NCJ Number
45361
Journal
QUADERNI DI CRIMINOLOGIA CLINICA Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY SEPTEMBER 1977) Pages: 281-298
Date Published
1977
Length
18 pages
Annotation
THE CONCEPT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IS EXAMINED FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; GLOBAL AND SOCIETAL CHANGES THAT AFFECT TRADITIONAL VIEWS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ARE OUTLINED, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS ARE SUGGESTED.
Abstract
HARSH WORKING CONDITIONS FOR JUVENILES IN SEVERAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WHICH WERE UNDERGOING RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT THE END OT THE NINETEENTH CENTURY PROMPTED A HUMANISTIC MOVEMENT TO PROTECT YOUTHS; THIS MOVEMENT IN TURN GAVE RISE TO THE CONCEPT OF 'JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.' WITH THE CREATION IN 1889 OF THE FIRST JUVENILE COURT IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, THE NOTION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AS A PHENOMENON SEPARATE FROM ADULT CRIMINALITY WAS GIVEN ITS FIRST PRACTICAL APPLICATION. FAMILY COURTS AND PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BUREAUS WERE INSTITUTED IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES, AND RESOLUTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF JUVENILES WERE FORMULATED. THE OPERATING PRINCIPLE AT THAT TIME WAS THAT YOUTHS WERE A SEPARATE GROUP, LIVING IN THEIR OWN WORLD AND NOT POSSESSING THE MATURITY NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THEIR ACTS; THEY WERE THEREFORE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION. THE DEFINITION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE UNITED STATE HAS NOT BEEN SET BY LAW, BUT JURISPRUDENTIAL GUIDELINES DO EXIST: MOST OF THE RELEVANT LAWS INCLUDE SCHOLASTICS ABSENTEENSIM, INCORRIGIBILITY, USE OF OBSCENE LANGUAGE, DISOBEDIENCE, CIGARETTE SMOKING, IMMORALITY OR PROMISCUITY, VAGRANCY, AND BEGGING AS BEHAVIORS CHARACTERISTIC OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. IN OTHER COUNTRIES, SUCH AS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, THERE IS A CLEAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN JUVENILES IN NEED OF PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE AND THOSE WHO HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME; 'DELINQUENT' THERE APPLIES TO WHOMEVER HAS COMMITTED AN ACT THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A CRIME IF COMMITTED BY AN ADULT. THE GROWING ROLE OF YOUTH IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY MAKES THE TRADITIONAL SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEW OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY OBSOLETE. DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES MUST THEREFORE ALTER THEIR PENAL SYSTEMS TO SUBJECT EACH PERSON TO A PROCESS OF INDIVIDUALIZATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SOCIOPOLITICAL EXPECTATIONS, I.E., TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY INTERESTS AND AIMS. SUMMARIES ARE PROVIDED IN ITALIAN, FRENCH, ENGLISH, SPANISH, AND GERMAN, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS INCLUDED. --IN ITALIAN. (DAS)