J. S. Asian Stud. 07 (03) 2019. 109-118 DOI: 10.33687/jsas.007.03.3097
109
Available Online at EScience Press
Journal of South Asian Studies
ISSN: 2307-4000 (Online), 2308-7846 (Print)
https://esciencepress.net/journals/JSAS
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, ITS CAUSES AND JUSTICE SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH: A
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Kudrat-E-Khuda
Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
*Corresponding Author Email ID: kekbabu.law@diu.edu.bd
A B S T R A C T
Juvenile delinquency and crime are legal definitions rather than specific behavioural or psychiatric syndromes. Since
common law is based on theological law, society has historically responded to juvenile delinquency and crime based
on moral and religious beliefs regarding the age at which juveniles are criminally responsible rather than from
scientific knowledge. Research shows, there is a high percentage of offending among all teenagers, the majority of
offences which violate the law are one time occurrences and most often non-violent. Only about 5-10% of adolescents
commit violent crimes. This article aims to show how juvenile delinquency is normally belongs to the illiterate and
sometimes with low-income families in Bangladesh and how it is impacting negatively on their frequently engage in
juvenile crimes. The article also focuses on the juvenile justice system of Bangladesh and provides few
recommendations to prevent the juvenile delinquency from society and to more develop its justice system.
Keywords: Juvenile delinquency, Crime theories, Trial procedure, Probation, Rehabilitation.
INTRODUCTION
Juveniles are the most significant segment not only in
Bangladesh but also to the global society. They are
regarded as the leaders of tomorrow, so when they are
treated well in a bonafide way, in a manner that even the
society will feel comfortable for the betterment of future
generation. While if the society fails to accommodate
them and give them such care, sometimes when they feel
segregated, they react sharply to any antisocial activity
in the sense that they stand for their own right. Indeed,
lack of parental attention, scarcity of basic needs and any
other social feelings of unhappiness, worry and
disappointment that they might experience at their
tender age touches them so deeply. Many of them cannot
cope with the abnormal situation. They respond to social
anomalies in ways that are not approved by social norms
and law. At times the elderly one’s who are well
experienced in crimes misguides the young folks by
forming them a gang in order to commit the type of
crime they want either individually or collectively
(Goodhart, 1953: 65).
Some of them use to choose berated life pattern by
developing juveniles sub-culture to exhibit their
resistance that injustice has been done to them. Juvenile
delinquency cannot be considered by keeping it apart
from social reality. Social segregation by the society
increase of juvenile delinquency, the emergence of
juvenile, sub-culture and suggesting that the juvenile has
been subjected to malnourishment. If the dominant
culture of society fails to accommodate all the children
sufficiently, the deprived young folks will stand up with
their sub-culture. Moreover, the problem of juvenile
delinquency is becoming more complicated in nowadays
in Bangladesh context along with other countries, and
universal delinquency crime behavioural programs
prevention are either unequipped to deal with the
present realities or do not exist at all (Khan & Rahman,
2008: p. iii).
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objectives of this study are to identify the
causes of juvenile delinquency in the Bangladesh context
along with the justice system of it. Another aim of the
study is to alleviate or abolished the frequent juvenile
delinquency in Bangladesh, by providing some
recommendations and by joining hands together of
parents as well as the government. Besides, this study
J. S. Asian Stud. 07 (03) 2019. 109-118 DOI: 10.33687/jsas.007.03.3097
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has few other objectives which are as follows.
• To identify the socio-demographic characteristics of
the delinquency.
• To find out the behaviours of juveniles along with
the types of delinquency.
• To know different types of theories related to
juvenile delinquency.
• To assess the attitude on juveniles among the
delinquency and impacts to the Bangladeshi society.
• To alleviate the frequent happening of juvenile
delinquency.
• To assess the association between socio–
demographic characteristics and juvenile
delinquency and its impact on Bangladesh.
METHODOLOGY
Information has been collected both from primary and
secondary sources. But most of the information has been
collected from an enormous number of websites, law
books, law journals, Acts, law dictionaries and legal
encyclopedia relating to juvenile delinquency under the
Bangladesh perspective. In this research, the researcher
mainly focuses on the law related to juvenile
delinquency with its causes and the juvenile justice
system in Bangladesh perspective. Regarding data
collection and analysis, the present study followed both
quantitative and qualitative method. An extensive
survey of adopted for the purpose of this study is the
doctrinal method of research.
Meaning of Juvenile Delinquency: Juvenile
delinquency, known as juvenile offending, or youth
crime, who is participation in illegal behaviour by
juveniles, most legal systems prescribe specific
procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile
detention centers, and courts. A juvenile delinquent is a
person who is typically under the age of 18 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 offence committed, persons under 18 can
be charged and tried as adults. Moreover, we can also
consider the juvenile delinquency as a blameworthy
child, blameworthy minor, culpable youth, derelict
adolescent, derelict inexperienced person, derelict
junior, immature youngster, misbehaving teenager,
miscreant, misguided teen, misguided young person,
neglectful fledgling, offending immature person, violator
underage, young wrongdoer (Eadie & Morley, 2007:
545).
TYPES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
Juvenile delinquency, or offending, can be separated into
three categories:
delinquency, crimes committed by minors which are
dealt with by the juvenile courts and justice system;
• criminal behaviour, crimes dealt with by the
criminal justice system, and
• Status offences, offences which are only classified as
such because one is a minor, such as truancy, also
dealt with by the juvenile courts.
According to the developmental research of Moffitt, two
different types of offenders emerge in adolescence
(Moffitt, 2018:78). One is the repeat offender, referred to
as the life-course-persistent offender, who begins
offending or showing antisocial/aggressive behaviour in
adolescence (or even childhood) and continues into
adulthood; and the age-specific offender, referred to as
the adolescence-limited offender, for whom juvenile
offending or delinquency begins and ends during their
period of adolescence.
FEATURES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN
BANGLADESH
Usually, the nature and extent of juvenile delinquency in
Bangladesh are like any other society, it depends on the
socio-economic reality of the child. The children of
Bangladesh involved themselves in different types of
deviances, which are murder, stealing, pickpocketing,
truancy, fighting, fraud, sexual perversion and so on
(Alam, XVII. Verses. 1-19). Normally children brought up
in a poor family environment who have problematic
personality traits are found to engage in burglary, rape,
smoking and any other delinquent behaviour. In rural
areas, delinquent activities are associated with poverty
and illiteracy upon the parents in the village. In
independent of Bangladesh, the frequency of juvenile
offence has risen with the increase of population (Massey,
2001: 170). The socio-cultural and economic changes
took place in the context of growing industrialization,
urbanization in global and national media influence; the
process of urbanization has affected the family life in
Bangladesh, causing the breakdown of family
reputations and the subsequent growth of social
disorganization, which has worsened the juvenile
delinquency situation in Bangladesh.
WHO IS DELINQUENT?
Juvenile delinquents are those offenders including boys
and girls who are normally under 16 years of age (The
Children Act,1974). Though some laws say juvenile
delinquents are those teens who are under 18 years of
age, both ages are serves as the same purpose.
J. S. Asian Stud. 07 (03) 2019. 109-118 DOI: 10.33687/jsas.007.03.3097
A juvenile delinquent is a young person incorrigible, or
habitually disobedient (The Penal Code, 1860). Acts of
delinquency may include:
1. Running away from home without the permission of
parents,
2. Habitual truancy beyond the control of parents,
3. Spending time idly beyond limits,
4. Use of vulgar languages,
5. Wandering about railroads, streets, marketplaces,
6. Visiting gambling centers,
7. Committing sexual offences,
8. Shoplifting and stealing etc.
MAIN CAUSES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
(i) Family environment and peer influence
Family factors which may have an influence on offending
include the level of parental supervision, the way
parents discipline a child, particularly harsh
punishment, parental conflict or separation, criminal
parents or siblings, parental abuse or neglect, and the
quality of the parent-child relationship. Children brought
up by lone parents are more likely to start offending
than those who live with two natural parents. It is also
aggressive, to antisocial personality disorder, often
diagnosed among psychopaths. A conduct disorder can
develop during childhood and then manifest itself during
adolescence. Juvenile delinquents who have recurring
encounters with the criminal justice system, or in other
words those who are life-course-persistent offenders,
are sometimes diagnosed with conduct disorders
because they show a continuous disregard for their own
and others safety and/or property.
CURRENT TRENDS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
The present situation with regard to juvenile
delinquency and crime can categorize by the following
basic facts and trends:
• There has been an observed increase in violent and
aggravated crimes among youth.
• The number of drug-related crimes is growing
(Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic’s Report, 2019).
• The process of globalization and the greater
mobility of large population groups have led to an
increase in criminal activity associated with
intolerance towards members of the cultures.
• The difficulties encountered by immigrants and
their descendants in certain are sometimes related
