Crime & Youth: Towards Justice

Name: Qamar ul islam

Roll #: 34

Submitted To: Sir Amir ASlam

Department: Msc Criminology

Semester: 3rd
 Contents:

A. Definition Of Crime

B. Explanation Of Youth

C. Juvenile Justice

D. Juvenile Delinquency

E. What Are The Four Main Types Of Juvenile / Youth Delinquency?

F. Juvenile Justice In Pakistan

G. Analysis Of Juvenile Crime In Punjab, Pakistan

H. Causes Of Youth Crime

I. Remedies Of Youth Crime

J. Criminal Justice System In Pakistan

K. Problems In Pakistans Criminal Justice System

L. Therapy Of Problems Being Faced By Pakistans Criminal Justice System

Crime:
Crime is a violation of societal rules of behavior as interpreted and expressed by the
criminal law, which reflects public opinion, traditional values, and the viewpoint of
people currently holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these rules
are subject to sanctions by state authority, social stigma, and loss of status.

An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.

Youth:
The UN, for statistical consistency across regions, defines 'youth', as those persons between
the ages of 15 and 24 years, without prejudice to other definitions by Member States.

According to THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM ORDINANCE, 2000 child means a person who at
the time of commission of an offence has not attained the age of eighteen years.

Aforementioned age slot consists both juvenile and adolescence.

Juvenile justice can be defined as the legislations, standards, procedures, mechanisms and
institutions specifically applicable to children, in conflict with the law.

Juvenile delinquency as actions that violate the law, committed by a person who is under the
legal age of majority.

What are the Four Main Types of Juvenile / Youth Delinquency?

Delinquency exhibits a variety of styles of conduct or forms of behavior. Each of the patterns
has its own social context, the causes that are alleged to bring it about, and the forms of
prevention or treatment most often suggested as appropriate for the pattern in question.

Howard Becker (1966: 226-38) has referred to four types of delinquencies:

(a) Individual delinquency

(b) Group-supported delinquency

(c) Organized delinquency

(d) Situational delinquency

(a) Individual delinquency:

This refers to delinquency in which only one individual is involved in committing a delinquent
act and its cause is located within the individual delinquent. Most of the explanations of this
delinquent behavior come from psychiatrists.

Their argument is that delinquency is caused by psychological problems stemming primarily

from defective/faulty/pathological family interaction patterns.

Researches of Healy and Bronner, Albert Bandura and Richard Walters, Edwin Powers and
Helen Witmer, and Henry Meyer and Edgar Borgatta are based on this approach. Healy and
Bronner (1936) compared delinquent youths with their non-delinquent siblings and analyzed
the difference between them.

Their most important finding was that over 90 per cent of the delinquents compared to 13 per
cent of their non-delinquent siblings had unhappy home lives and felt discontented with their
life circumstances. The nature of unhappiness differed: some felt rejected by parents and
others felt either inferior or jealous of siblings or suffered from mental conflict.

They indulged in delinquency as a solution to these problems, as it (delinquency) either brought

attention from parents or provided support from peers or reduced their guilt feelings. Later
studies also identified important aspects of family relations leading to delinquencies.

Bandura and Walters compared the aggressive actions of white delinquents with those of non-
delinquent boys with no clear sign of economic hardship.
They found that delinquents differed from non-delinquents a little in their relationship with
their mothers but more in their relationship with their fathers.

Thus, father-son rather than mother-son relations seemed more crucial in delinquency, as
delinquent boys could not internalize moral values because of the absence of good role models
in their fathers. In addition, their discipline was also more harsh and stern.

(b) Group-supported delinquency:

In this type, delinquencies are committed in companionship with others and the cause is
located not in the personality of the individual or in the delinquent's family but in the culture of
the individual's home and neighborhood. The studies of Thrasher and Shaw and McKay talk of
this type of delinquency.

The main finding in understanding why the young became delinquent was their association and
companionship with others already delinquent. This was later put very clearly by Sutherland,
who developed the theory of differential association.

Unlike the psychogenic explanations, this set of ideas focuses on what is learnt and who it is
learnt from rather than on the problems that might produce motivation to commit
delinquencies.

(c) Organized delinquency:

This type refers to delinquencies that are committed by formally organized groups. These
delinquencies were analyzed in the United States in the 1950s and the concept of 'delinquent
subculture' was developed.

This concept refers to the set of values and norms that guide the behavior of group members
encourage the commission of delinquencies, award status on the basis of such acts and specify
typical relationships to persons who fail outside the groupings governed by group norms.

Cohen was the first person to refer to this type of delinquency. He was followed by Cloward
and Ohlin and a few others.

(d) Situational delinquency:

The above-mentioned three types of delinquencies have one thing in common. In all of them,
delinquency is viewed as having deep roots. In individual delinquency (according to the
psychogenic explanation), the roots of delinquency lie primarily within the individual; in group-
supported and organized delinquencies.

The roots (of delinquency) lie in the structure of the society with emphasis either on the
ecological areas where delinquency prevails or on the systematic way in which social structure
places some individuals in a poor position to compete for success.
Situational delinquency provides a different perspective. Here the assumption is that
delinquency is not deeply rooted, and motives for delinquency and means for controlling it are
often relatively simple.

A young man indulges in a delinquent act without having a deep commitment to delinquency
because of less developed impulse-control and/or because of weaker reinforcement of family
restraints, and because he has relatively little to lose even if caught.

David Matza is one scholar who refers to this type of delinquency. However, the concept of
situational delinquency is undeveloped and is not given much relevance in the problem of
delinquency causation. It is a supplement to rather than a replacement of other types.

Juvenile justice in Pakistan deals with crimes committed by Pakistani children. The minimum
age for criminal responsibility in Pakistan is seven years. According to a SPARC report published
in 2012 there were 1500 to 2000 juveniles (under-18 children) imprisoned in Pakistan. This
figure, however, excludes thousands of under trials whose number is unknown. one of the
reasons for the large number of children coming into conflict with the law is the low age of
criminal responsibility, which is seven years under section 82 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860
(No XLV) Additionally, section 83 of the Pakistan Penal Code says that nothing is an offense
which is done by a child above seven years of age and under the age of twelve, who has not
attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his or
her conduct on that occasion.

In July 2000, the then government under General Pervez Musharraf enacted the JSSO (Juvenile
Justice System Ordinance 2000)(No XXII),[4] according to SPARC(2001) its implementation is
incomplete.

Juveniles Prisoners in Punjab, Pakistan

UNDERTRIALS 577
CONVICTS 60
CONDEMNED 0
Grand Total 637
Note: There is no female juvenile.
Updated on January 1st, 2017

Empirical Analysis of Juvenile Crime in Punjab, Pakistan (2004)

The following stats were based on the study which was conducted at Faisalabad and
Bahawalpur Districts in Punjab Province in 2004, where two Borstal Institutions and Juvenile
Jails are located for juveniles rehabilitation. In all, 221 juvenile convicts in both jails were taken
for data collection through a well-structured and pre-tested questionnaire.

Results:
Division-wise distribution of juvenile convicts in the Punjab province

The divisional distribution of juvenile convicts is reported in the following chart. The data depict
that Bahawalpur Division has the highest (22 percent) of juvenile delinquents in the Punjab
Province followed by Multan (18 percent), Lahore (15 percent), Dera Ghazi Khan (14 percent)
and Faisalabad (13 percent). The spread of delinquency in other divisions is nominal.

48
50
45 39
40
35
32 30 28
30
25 20
20
13 11
15
10
5 22% 18% 14% 14% 13% 9% 6% 5%
0
Bahwalpur Multan Lahore Dear Ghazi Faisalabad Gujranwala Sargodha Rawalpindi
Khan

1. Crime committed by juvenile convicts in the Punjab Provinces:

The study also investigated about the nature of crimes committed by convicts. Majority of the
respondents i.e. 70.6 percent were involved in murder cases whereas, 4.5 percent were
involved in theft, dacoity or pick pocket cases. Another 4.5 percent respondents were involved
in kidnapping, while 14.5 percent and 3.2 percent were involved in Zina and narcotics activities,
respectively.
156
160
140
120
100
80
60
32
40
71% 10 10 5% 7 3% 6 3%
20 14% 5%
0
Murder
Zina + prohibition + abduction
Theft + dacoity
& rape+ Pickpocket
Kidnapping Narcotics *Any other

* Smuggling, car snatch, criminal assault etc

3. Reasons for committing crime by juvenile convicts in the Punjab Province:

Majority of the respondents committed crimes in retaliations to some social or individual

injustice. Poverty or lack of resources forced 10 percent of the respondents to commit crime,
whereas 3.2, 10.9, 2.3, 19.0, 4.1, 12.2, 3.2, 1.4, and 10 percent of the respondents committed
crimes due to personal aspiration, pressure of associates, fulfill the dream of becoming rich
over right, land disputes, provocation, accidental, self defense, drug addiction and sexual lust,
respectively.

60
53

50
42
40

30 27
24
22 22
20

9
10 7 7
5
3
24% 19% 12% 11% 10% 10% 4% 3% 3% 2% 1%
0
Retaliation Land Accidental Pressure of Poverty Sexual lust Provocation Fulfill own Self Become Drug
dispute pears / need defense rich over addiction
Associates night

Causes of Youth Crime

There is no single root cause of crime. Crime is primarily the outcome of multiple adverse
social, economic, cultural and family conditions. To prevent crime it is important to have an
understanding of its roots. Causes of crime differ from country to country because of different
cultural, economic and social characteristics.

The causes of crime are primarily related to:

Economic Situation

Social Environment

Family Structures
 1. Economic Situation

The major economic factors that contribute to the crime initiations are Poverty, Unemployment
and Political Situation.

A. Poverty and Inequality

Financial crisis due to poverty causes the person to involve in criminal activities. A poor father
may not be able to educate his children in school and lack of education may lead to criminal
thinking of a child. Homelessness causes the children to spend most of the time on streets.

B. Unemployment

Lack of employment opportunities leads to criminal activities amongst the unemployed. An

unemployed person needs to run his household by any means and when he doesnt find any
legal opportunity to earn; he may get involved in criminal activities to finance his living.

C. Political Conditions

Due to political uncertainty, sense of insecurity develops in the members of the society. The
sense in which they become hopeless of their future due to which they get involved in unfair
means of earning.

2. Social Factors

Our social structure mirrors to citizens and communities what we value and how we set
priorities. Social environment is needed to be studied with respect to different environmental
scenarios.

The core Social root causes of crime are:

1. Inequality,

2. Not sharing power,

3. Lack of support to families and neighborhoods,

4. Real or perceived inaccessibility to services,

5. Lack of leadership in communities,

6. Low value placed on children and

7. Individual wellbeing, the overexposure to television as a means of recreation.

Social environment is needed to be studied with respect to different social scenarios2. For this
purpose causes to crime from some of the core parts of the society with whom the youth
directly belong are separately explained below.

8. School Environment

Causes related to the school environment are:

Disruptive Behavior of a child:

Lack of commitment in school:

9. Community Environment

Major causes of crime related to community environment are:

Lack of cohesion in the society

Disorganization and neglect especially for Youth

Easy availability of drugs

High population turnover (Number of Children).

Corruption in the law enforcing agencies

Weak Law Enforcing Agencies

3. Family Structures

Youth whose family have one or more characteristics listed below, are more likely to be
involved in crime.

Parents are involved in crime

Poor parental supervision

Their parents neglect them, there is erratic discipline or they are treated harshly

Family income is low or they are isolated

Family conflict.

Lack of communication between children and parents.

 Lack of respect and responsibility amongst family members

Abuse and neglect of children

Family violence

Family Breakup

Remedies:

Parents education
Provision of basic needs
Family Environment
Educational and Recreational Facilities
Awareness Campaign
Professionals Training and course
Legal and social provisions
Swift Justice System

Criminal Justice System in Pakistan

Criminal Justice System is one of the most important ingredients of any society of the world.
Criminal Justice System describes the offences, punishments, procedures and ways to punish
those who break laws of the society. It is the Criminal Justice System which creates deterrence
in society. Without effective Criminal Justice System, a society or country cannot survive for
long. In todays modern world the Criminal Justice System comprises of three main institutions
i.e. Police, Prosecution and Judiciary.

Criminal Justice System in Pakistan also comprises of three basic institutions i.e. Police,
Prosecution and Judiciary. Before 2007, there were only two institutions in Criminal Justice
System i.e. Police and Judiciary and there was no concept of independent Prosecution
Department in Pakistan. It was only after 2007 when all Provinces established independent and
specialized Prosecution Departments. Due to its short life and other reasons, Prosecution is still
not independent and fully functional in Pakistans Criminal Justice System.
Problems in Pakistans Criminal Justice System
CJS in Pakistan is outdated
Corruption
Nonprofessional Staff
Lack of Training and courses
Facing Influence
Lack of resources
Lack of people confidence
Acquittal rate is high
Delay in Judgment

Therapy of problems being faced by Pakistans Criminal Justice System

Special courts for youth cases
Awareness campaigns
Professional training and courses
Swift Justice System
Provision of required resources
Check and balance

Crime prevention must focus on improvements in all possible areas. In order to see how can we
develop and implement the crime prevention strategies we need to identify the factors that are
actually responsible for the crime so that we can target them in our policy framework.
References:
Empirical Analysis of Juvenile Crime in Punjab,
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp
Causes of Juvenile Delinquency among Teenagers in Pakistani Context
Juvenile Justice System in Pakistan: What Works and What Doesnt by Syed Aatir
Hussain Rizvi & Muneeb A Cheema
Juvenile Delinquency World YOUTH Report, 2003
Juvenile delinquency, from Wikipedia
Youth Crime: Causes and Remedies by Muhammad Ali June 2008
http://www.pk.undp.org
Criminal Justice System in Pakistan Author: Our Guest Writer Mr. Jibran Jamshed
http://www.prisons.punjab.gov.pk/number_of_juveniles_confined_in_punjab_priso
ns