Proceedings of The 4th World Conference on Research in Social Sciences
Year: 2022
DOI:
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A Study on the Profiles of Juvenile Delinquents
Sharifah Muzlia Syed Mustafa
ABSTRACT:
Juvenile delinquents are minor children aged under 18 years old who participated in illegal behavior or activities and are subjected to legal action by the court system. These youngsters often exhibit a persistent misbehavior or disobedience and come from certain background of personal and family characteristics. It is worrying as to why children at young ages become involved in crime when they should be in school and engaged in education. It is also a concern as to what shall happen to these young offenders when they come out of the system and try to integrate into the society. There is a need to determine the profiles of young offenders in order to understand the kinds of individuals who have the potentials to be involved in criminal activities at young age. Thus, this study used document analysis in order to tabulate the details of the offenders’ background such as age groups, races, gender, education level, type of offences and frequency of committing offences. It is also imperative to study the family profile such as type of caregiver, occupation, level of education, income, and types of houses they live in. The profiling of these young offenders is important so that proactive actions can be taken in projecting adolescents at risk of becoming juvenile delinquents. The data can assist authority in the development of preventive and developmental programs for youth as well as offenders so that they move forward and develop into productive and successful individuals that contribute positively in the society.
keywords: juvenile delinquents, profiles, demographic background, adolescents-at-risk.