Juvenile Delinquency In Africa

Delinquency is a type of deviation. When an individual deviates from the course of usual social life, his behaviour is called “delinquency”. When a juvenile, below an age specified under a statute exhibits behaviour which may prove to be hazardous to society and to him he may be called a “juvenile delinquent”. Each nation has its own specific definition of the age range covered by the word “juvenile” .

In new era juvenile delinquency is becoming a global problem. As per Schwartz and Johnson, the term delinquency is used for the juvenile (usually under the age of 18) who has committed an act that would be considered illegal for an adult. They have classified the adults into five groups according to the type of offence.

The offences are-

1) Minor violations (including disorderly conduct and minor traffic violations)

2) Major traffic violations (including automobile theft)

3) Property violations

4) Addiction (including alcoholism and drug addiction)

5) Bodily harm (including homicide and rape)

As per Ryane and Redding, juvenile delinquents showed more depression .

According to Barringa etal, “delinquents

These factors are the result of marginalisation of juveniles in the already severely disadvantaged sections of society. Rapid population growth has been experienced in Africa, and the population seems to be getting correspondingly younger over time. This is coupled with the fact that few new jobs are developed in Africa, which has resulted in half of all families living in poverty. Many of the urban poor live in slum and squatter settlements with unhealthy housing. One of the most serious problems is the great number of street and orphaned children, whose numbers have been growing as a result of continuous and multiple armed conflicts, the advent of HIV/AIDS, and the breakdown of the traditional tribal culture and family influence on