Juvenile delinquency

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Learn what governments commited to in 1995: The World Programme of Action for Youth on Juvenile Delinquency (A/RES/50/81)
G. Juvenile delinquency

86. Juvenile crime and delinquency are serious problems all over the world. Their intensity and gravity depend mostly on the social, economic and cultural conditions in each country. There is evidence, however, of an apparent world-wide increase in juvenile criminality combined with economic recession, especially in marginal sectors of urban centres. In many cases, youth offenders are "street children" who have been exposed to violence in their immediate social environment, either as observers or as victims. Their basic education, when they have it, is poor; their primary socialization from the family is too often inadequate; and their socio-economic environment is shaped by poverty and destitution. Rather than relying solely on the criminal justice system, approaches to the prevention of violence and crime should thus include measures to support equality and justice, to combat poverty and to reduce hopelessness among young people.

Proposals for action

1. Priority to preventive measures

87. Governments should give priority to issues and problems of juvenile delinquency and youth criminality, with particular attention to preventive policies and programmes. Rural areas should be provided with adequate socioeconomic opportunities and administrative services which could discourage young people from migrating to urban areas. Youth from poor urban settings should have access to specific educational, employment and leisure programmes, particularly during long school holidays. Young people who drop out of school or come from broken families should benefit from specific social programmes that help them build self-esteem and confidence conducive to responsible adulthood.

2. Prevention of violence

88. Governments and other relevant organizations, particularly youth organizations, should consider organizing information campaigns and educational and training programmes in order to sensitize youth to the personally and socially detrimental effects of violence in the family, community and society, to teach them how to communicate without violence and to promote training so that they can protect themselves and others against violence. Governments should also develop programmes to promote tolerance and better understanding among youth, with a view to eradicating contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and thereby prevent violence.

89. To prevent violence and crime, the development of social organization, particularly through youth organizations and community involvement, should be fostered by a supportive social policy and within a legal framework. Government assistance should focus on facilitating the ability of community and youth organizations to express and evaluate their needs concerning the prevention of violence and crime, to formulate and implement actions for themselves and to cooperate with each other.

3. Rehabilitation services and programmes

90. Destitution, poor living conditions, inadequate education, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment and lack of leisure-time activities are factors that marginalize young people, which makes some of them vulnerable to exploitation as well as to involvement in criminal and other deviant behaviour. If preventive measures address the very causes of criminality, rehabilitation programmes and services should be made available to those who already have a criminal history. In general, youth delinquency begins with petty offences such as robbery or violent behaviour, which can be easily traced by and corrected through institutions and community and family environments. Indeed law enforcement should be a part of rehabilitation measures. Finally, the human rights of young people who are imprisoned should be protected and principles of penal majority according to penal laws should be given great attention.

World Youth Report 2005

3. Juvenile delinquency

79. Juvenile delinquency covers a range of different violations of legal and social norms, ranging from minor offences to severe crimes committed by minors. Quite often youth take advantage of illegal opportunities and get involved in crime, substance abuse and violent acts against others, especially their peers. Statistically young people constitute the most criminally active segment of the population, although eventually most young people will desist from criminal and deviant activity.

80. Young people who live in difficult circumstances are often at risk of becoming delinquent. Poverty, dysfunctional families, substance abuse and the death of family members have been demonstrated to be risk factors for becoming delinquent. Insecurity due to an unstable social environment increases vulnerability, and young people with poorly developed social skills are less able to protect themselves against the negative influences of a peer group.

81. An overwhelming majority of those who participate in violence against young people in developed countries are about the same age and sex as their victims. In most cases the offenders are males acting in groups. Those most likely to suffer from violence are between the ages of 16 and 19.26 Police records indicate that the crime rates of juvenile and young adult male offenders are more than double those of females, and conviction rates are six or seven times higher.

82. Countries with economies in transition have witnessed a dramatic rise in delinquency rates. Since 1995, juvenile crime levels in many of these countries have increased by more than 30 per cent. Juvenile delinquency is often highly correlated with alcohol and drug abuse. In Africa, delinquency tends to be attributed primarily to hunger, poverty, malnutrition and unemployment.

83. Urban crime rates tend to be higher than those in rural areas, which may be attributable to differences in social control and cohesion. Many of the urban poor live in slums and squatter settlements with overcrowded, unhealthy housing and a lack of basic services.

84. Delinquency is largely a group phenomenon: the majority of all juvenile offences are committed by members of some form of delinquent group. Even those juveniles who commit offences alone are likely to be associated with groups. In some countries, youth gang activity grew in the 1990s as gang cultures were popularized through the media and as economic factors and a drop in economic opportunities led to an increase in poverty in urban areas. Involvement in delinquent groups works to determine the behaviour of members and cuts off individuals from conventional pursuits. The likelihood of becoming a victim of violence is much higher for gang members than it is for members of other peer groups. One study found that involvement in gang fights increased the likelihood of becoming a victim of violence by more than threefold.27

85. There is a preference for social rather than judicial approaches to dealing with young offenders in a number of United Nations instruments. The Riyadh Guidelines assert that the prevention of juvenile delinquency is an essential part of overall crime prevention in society, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules) recommend instituting positive measures to strengthen a juvenile's overall well-being and reduce the need for State intervention.28 It is widely believed that early phase intervention represents the best approach to preventing juvenile delinquency, and the prevention of recurring crime is best achieved through restorative justice.

86. A spectrum of policy options is available to address juvenile delinquency and crime from two opposing viewpoints, either to “deter and incapacitate” or to “engage and rehabilitate” young offenders. The Beijing Rules spell out that "wherever possible, detention pending trial shall be replaced by alternative measures, such as close supervision, intensive care or placement within a family or in an educational setting or home".29 The danger of further criminal contamination while juveniles remain in detention pending trial should encourage the development of new and innovative measures to avoid such pre-trial detention. Law enforcement is not the only answer to antisocial behaviour by young people, just as purely preventive or suppressive efforts are not very effective for youth already in contact with law enforcement. There is some evidence that community-based programmes are valuable alternatives to the incarceration of youth. On the other hand, the detention of a small group of repeat offenders known to have committed the majority of registered offences does appear to have had a positive impact on crime rates.

87. Young delinquents often suffer from social and economic exclusion. There is a strong reinforcing and reciprocal link between low crime rates and social inclusion and control. Over the past 10 years, there has been an increase in effective practices that promote community safety and reduce crime in urban settings, which includes knowledge about a range of practices. Many of these programmes are effectively targeted to young people most at risk, or those living in areas of high risk and range from early childhood interventions, educational programmes, youth leadership, mediation and job and skills training to rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. To prevent violent behaviour and address delinquency, communities have to adopt strategies that combine such actions as prevention and intervention, as well as suppression.

88. Regardless of the many changes that have taken place in the composition and structure of families globally, the family, as the primary institution of socialization of youth, continues to play an important role in the prevention of juvenile delinquency and underage crime. The most effective prevention efforts focus on the families of troubled youths, including those young people with serious behavioural problems.

Footnotes:

26 See Germany, "First periodical report on crime and crime control in Germany" (Berlin, 2001).
27. See R. Loeber, L. Kalb and D. Huizinga, "Juvenile delinquency and serious injury
victimization", Juvenile Justice Bulletin (Washington, D.C., United States Department of Justice, 2001).
28. See General Assembly resolution 45/112.
29. See General Assembly resolution 40/33.