hour resident care for physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being
• Detention Home: short-term resident care for youthful offenders
• Shelter Care: temporary protection and care for children requiring emergency reception
• Receiving Home: family-type home providing shelter for observation and study for eventual placement
• Nursery: care for children below 6 years old for all or part of a 24-hour day
• Maternity Home: care for pregnant women and their infants before, during, and after delivery
• Rehabilitation Center: rehabilitation for youthful offenders
• Reception and Study Center: study, diagnosis, and temporary treatment of children with behavioral problems
• Child Placing Agency: assumes care, custody, protection, and maintenance of children for placement in child caring institutions

Special Classification of Children

• Foundling: baby left by parents
• Dependent Child: one who is without a parent, guardian, or custodian, or whose parents desire to be relieved of care and custody
• Abandoned Child: one who has no proper parental care or guardianship, or whose parents have deserted them for at least 6 months
• Neglected Child: one whose basic needs have been deliberately unattended or inadequately attended

Special Categories of Children

• Mentally Retarded Children: socially incompetent, occupationally incompetent, and unable to manage their own affairs
• Mentally Ill Children: require professional help and hospitalization
• Emotionally Disturbed Children: require professional help and hospitalization
• Physically Handicapped Children: crippled, deaf-mute, blind, etc.

Classes of Mental Deficiency

• Idiots: severely mentally defective, unable to guard themselves against common physical dangers
• Imbeciles: moderately mentally defective, unable to manage themselves or their affairs
• Feeble-Minded: mildly mentally defective, requiring care, supervision, and control
• Moral Defectiveness: defect coupled with strong vicious or criminal propensities