Juvenile Delinquency (Teenage crime)

Juvenile delinquency that is also known as juvenile offending is participation in illegal behaviors by the teenagers. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles such as juvenile detention centers and courts. A Juvenile delinquent in Pakistan is treated as a common criminal that is wrong in all aspects.

However in the United States of America a juvenile delinquent is considered as immature criminal who commits an illegal act and treated not in the central jails but in the detention training centers where he or she learn to live in civilized manner to turn out to be participate in the prosperity of country.
In the recent years higher proportions of youth have experienced arrests by their early 20s than in past. Although some scholars have concluded that this may reflect more aggressive criminal justice and zero tolerance policies rather than change in youth behavior. Juvenile crimes range from status offences such as underage smoking to proper violent crimes.

Types:
Teenage crime may be divided into three categories.
 Delinquency, crimes committed by minors, which are dealt with by juvenile courts.
 Criminal behavior: crimes dealt with by the criminal justice system.
 Status offences: Offences that are only classified as such because one is minor

Reasons:

Gender Discrimination:
Juvenile delinquency occurrences by males are largely disproportionate to the rate of occurrences by females. Thus great gap between the crimes reinforce the connotations of traditional masculinity to the center of violence aggression and depression.

Parental Supervision:
Family factors may have influence on offending include the level of parental supervision particularly harsh punishment, criminal parents or siblings etc.
Peer group influence. A teenager when joins a group of smokers or of violent nature cliques with antisocial approach he might turn out to be a delinquent in the future.

Solutions:
Prevention services may include activities such as substance abuse education and treatment. Family counseling, youth mentoring, parenting education, educational support, anti child labour legislations, can open the doors to lift them out of the poverty and hunger. Education also promotes economic growth, national productivity and innovation and values of democracy and social cohesions. Prevention through education a hides the young people to interact more effectively in social contexts therefore diminishing need for delinquency.