Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquencyis participation in illegal behavior by minors (juveniles, i.e. individuals younger than the statutory age of majority).^[1] Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers, and courts. A juvenile delinquent in Nigeria is a person who is typically under the age of 17 and commits an act that otherwise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for persons under 18 to be charged and tried as adults.

In recent years a higher proportion of youth have experienced arrests by their early 20s than in the past, although some scholars have concluded this may reflect more aggressive criminal justice and zero-tolerance policies rather than changes in youth behavior. Juvenile crimes can range from status offenses (such as underage smoking), to property crimes and violent crimes. Youth violence rates in the United States have dropped to approximately 12% of peak rates in 1993 according to official US government statistics, suggesting that most juvenile offending is non-violent However, juvenile offending can be considered normative adolescent behavior. This is because most teens tend to offend by committing non-violent crimes, only once or a few times, and only during adolescence. Repeated and/or violent offending is likely to lead to later and more violent offenses. When this happens, the offender often displayed antisocial behavior even before reaching adolescence

Juvenile delinquency occurrences by males are largely disproportionate to the rate of occurrences by females. This great gap between the crimes reinforce the connotations of traditional masculinity to be the center of violence, aggression, and competition. This is largely based on the notion that as males, it is their duty to take what they feel they deserve through these means to define themselves and play the role of provider and independent figure. These societal conditions are infringed by male peers, asserting the notion that the Panoptic that Jeremy Bentham described as an ideal self-regulation prison both literally and figuratively mimics the actions of male delinquents. However, these delinquencies are not as prevalent in females in that they are expected to be more docile individuals and rely solely more on dependent characters, alleviating them from the need of committing delinquencies. Because aggression is not a desired characteristic, it has caused more commotion when females perform crimes that are often attributed to males. The acts of delinquency begin with the juvenile’s expectations of their perceived roles through the direction of adults of both genders. Sandra Lee Bartky expresses these claims thoroughly in her work Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power by examining close observation of diction, action, and decorum. Boys learn to take as much space as possible when sitting, dress appropriately to stand out, and speak more demanding to assert his position and gain respect from fellow male peers. This expectation of leadership rarely enforced through peers largely dictates that delinquencies arise when male feel that they cannot assert or claim such respect through legal and practical means, thus enforcing violence is merely extenuating a desired trait to gain such position. Thus, delinquent behavior is expressed as an outlet especially to those of lower socioeconomic backgrounds that cannot gain precedence through conventional means. Gender role for females is to become more unnoticeable, a follower that does not need to stand out. Because of their condition to be more docile and dependent, the instinctive need to gain precedence is not as highly valued. Even respect comes in the form of different terms, as it is through how appropriately she conducts herself that seems innocent. This is also influenced by fellow peers such as mothers and other female figures apart from the authoritative male figure. In this instance, there is no need to urge to commit delinquency as the female is expected to rely on the male for his expected role as provider. It is through the act of needing to become dependent that enforces the feminine characteristics to seem as an alternative to delinquency. In fact, it has been largely stated that while masculinity induces such violent behavior, femininity is seen as the antithesis to delinquence.

-AMOS AWINI PATIENCE

KUW/U14/SLG/2031