Juvenile delinquency

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Introduction:
Delinquency is the criminal behavior usually of young people and juvenile is connected
with young persons who are not yet adults. Officially, juvenile delinquency consists of
misbehavior by children and adolescents that leads to referral to the juvenile court. The
general notion of children as a “protected species” is a relatively contemporary fact that
developed nearly in the second half of the eighteenth century. The development of child
psychiatry has shown the importance of certain childhood disorders in causing minor
emotional distress or disorders of conduct, which affect the community. The delayed
advancement of it may be delineated not only in economical entanglement but also in
social typical one. In by-gone days children were, to a large extent, treated as
absolutely miniature adults and an obvious notion was formed of their unusual
requirements and phase of intelligence was not deemed to be requisite indeed.
When it acknowledged that those who were young enough were not capable of criminal
decline, then maturity was settled at seven years of age. Those who were older were
generally considered absolutely answerable for their activities with some extent of
acknowledgement of alleviating factors, for example, insufficient paternal restrain or
different surrounding agents. A different margin was delineated between child and adult
merely where it was convenient for the exception to benefit from the influential classes.
The logical basis of this was that children are not absolutely, concerning the mind,
involved in their actions. The other reason behind it is that considerable juvenile
delinquencies are the factors of certain type of psychological maladjustment produced
by guardian’s incapability of giving significant fundamental requirements. Under this
type of entanglements, delinquencies ought not to be taken at face value rather it ought
to be regarded surpassing the control of the juvenile, their supposition of lawful liability
for their behavior could not be required or desired due to these factors.
The fundamental kinds of community oriented punishments comprise of probation,
residential and day-treatment programmers. These services are substitutes to
institutionalization and prevent children from entering jails and adult prisons. In the west,
this type of community orientation programmers attracted public patronage in the late
1960s and early 1970’s. These were considered as the more kind, economical and
fruitful remedies for in relation to punishment centers. In Bangladesh, this type of
community-oriented punishment does not prevail apart from a small number of
community oriented relation clubs regarding youth to bring them away from danger.
For the protection of children in Bangladesh, the laws have been enacted. But regarding
children, a very little legislative reform has been introduced in support of either the
Constitution or the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Since, the ratification
of the UNCRC and to harmonies the domestic laws in relation to each other or to the
convention no remarkable attempt has been taken. Even the rights assured by the
Constitution, which are known, as the “supreme law of the land” has not been ensured.
Despite the provision for necessary legal reform, the actual problem lies not only with
the text of the law but also with the insufficient judiciary. As a result, this does not

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deliver justice in an equitable and conscientious manner. Often the critical problems
arise regarding court proceedings, investigations and placement of children.
It is proved through the study in the juvenile justice that the number of cases refereed
by guardians in far more than the police, which are submitted at the correctional in a
child if such a disproportionate number of police refereed cases should not be
construed as indicating a decrease in juvenile criminality. As a result, the innocent child
would be turn grow up as criminal who would fail to convey his/ her innermost tender
feelings with the hope to achieve certain degree of understanding in an alien and
unfriendly adult world. Thus the approach to juvenile justice should be then beyond
“duty based” attitudes and should embark upon a “right based” orientation for the
societies in transition. Therefore, Bangladesh should likewise strive to put “rights” in the
proper perspective. This step should be taken in respect of children to provide a
conceptual framework for planning policy and programmers on the issue of juvenile
justice.
Definition and nature of juvenile delinquency:
The word ‘delinquency’ has no specific definition, nor any universally acceptable
meaning. Delinquency is a complicated as well as comprehensive term; it contains
different shades of meaning. No identical concept is found about it .Different societies
and different countries are having its different meanings. Again, the moral concept of
delinquency is quite different from its legal concept. It also assumes different meanings
in different social, cultural, religious and psychological perspectives.
It is commonly used to indicate a crime committed by a juvenile. The nature and
character of this crime are different in different societies. Any attempt to define
delinquency will give rise to a number of legal and social complications as to the age of
the delinquent and the extent of the crime committed by the delinquent himself or
herself. In a wider sense, delinquency includes any unlawful or socially unacceptable
activities done by a young person. The main crux of the problem in defining delinquency
lies in the fact that the age limit of delinquent young persons is not uniform all over the
world. Different countries are having different age limits for delinquent persons under
their own legal systems. Again, the same system of law presents different age limits,
under different legislation. Moreover, the outlook of sociologists of different countries
also various as to the nature of the crime to be termed as delinquent activity.
Delinquency includes anything done by a delinquent person in deviation of social and
legal duty. It the concept of delinquency is considered party as a legal and partly as a
social matter, it becomes relatively easier to expound it in a nearly convincing form. Law
decides the age of the delinquent and the nature of the unlawful activity, while the social
norms will determine social values of it. Keeping this view in mind Dr. Abdul Hakim
Sarker says: “The modern concept of delinquency … is the product of legal philosophy
distinguishing a youthful offender from a criminal one.” In this connection, Dr. Habibur
Rahman delivered the idea in an interview with the reporter of the Weekly Bichitra, Mr.

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Mizanur Rahman Khan. He says there, the concept of delinquency is moment, he may
be identified as an adult criminal. Virtually, the difference of age is primarily considered
as the distinguishing factor between a juvenile delinquent and a criminal.
Age and Delinquency:
In Bangladesh, different legislation’s provide different age limits of delinquents. But
all of them are within 12 and 18 years of age. The Bengal Children Act, 1922 which was
repealed but marked the age of juvenile delinquent between 14 and 16 years. The
Children Act, 1974 has defined “Child”, “adult” and “youthful offender” in the Section
2(a) and 2(f) respectively. in this Act, any person who is under 16 years of age is
considered a child, and a person who is not a child is a adult. A child who is found to
have committed crime is a youthful offender. Again, in Sections 82 and 83, the Penal
Code, 1860 any person under 12 years of age is recognized a child. So it may be said
that if a child exceeds 12 years of age he may also be called a child. The age limit of
“child”, “adolescent” and “juvenile”, as provided under different legislation’s are shown in
the following.
Although it appears strange, it is fact that in most of the Acts nothing specific is
found about the age of a juvenile delinquent in Bangladesh. According to Section 82,
the Penal Code, 1860 no criminal act of a child under 7 years of age will be considered
an offence. Moreover, under Section 83 of this Code, nothing committed by a child
above 7 years and under 12 years of age will be considered an offence. But if he is
matured enough to understand the nature and consequence of his conduct at the time
of commission he will be regarded as a delinquent child. On the other hand, in Section
2(f), the Children Act, 1974 any person under 16 years of age has been defined as
child. At this time if he is sent to the custody of jail or correctional centre for his
delinquency he will be called child. Whereas in the Penal Code, 1860 it is mentioned
that a child or delinquent has to go through the Juvenile Court. It is also said that the
court has no authority to judge on other matter excluding the children of that age limit.
So it is evident that the two words ‘child’ and ‘juvenile’ are of the same meaning.
Therefore, any child from 7 years to under 16 years of age who commits crimes can be
called a “juvenile delinquent”.
Different is also perceptible about the age limit of delinquents in countries of Asia
and Europe. However, some data of Asian and European countries are given in the
diagram below.
Besides the above differences as regards the age of juvenile offenders, a draft of
national policy has recently been introduced for children. This draft will soon be
submitted to the cabinet for final approval. It is mentioned in this draft that juvenile boys
and girls under 18 years of age will be considered children for maintaining a similarity
with the United Nations Convention. Therefore, in this work, every boy and girl from 7
years to 18 years of age will be considered juvenile for comparative discussions of
juveniles of other countries.

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There is neither classification of juvenile delinquency separately in any regulation
of Bangladesh, nor which conducts or activities of a juvenile will be considered an
offence. The same offence may be committed both by a juvenile and a person who is
not a juvenile. But the only difference, which is made, is that one is juvenile delinquent
and the other is a general or adult criminal. Because of this difference, there may also
be difference as regards the trial procedure between these two categories. So, it may
be stated here that one of them is a crime committed by a person under the age of 18
years and the other is a crime committed by a adult person. The activities, which are
considered juvenile offences under the laws of Bangladesh, will be discussed in this
work.
In Bangladesh, juvenile delinquency may therefore be defined as an illegal and
antisocial act committed by a person between 7 years to 18 years of age. In
international perspective, it may be said that an act done by a person between 7 years
to 18 years of age of any country which neither the law, nor the social need, nor even
the moral principles prevalent among the people of that country recognized is juvenile
delinquency. In a limited sense, all illegal and antisocial activities done by a person
between the age of 7 years to 18 years are called juvenile delinquency.
Necessity of Separate Juvenile Justice:
According to Judge Thomas Edward of the juvenile Courts of Santa Clara County of
California,
“It depends on many, many circumstances. But very generally, the 14-year-old does not
have the level of maturity, thought process, decision-making, experience, or wisdom
that a 24-year-old presumably has.
Secondly, a 14-year-old is still growing, may not appreciate the consequences of that
type of behavior, and is susceptible to change, at least to a higher degree than a 24-
year-old is. . . . I think we have a real shot at trying to straighten out the 14-year-old, and
even the people who are a little bit hard-nosed in the system, such as your average
prosecutor, will sometimes grudgingly admit that, with a 14-year-old, given the proper
level of accountability and the proper types of programs to change their behavior, we
have a chance at salvaging these kids.
But with a 24-year-old, I think the whole consensus of opinion is, "You've had your
chance, you're now an adult, you've made a bad decision, you've hurt somebody,
you've done it. Now you pay the price."
According to Judge Ladoris Cordel of the same court,
“If the 14-year-old engages in criminal conduct, and it's the same kind of conduct that
the 24-year-old engages in, I don't think the response of society . . . should be to look
only at the fact that they engaged in the same behavior, so treat them both the same as
adults. That does not make any sense on its face. They have different life experiences

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that got them to that point. If the 14-year-old who got to that point can still benefit from
having some kind of services to treat this person, to help them better have a life
because they're only 14, then we ought to do it. . . .
The problem is that we're taking 14-year-olds, 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds, and we're
giving up on them. We're saying, "You've committed a crime, and we're just going to
give up on you. You're out of here; society has no use for you." We're throwing away
these kids. And I have found, in my own experience, that there are salvageable young
people who have committed some very horrible kinds of crimes, who are able to get
their lives together and be productive members of society. I think it is a mistake to just
carte blanche give up on these young people just because of the nature of the conduct,
when there is so much more that goes into why that person got there at that point in
time so young in their lives. I have had these young people come into my court charged
with committing some violent acts as serious as murder, but they had not gone into the
adult system, because it was a decision I made as a result of a fitness hearing that this
person indeed was amenable to treatment. And in some cases--not all, but in some
cases--I have been proved right. So I know that this can happen. Lives can be turned
around.”
Juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh:
Juvenile Delinquency is one of the serious problems of mass society .It is almost an
outcome of rapid urbanization and industrialization of modern times. This has almost
become a universal problem in most of the industrialized countries including India &
Bangladesh. Before proceeding further it is necessary to understand what Juvenile
Delinquency is.
Delinquency is a kind of abnormality. When an individual deviates from the course of
normal social life, his behavior is called Delinquency. When a juvenile, below an age
specified under a statute exhibits behavior which may prove to dangerous to society or
to himself he be called a Juvenile Delinquency.
The second United national Congress on the prevention of the prevention of crime and
treatment of offenders (1960) states, “By Juvenile Delinquency should be understood
the commission of an act which is committed by an adult, would be considered a crime”.
In Bangladesh we have not experienced any counter youth culture like Teds, Mods,
Rock'n'Roll, Hippy or Punk of Britain or any young gang culture of the U.S.A. outraging
moral and social concern. But the process of urbanization (which started from 1960s),
migration from village to city (which started at a large scale from 1980s), vulnerable
economic condition and impact of globalization caused social transformation, though
slow, of Bangladesh. The large joint families started to break into segments and single
parent family begun to get prominence. Economic deprivation, unemployment, poverty,
flimsy family ties, media influence and criminalized politics made a fertile ground for
increased rate of juvenile delinquency.

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There are three correctional centres in Bangladesh for rectification and rehabilitation of
juveniles. Two (one is in Tongi, and other in Jessore) for male child, and one (it is in
Kunapara) for female child. Two categories of children are kept therefirst category
constitutes of uncontrollable children and referred by parents and second category
comes to the correction centre’s after committing offences and referred by courts.
In simple words, it can be said that Juvenile Delinquency is a type of abnormal or anti-
social behavior by a juvenile who is below an age specified by statue. Each country has
its own precise definition of the age range covered by the world juvenile. India &
Bangladesh it is 16 years up
Juvenile courts:
A juvenile court (or young offender's court) is a tribunal having special authority to try
and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not
attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, crimes committed by
children and minors are treated differently to the same crimes committed by adults.
Severe offenses, such as murder and gang-related acts, in 44 states of the USA are
treated the same as crimes committed by adults. It was reported in 2007 that "Beginning
around 35 years ago, increases in violent juvenile crime permitted judges to transfer
juveniles to adult-criminal courts. No national data exist on the number of juvenile
offenders prosecuted as adults. The main difference between a juvenile court and an
adult court in England is that the juvenile court has a much wider jurisdiction in terms of
the offenses it can try. It can deal with a juvenile for any offense except homicide,
although it is not bound to deal with a young person for a serious offense such as
robbery or rape; on such a charge he can be committed to the Crown Court for trial in
the same manner as an adult."
In Bangladesh the government may, by notification in the official gazette, establish one
or more juvenile courts for any local area and absence of juvenile courts the following
Courts shall be empowered to work as Juvenile Court:
1. The High Court division,
2. Sessions Court,
3. Additional Sessions Court,
4. Sub-Divisional Magistrate,
5. First Class Magistrate

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Juvenile Courts have the following powers:
1. It shall have power to try any case in which a child is charged with the commission
of an offence.
2. It shall deal with or dispose of any other proceeding under this act.
These courts can try all cases originally or on appeal or in revision.A juvenile court can
try all cases in which a child is charged with the commission of an offence, but shall not
have power to try any case in which an adult is charged with any offence mentioned in
part VI of this Act. No child shall be charged with, or tied for, any offence together with
an adult.
Trial Procedure for juvenile Delinquents:
Children Act forbids joint trial of a juvenile and an adult. Where any criminal court found
any juvenile charged for any offence with adult person, it shall try the juvenile
separately. Though under section 239 0f Criminal Procedure Code joint charges of the
persons accused in the same transaction is allowed, section 6 of Children Act shall be
an exception in this regard. If any court fails to comply with this section and tries any
juvenile along with adult persons, it shall be the violation of Children Act and also
beyond his jurisdiction. In shiplu and another v. state, High Court Division declared the
judgment of lower court in this ground. In a case where at the time of commission of the
offence a person was child but at the time of trial he exceeds 16 years of age, trial along
with adult shall be valid. Though Children Act is silent in this matter, the issue is settled
by the High Court Division in Bimal Das v. State where Court observed:
“……..the age referred to in the section relates to the age when he is charged with or
tied for and not to the age when the offence has been committed.”
In the trial of a case in which a child is charged with an offence, court shall sit in a
building, or a room different from that in which the ordinary sittings of the court are held,
or on different days, or at different times from those at which the ordinary sitting of the
court are held.
Criminal Procedure Code declares criminal court as open court.But this rule is being
relaxed for the Juvenile Court. The trial of juveniles shall be held in camera. Only people
directly involved in the case and the officers of the court can be present during the trial.
The Court may also ask people not involved in the case to withdraw.

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Juvenile Courts and Trial Procedures:
a) CRC and UN Guidelines:
The CRC (The Convention on the Rights of the Child ) states that children alleged or
accused of a law violation have the right to have the matter determined without delay by
a competent, independent and impartial authority in a fair hearing. Throughout the
proceedings, children have the right to have a parent present, and to have appropriate
legal or other assistance and must be given the opportunity to express their views and
to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceedings affecting them.
The Beijing Rules state that proceedings must be conducive to the best interests of the
juvenile and shall be conducted in an atmosphere of understanding, which shall allow
the juvenile to participate fully and to express herself or himself freely.
In addition, both the CRC and the Beijing Rules require that juveniles’ right to privacy be
respected at all stages of the criminal proceedings in order to avoid harm being caused
to them through publicity or by the process of labeling. No information that may lead to
the identification of a juvenile shall be published.
b) Relevant Provisions in Bangladesh:
Establishment- A specialized Juvenile Courts or to designate a Court of Sessions or
Judicial Magistrate to exercise the power of the Juvenile Court. and Juvenile Justice
Board comprised of a magistrate and two social workers shall be established.
Sittings-When hearing juvenile cases, the Court should sit in a different building or
room from the ordinary court sittings, or on a different day or time of day.The Juvenile
Court must not take up any other cases on the same day as a juvenile case.
Procedure- Proceedings must be conducted in as simple a manner as possible and in
a “home-like atmosphere. When being brought before the Court, children should not be
under the close guard of a police officer, but should be permitted to sit in the company
of a relative or probation officer. Confidentiality- The proceedings must be closed to the
public and the media is prohibited from publishing any information that may identify the
child unless the Juvenile Court specifically authorizes it.No child can be tried with adult
offender.

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Punishment of Juvenile Delinquent:
According to the children Act, no child shall be sentenced to death, transportation, or
imprisonment unless the court is of the opinion that the crime committed is of so serious
nature or the child is so unruly or depraved that he can not be committed to a certified
institute, the child can be sentenced to imprisonment. A youthful offender sentenced to
imprisonment shall not be allowed to associate with the adult prisoners.
The following factors have to be taken into consideration by the court while passing any
order under the children Act.
=> the character and age of the child;
=> the circumstances in which the child is living;
=> the reports made by the probation officer; and
=> Such other matters required to be taken into consideration in the interests of the
child.
When a child is found to have committed any offence terms ‘conviction’ or sentenced
can not be used. The fact that a child has been found guilty shall not operate as a
disqualification for any office, employment or election under any law. Court may
discharge any young offender after due admonition, release on probation of good
conduct or commit a child to the care of a fit person executing a bond with or without
sureties.
The juvenile Court may appoint Probation Officers from among suitable persons in the
district, if there is no Probation Officer in its area and may appoint a Probation Officer
for a particular Juvenile. The duties of probation officer shall be supervised by the
Juvenile Court and where no court exists, the court of sessions.

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Conclusion:
It is evident that there is a definite need for the progressive orientation of policies on
juvenile justice towards decriminalization, depenalisation, diversion and de-
institutionalization of children in conflict with the law. The juvenile justice system in its
present state in Bangladesh has moved beyond the objective of public order and safety
and become more engrossed with adult perceptions and judgment of juvenile behavior.
In a society where children are denied an equitable share of socio-economic
opportunities, role of the state cannot be overstressed. The state plays a crucial role in
the promotion and protection of children's rights even when they come in conflict with
law. This responsibility of the state, recognized by the Constitution, has been formally
endorsed by Bangladesh with the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC). Although services by the state for children in Bangladesh cannot compare
with those of developed countries.
It is high time for the Government of Bangladesh to put attention on juvenile issue and
to take appropriate measures to tackle them. In this regard the govt. has to modify
existing provisions dealing with juveniles and sets up a specialized police unit and
magistrate having knowledge or training in child psychology or child welfare. Moreover it
has to establish more correctional institutes and should give emphasis on rehabilitation
of juvenile rather than punishing them. More probation officers should be appointed in
every district.
In doing so, the government can take help from the NGOs either local (Aparajoyo,
BLAST etc.) international (UNICEF) or from other donor groups.
At last we get the sunshine when the new Children Act, 2010 has been drafted which
meets many international standard mechanisms concerned with juvenile justice system.
Finally, I highly urge the Government to enact this Act as soon as possible and to
enlighten the cloudy sky of Juvenile Justice Administration. Only then, children might be
able to take the baton of prosperity from the present generation.
~The End~