The Child in the Criminal Justice System

Paul Christopher G. Pineda

Philippine Christian University

April 2, 2019
 The Child in the Criminal Justice System

Multitude number of children worldwide suffers from violence1. In certain studies, it is

quoted that children placed in the juvenile justice system particularly those deprived of their

liberty are vulnerable to violence2. According to the United Nations International Children’s

Emergency Funds (UNICEF) it is estimated that more than one million children are presently

deprived of their liberty worldwide3.

The controversy pertaining to juveniles in criminal justice system does not particular

refer to the number of children who committed a crime but it is more centered as to whether

should or should not a child be subjected to the application of criminal laws. Internationally,

countries have adopted their own juvenile justice system, defining the criminal age of

responsibility wherein a child can be prosecuted or not. Varying opinions have been raised as to

what is the right age to be set as a standard to determine if criminal laws apply or not. Asian

countries like Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and formerly the Philippines have set a lower

age of criminal responsibility4. In these Asian countries a child can be prosecuted or is not

exempt in criminal prosecution if they are aged as young as seven years old. However,

Philippines through legislative enactment raised the age of criminal responsibility from nine (9)

to fifteen (15) years of age5. This is almost the same as the United States Juvenile Criminal

system where majority of the States’ standard is as young as fifteen to seventeen years of age.

Other states have their own legislations how to deal with child offender while others exempt

children aged seventeen (17) regardless of the crime committed6.

To widen the understanding of the current situation of treating young generations in the

child welfare and justice system at present, it is essential to know the past to serve as a frame of

1
Children in the justice system need protection. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2012/January/children-in-the-justice-system-need-protection.html
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Editorial, S. (2019). How young can you be locked up in Southeast Asia?. Retrieved from http://sea-
globe.com/southeast-asias-minimum-age-of-criminal-responsibility/
5
Ibid
6
Ibid
reference for present-day dialogue and understanding7. Knowing the past is not only to have a

sense of history but to have a critical perspective of how juvenile justice system are treated and

how it impacts the thinking and opinions of the issues at present8.

Despite the good intentions for the care and control of child offenders, the systems that

have been conceived have struggled to address their own needs. Because of different intervening

factors these concepts and systems have evolved through the years9.

In the medieval times, the concept of children is a blur and children are considered as

miniature adults10. Even in other western countries like the United States the concept of

childhood is primarily absent. This kind of thinking was present up until the twentieth century.

Until this era, no formal, unified system for handling delinquent behavior, as such children and

youth are tried and confined as adults11. Nevertheless, juveniles were increasingly seen as less

culpable for their behaviors as well as more amenable to rehabilitative intervention. With these

new concepts, ideas spread about creating a separate justice system, away from adults, that

would focus on treatment and not punishment, and on the needs of the offender rather than the

offending behavior12.

Currently, in the Philippines there is a clamor to lower down the age of criminal

responsibility from fifteen (15) years old to twelve (12) years old where a house bill already

passed its second reading. But how do we really know if that is the right standard to set? Was it

based on scientific findings or was it a whimsical concoction of the legislative’s creative minds?

It must be noted that majority of the laws and jurisprudence in the country are product of

well researched studies that are based on empirical or factual data. This has been seen in the

decisions of the Supreme Court through the decades.

7
Kolivoski, K. M. (2012). Patterns of justice system involvement among child welfare-involved youth (Order No.
3535607). See page 25. Available from ProQuest Central. (1272368434). Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1272368434?accountid=34574
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
Id., page 26.
11
Id., page 26.
12
Ibid.
 If we are to based it on scientific findings and as pointed out by Dr. Joshua Kleifeld, the

executive functions of children and adolescences are different from adults. The term "executive

functions" refers to a variety of loosely related mental processes and behaviors that develop

gradually to enable self-regulation, problem-solving, and goal-oriented actions over increasingly

longer spans of time13. These higher-order cognitive capacities are evident in activities such as

decision making, planning, and social conduct. Executive functions interact with the more

fundamental brain processes such as arousal, visual perception, long-term memory and linguistic

functions14. There is considerable evidence that executive functions reside primarily in the

prefrontal region, which has dense reciprocal connections with other cortical, subcortical, and

cerebellar region15. Executive functioning is slow to fully develop. It emerges in late infancy,

goes through marked changes during the ages of 2 through 6, and does not peak until around age

25. Adolescents’ limited executive functions are out of sync with their emerging freedom, sense

of autonomy, intense emotions and sexual drive, failing to equip them with the reins needed to

for appropriate restraint and good judgment during this time of temptation16.

Based on these studies it can be assumed that lowering the age of criminal responsibility

and putting children in a criminal justice system is a way of abusing the children. In ascertaining

whether a child is criminally liable thorough studies on the concept and the system must be done

to create a framework that will be compromise with the factual data, rights of the children, the

rights of the victims and the governments right to exercise its police power.

13
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135-168.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
14
Miller, K. J., M.D. (2005). Executive functions. Pediatric Annals, 34(4), 310-7. Retrieved from
https://search.proquest.com/docview/217555327?accountid=34574
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.