Juvenile Offender

DefinitionHistory Causes Case

Role of Forensic

Psychologist

Islamic Point of

view

Juvenile Delinquent

• A person who is under age (usually below 18), who is found to have committed a crime in states which have declared by law that a minor lacks responsibility

HISTORY

• Juvenile crime was a concern before the beginning of the nineteenth century

• The first juvenile court in the United States was established in Chicago in 1899, 100 years ago.

• From the late 1810s, commentators were increasingly concerned by juvenile crime and this led to a convergence in policy by public and voluntary sectors. The ideologies of private initiatives set up to deal with juvenile crimes.

• The publication of the Report of the Committee for Investigating the Alarming Increases of Juvenile Crime in the Metropolis in 1816 was of especial importance. The Committee that produced it contained a number of Quaker social reformers who were important in the broader history of criminal justice.

CAUSES

Individual Risk

FactorsFamily

Risk Factors

School and Social

Risk Factors

Others

Media

Possession of

firearms

Substance Abuse Risk

Factors

Mental Health Risk

Factors

Individual Risk Factors

• A minor who has a lower intelligence and who

does not receive a proper education is more

prone to become involved in delinquent

conduct.

• Other risk factors include impulsive behavior,

uncontrolled aggression and an inability to

delay gratification

Family Risk Factors

• Neglect

• Family conflict

• Parenting style

• Child abuse

Mental Health Risk Factors

• A diagnosis of certain types of mental health conditions--primarily personality disorders--

• A common one is conduct disorder. Conduct disorder is defined as ;a lack of empathy and disregard for societal norm ; (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, American Psychiatric Association, 2004.)

Substance Abuse Risk Factors

• Two trends are identified in regard to substance abuse and minors.

1) First, juveniles are using more powerful drugs today than was the case as recently as 10 years ago.

2) Second, the age at which some juveniles begin using drugs is younger.

• The use of these illegal substances or the use of legal substances illegally motivates young people to commit crimes to obtain money for drugs.

Possession of firearms:

• The increased availability of guns has played a big part in escalating the number of crimes committed by juveniles.

School and Social Risk Factors

• Lower IQ

• Aggressive play with peers

• Deviant peers

Media

• Long-term childhood exposure to television is

a casual factor behind one half of the

homicides committed by juveniles in the

United States.

• Children seeing multiple murders and other

acts of violence on the television increase of

juvenile crime.

ROLE OF FORENSIC

PSYCHOLOGIST

• Assessing Risk for dangerousness

• Assessing Competency to Stand Trail-CST

• Criminal or civil proceedings-Assessing

whether a child should/can testify in court

• Assessing credibility, parental fitness, and

child abuse

• Assessing Child Abuse

• Juvenile Assessment

Assessing Risk for dangerousness

• Risk factors refer to individual attributes and

developmental experiences that are believed to

increase the probability that a person will in

persistent antisocial or delinquent behavior”.

Assessing Competency to Stand Trail-CST

• Adults are typically found CST as evidenced by a mental illness, mental defect or mental retardation.

• They may be under-development; or lack maturity, or education to understand the nature of the crime, consequences, or may not be able to communicate with their attorney due to illiteracy, maturity, age, or other developmental issue.

• This includes physical, psychological, brain, disability, endocrinological, medications being taken and maturity development. Most states' laws recognize this lack of development.”

Criminal or civil proceedings-Assessing

whether a child should/can testify in

court

• Assessing credibility, parental fitness, and

child abuse

• Assessing Child Abuse

• Juvenile Assessment

• Assessing credibility, parental fitness, and child abuse

There are a variety of factors to look at when assessing a child for credibility if called to testify. The age of the child, the developmental stage, language development, maturity, cognition, family dynamics, environment, history of abuse, personality, physical health, mental health, school performance, truancy (this is the parents responsibility to get their child to school, and is a sign of potential abuse or neglect), third party sources (e.g. police reports, school reports-if child is of school age, family members, concerned neighbors or friends, and economic factors can all have an impact on the child’s credibility of a young child’s testimony.

Assessing Child Abuse

• Detecting abuse takes skill in order to identify potential abuse among our youth. Abuse comes in many forms, physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, social, spiritual and financial.

Juvenile Assessment

• There are a variety of juvenile assessment instruments. Ackerman describes three instruments

• Standardized cognitive tests may include:

• Standardized personality tests may include.

(This instrument is used to identify psychological disorders and emotional problems in adolescents)

CASE

• Name: Muhammad Adil

• Age: 16 years

• F.I.R no: 126

• Dated: 26-2-2006

• Stage of Education: 6th class

• Place of occurrence: Rawalpindi

• Time of occurrence: 1.Pm

• Offence under section: 9C, Narcotics Act

• Brief facts of the case:

• Briefly stated that the accused Adil carrying 10 kg of

hash (charas) along with him and travelling through

Islamabad to Rawalpindi and captured at city police

station Raja Bazar.

• And learned special judge control of narcotics

substance act Rawalpindi after recording and

concluding the evidence, the trial court ordered dated

at 26-2-2008 convicted the accused person Adil under

section 9 C control of narcotics substance act 1997

and sentenced him for 14 years with the fine of one

fifty thousand rupees.

.

• According to accused Adil he stated that he

belonged to very poor family. His father is

Rickshaw driver and has 10 brother and sisters

and he is eldest one and parents strictly wanted

him to do some work for the sake of bread.

Meanwhile he met a person namely Mr.

Rashid took him with himself and introduced

Adil to gang who worked as carriers of

narcotics substance

• thoughts researcher analyses that major factors of committing of

crime economical conditions, social pressure, lack of exposure

of the society as he didn’t know what in fact is inside the bag

which he is carrying.

• His parents compel him to earn money whether he earn it legally

or unethically. Now we can say all these effects the juvenile

poorly which forces him to express anti social and delinquent

behavior.

ISLAMIC POINT OF VIEW

• Islam is the Solution

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

has showed a great exemplary behavior in

balancing the spiritual and material education

given to his children.

“The best of you are those who treat their

family the best. And I am the best amongst

you in treating my family’’