november 2013 full text issn:0976-3759

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK November 2013Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK November 2013

ISSN: 0976-3759 ISSN: 0976-3759Volume X Issue 6



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C o n t e n t sVolume X Issue 6 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 3 Page

Focus: Status Offences

Honorary special editor:Dr Latha S, Asst. Professor and HeadSchool of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Tamil Nadu Open UniversityChennai 600 015

Editorial Dr Latha S 02

Status Offences by Children:An Overview Asha Mukundan K P 03Truency Prevention Programme Sundaravalli T 08

Impact of Cyberbullying among School Children Sowmya K 13Legal Aspects of Status Offenders

Geni Philipose 18



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Editorial Youth Trouble or Youth-in-Trouble?The alarming trend in the increase

of deviant behaviour among childrenin India and other countries isshocking, to say the least. Childrenplay truant, run away from home, skipschool, bully, smoke, drink alcohol ,abuse drugs, defy authority andexhibit disorderly conduct. All these inisolation or combination cannot beconsidered as crimes in the adultworld. But these are considered asoffences and as violations onlybecause of the status of the youth asa minor. These are status offencebehaviours.

Sociologists attribute it to brokenhomes and traumatic childhoodexperiences. Psychiatrists considermental illnesses or the precursors tomental illness as the underlyingcause. Society looks at the innocenceof childhood. Law enforcers feel thatthese offenders are incorrigiblepsychopaths. Doctors attribute to thestress of modern living andpsychologists point at the earlychildhod traumas. Parents blame themedia for corrupting the minds of theyouth with sustained justification ofviolence. Researchers say suchchildren come mostly fromeconomically weaker section of thesociety but Law is firm and does notabsolve them of their civil liabilities.

Society’s sympathy for the statusoffenders, the psychiatrists’ mentalhealth model, the law enforcers’theory of incorrigibility andsociologists‘ broken home conceptscannot restrain the State’sresponsibility for public safety,prevention of the child from becominga full-blown criminal later and furtherfragmentation of broken homes byinstitutionalizing the child. Hence, theState treats the status offender as achild in conflict with the Law, in needof supervision, service and care andtakes upon itself the role of preservingthe family system, preventing the childfrom further deterioration andensuring the public safety.

In addition the change in parentingpattern and stressors in schools alsotake heavy toll on children to becomestatus offenders. It is time to thinkseriously on the issue of increasingfrequency and severity of statusoffences. These children are stillgrowing into maturity and are morevulnerable than adults to negativepeer pressure. They need care,treatment and services to remedy theunderlying causes of their behaviour.The troubled child should be salvagedfrom becoming troublesome youth.There is a definite need for redefiningvarious laws and norms too.

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Introduction:Status offences are globally

understood as acts of omission orcommission that are deemedoffences under the law of thejurisdiction in which the offence wascommitted, when committed byminors, because of their age at thetime of the omission or commissionof the act. Some of the actions thatare labelled as ‘status offences’ in theglobal context are sexual behaviour,consumption of alcohol, running awayor leaving home, truancy, ‘uncontrollable’ or incorrigiblebehaviour and curfew violations. It isobvious that status offences are non-criminal misbehaviours which areillegal only for minors. Hence therewas a movement to divert such casesfrom the juvenile justice system toagencies outside the juvenile court’sjurisdiction because many legislatorsfelt that status offences were minor interms of the crime committed, andjuveniles were better off having theirfamilies or some other agency dealwith the matter than being formallyprocessed by the justice systemwhich, it was apprehended, lead tolabelling and further delinquent acts,negating the purpose of rehabilitation.

Classfication of children:In this context, juveniles who were

adjudicated for status offences wereoften classified as children in need ofsupervision (CHINS), persons in needof supervision (PINS), minors in needof supervision (MINS), juveniles inneed of services (JINS), child in needof assistance (CINA), families in needof services (FINS), and so on. Therewere also a few states (in US) whichclassified some or all of thesebehaviours as a child protectiveservice issue implying that the youthis neglected or abused by virtue of hisbehaviour(s) and there is a need tocreate a new social or probationservice for these children.

Indian scenario:Status offences in the Indian

context are not much researchedwritten or heard about. The examplesof running away from home andtruancy, alleged uncontrollable orincorrigible behaviour, andconsumption of alcohol as understoodin the global scenario are not seen asstatus offences in the Indian context.These children are treated as childrenin need of care and protection underthe Juvenile Justice Act. There areno official statistics available in India

Status Offences by Children: An OverviewAsha Mukundan K P*

* Asha Mukundan K P, Assistant Professor, Centre for Criminology and Justice,School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.



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to support any claim with respect tostatus offences.

Given this reality, this article isbased on engaging with working withthe juveniles in conflict with lawthrough the research on ‘The Statusof the Justice Delivery System forJuveniles in Conflict with Law’ and afield action project ‘Resource Cell forJuvenile Justice’ of the Centre forCriminology and Justice, School ofSocial Work, TISS.

Types of status offences:The basis for status offences

stems from the legal theory of parenspatriae, in which the State recognisesthat there are certain offences that areharmful to minors, and the courts needto protect minors from such activities.Given this as the prime mandate, inthe Indian context, one can identifytwo types of status offences. The firstkind is status offences which are thoseactions which if committed by an adultis not an offence but if committed bya child is an offence, while the secondkind are actions which if committed bya child is not an offence but ifcommitted by an adult is an offence.There are a few offences which aredebatable and are not clearly termedas status offences because it is left tothe subjectivity of the implementers ofthe law who decide if the actioncommitted by the child is an offence

or not. This article looks into thesetwo categories and debates the greyareas in the second category of statusoffences.

Juvenile status offences:Consumption of alcohol, driving

vehicles and involvement in sexualbehaviour by children are consideredas status offences. The definition ofa child differs from offence to offenceand from place to place. In India,different states have prescribeddifferent age for the consumption ofalcohol. States like Karnataka, Kerala,Uttar Pradesh and Goa have set theminimum age to consume alcohol at18 while Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, WestBengal and Tamil Nadu have set at21. Maharashtra, Meghalaya andHaryana have set the minimum ageof consuming alcohol at 25 years. Ina neighbouring country like China, 18-year olds are allowed to purchase andconsume hard liquor and so is thecase in Brazil, Russia, South Africa,Nigeria, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore,the Philippines and England. SouthKorea permits it at 19 and many statesin the US allow alcohol consumptionat 21 years.

Minimum age for driving:The minimum age to get a driving

licence to drive a geared bike or a fourwheel vehicle is 18 years. The ageof 18 years was set as minimum age

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given the fact that a minimum senseof judgement is needed to drive,besides knowing the mechanics of thevehicle. However, with simplifiedvehicles coming into the market, theminimum age to get a driving licenceto drive a motor cycle with enginecapacity below 55 cc (gearless bike)was reduced to 16 years with theparents’ undertaking.

However, given the socialconditioning, young boys find it thrillingto drive bikes with gears. They findgearless bikes to be ‘feminine’,especially in the context that gearlessbikes are advertised keeping thefemale population in mind. Thus thereis an increasing trend of boys whosteal bikes and drive around in themtill the petrol gets exhausted and thenabandon the same. They drive aroundfor the joy of riding a bike. In a caselike this, a JJB once passed an orderof community service and instructedthe 16 year old boy who wasrepeatedly being brought into the JJsystem to teach traffic rules to thoseseeking licences in the RTO.

Sex and age:The law does not permit children

to get involved in ‘consensual sex’below the age of 18 years. In thecurrent times, there are an increasingnumber of minors who areexperimenting with sex. Increasing

number of children get intorelationships which they term as‘falling in love’. Given the resistancefrom their families, many of themelope. Some claim to get married in atemple and then live together. Thefamily of the girl usually registers acase of kidnapping against the boy. When the couple is found, even if thegirl claims that she went with the boyon her own accord, a case ofkidnapping is registered against theboy. In such cases, kidnappingbecomes a status offence. If it is foundthat the minors had engaged in sexualintercourse, a case of ‘rape’ is alsofiled against the boy. In a case likethis, kidnapping and rape become astatus offence, despite the fact thatthere was consent.

Bared from pubs:Boards outside a pub or a bar bear

a board which state that patronscannot enter the premise if they areunder 18 years of age. A child who isfound inside a bar or pub could beapprehended even if he or she doesnot engage in drinking or smokinginside a bar or pub.

Adult status offences:In many states, begging has been

criminalised. For example, theBombay Prevention of Beggary Act,1959, which criminalises beggary, isapplicable to Maharashtra and Delhi.



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Around 22 states in the countryhave some form of law or regulationwhich criminalises beggary. An adultfound begging in any of these statescould be remanded to custody andsent to a beggers’ home. However, inthe same state, a child found beggingis considered to be a victim ofcircumstances rather than anoffender. It is the responsibility of theState to take care of the welfare ofchildren who have no one to take careof them. If the family is not in aposition to look after the needs of thechild, then the State has to play therole of the guardian under the principleof parens patriae, and provide for hisor her needs. In the event that theState fails in its duty, it cannot considerthe act of begging by the child as anoffence and has to treat the child as avictim. Hence begging is not anoffence for this child and he/she isprocessed as a Child in Need of Careand Protection (CNCP) under the JJAct.

Soliciting:The same logic holds for the act

of soliciting in public place for thepurpose of prostitution. Under theImmoral Trafficking Prevention Act,1956, soliciting in a public place forthe purpose of prostitution is anoffence under section 7 or 8 of the Act.Soliciting is an organised criminal

activity. It involves identifying a publicplace which can serve as a place forsoliciting and ‘supervision’ of theactivity by pimps and agents. But if aminor is found to be soliciting in apublic place, she is likely to be‘rescued’ as a CNCP and taken into achildren’s home for rehabilitation.Even in the event of the child statingthat she is soliciting on her ownvolition, her consent is no consent inlegal terms. Thus soliciting is anoffence for an adult, but if done by aminor, she is considered as a child inneed of care and protection.

Offences on ‘status’ dispute:During our experience, we have

come across cases of Bangladeshichildren ‘picked up’ along with theirparents for illegal immigration treatedas Juveniles in Conflict with Law, whilein some cases they have been treatedas Children in Need of Care andProtection, depending on theunderstanding and sensitivity of thelaw enforcers. When the policeapprehend Bangladeshi immigrantswho have illegally migrated into thecountry, the Bangladeshi parents arearrested under the Foreigners Act,while the children are processedeither as JCL or as CNCP.

Maharashtra model:Based on the intervention of the

Resource Cell for Juvenile Justice,

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Maharashtra is the only state wherethe Home Department has issued aGovernment Resolution stating thatthese children if are caught or foundmerely on the basis of being illegalimmigrants, they should be treated asCNCPs and not as JCLs, There aremany newspaper reports which havecarried out news articles on how Delhihas treated such illegal immigrantchildren as CNCPs although officiallythere are no guidelines or instructionsto treat them as such.

Conclusion:Th e author has tried to consolidate

the understanding and field realitiesrelated to status offences relating tochildren in India. It emerges from thediscussion that the cultural contexthere is very different from that of theWest. While many countries in theWest tend to ‘criminalise’ statusoffences at least as far as definitionsgo, the same are treated more astransgressions or indiscretions bychildren. Most status offences in India

are treated as child in need of careand protection due to the fact thatjuvenile crimes in India have not been,until recently, treated with muchseriousness by the law makers,implementers and civil society. Theyhave largely been viewed withsympathy as compared to their adultcounterparts. It is only due to recentincidents of serious crimes committedby juveniles, for example the Delhigang rape case that the tide hasturned against juveniles in conflict withlaw. There are recommendations toreduce the age of juveniles from 18to 16 years in heinous crimes andtreat such offenders on par with adultoffenders. It is very likely that as moreand more serious crimes arecommitted by youngsters andsubsequently highlighted by themedia, the mood will change againstjuvenile offenders which would impacton treatment meted to statusoffenders in the country. Does thecrime come to the fore or the child?

References:Mukundan A (2008): Research Study on the Status of the Justice Delivery Systemfor Juveniles in Conflict with Law, Centre for Criminology and Justice, TataInstitute of Social Sciences. (Unpublished)Jessica R Kendall. Juvenile Status Offences: Treatment and Early Intervention,website, http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/publiced/tab29.authcheckdam.pdf accessed 12th October, 2013http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/keyword/drinking-agehttp://cr iminal.findlaw.com/juvenile-justice/juveniles-and-age-status-offences.htmlhttp://definitions.uslegal.com/s/status-offence



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Introduction:A status offence involves children’s

misconduct that may or may not be acrime if it were committed by an adult.In other words, the actions areconsidered as violation of law onlybecause of the youth's status as aminor (typically anyone under 18years of age). Common examples ofstatus crimes include underagedrinking or skipping school. On anaverage year, approximately 20% ofall juvenile arrests in USA involvesstatus offenses.

Types of status offences:The kind of conduct that might

constitute a status offence varies byvarious factors. The most commonones include: Truancy (skipping school) Violating a city curfew Shop lifting Underage possession and useof tobacco Underage possession andconsumption of alcohol Running away, and Ungovernability (being beyondthe control of parents or guardians)Truancy has been clearly identified

as one of the early warning signs of

Truency Prevention ProgrammeSundaravalli T*

*Sundaravalli T, M.Sc.(zoo), M.Sc. (Psy), M.Ed., NET, FCECLD, Assistant profes-sor in Psychology, St. Justin’s College of Education, Madurai – 9

potential delinquent activity, socialisolation, and educational failure.Several studies have established lackof commitment to school as a riskfactor for substance abuse,delinquency, teen pregnancy, anddropping out of school (Bell, Rosen,and Dynlacht, 1994; Dryfoos, 1990;Huizinga, Loeber, and Thornberry,1995; Rohrman, 1993). Decades ofresearch have also identified a linkbetween truancy and later problemssuch as violence, marital problems,job problems, adult criminality, andincarceration (Dryfoos, 1990;Catalano et al., 1998; Robins andRatcliff, 1978; Snyder and Sickmund,1995).

Truancy:A minor is considered truant if she

or he skips school without a validexcuse and without the knowledge ofa parent or guardian. States andschool districts (in USA) have differentstandards as to how many absencesare required before a student will bedeemed truant. In some states, thenumber is three per year. In others,it's as many as 18 absences. Truancyis defined as an unexcused absencefrom school, and it also applies to

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students who are chronically late.Truancy accounts for the majority ofstatus offense cases in the juvenilesystem, and for this reason, manystates, countries, and schools havebegun to crack down on truancy.

Truant behaviours:The truants can be easily identiied

by the following symptoms:Poor self-conceptLow self-esteem Low academics; particularlybehind in reading and mathSocially isolatedPoor inter-personal skills Lack of positive peerrelationships at school Feeling of not belonging atschoolFeeling of being different,Lack of control over life Little or no extra-curricularinvolvement Mental and/or emotionalinstabilityChildhood depression,Unidentified learning disabilitiesVisual and/or auditory problemsLanguage barriersPoor healthNegative peer relationshipsSubstance abuseFear of school, teachers, and/oradministrators, Experienced recenttraumatic event (divorce, death of

a loved one) Fear of physical assault on theway to or at schoolTeenage pregnancyPoor parenting.Causative factors for truancy:Truancy is a three-fold problem.

Factors contributing to truancycommonly stem from three coreareas: school, family and community.Innate student characteristics andtheir experiences within all theseareas will have a heavy impact ontruancy rates. So, depending on theage and circumstances a student willskip school because of safetyconcerns at school or on their way toor from school, family issues, financialdemands, substance abuse, ormental health problems. It is aneducational, social, and lawenforcement problem. Some of thepossible causes and contributingfactors of truancy are listed below:Factors in a child's home orpersonal life such as drug oralcohol abuse by father at home. Divorce, physical or verbalabuseFrequent shifting from place toplace.Children from lower incomefamilies are more vulnerable totruancy Non-involvement of parents in



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their child's school life.A hostile school environmentStudents who lack friendsThose who are being bulliedLack of confidence in mentalabilitiesLearning disabilities. Antagonistic relationshipsbetween staff and students.A poor attendance policy.Poor educational advancementdue to poor grades Lawful absences:Lawful absences include the

following:1. Absences caused by a student'sown illness and whose attendancein school would endanger his orher health or the health of others,2. Absences due to an illness ordeath in the student's immediatefamily,3. Absences due to a recognizedreligious holiday of the student'sfaith,4. Absences due to activities thatare approved in advance by theprincipal.Unlawqful absences:Unlawful absences are as follows:1. Absences of a student withoutthe knowledge of his or her parents2. Absences of a student withoutacceptable cause even with theknowledge of his or her parents.

Prevention and Intervention:The most effective prevention

programmes are comprehensive asthe causes of truancy are multifacetedand diverse at the individual, family,school, neighborhood, andcommunity levels.Family members should developgood interpersonal relationshipwithin them especially with thetruant.Creating meaningful incentivesfor parental responsibilityInclusion of parents in all truancyprevention activities. Family counselling thatrecognizes and builds on thefamily’s own strengths andresources, Involving truants inextracurricular activities.Letters from the principal to theparents – at successive stages ofa student’s truancy. Home visits by school orcommunity staff that emphasizesrelationship-building and problem-solving.Conducting family workshopsfocused on school attendance.Connecting parents with schoolcontact persons with a particularemphasis on outreach to diversefamilies. Many researchers conclude that

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schools need to make systemicchanges in order to re-engagestudents who have poor attendance.

Relationship-building:Students need individualized

attention at school and build strongrelationships based on mutual trustand respect. Students need strongand clear attendance policies.Intensive school interventions toprovide education relevant to thecultural background of the communityand to provide a controlledenvironment that emphasizesacademics and discipline. Teacher activities such assetting a good attendanceexample, creating a pleasantclassroom environment,attendance reward system, andindividualizing student work.Rewarding students with specialrecognition, certificates, letters toparents, and opportunities toattend special events.Assigning a truant officer (inUSA) to students and families withattendance problems. Testing chronic truants todetermine if there is a learningproblem.Referring chronically absentstudents to counsellors.A school’s communication withparents should be a two way

process that includes clearexplanations of school rules andthe consequences of truancy.Community interventions:Media campaigns promoting theimportance of school attendanceand explaining relevant laws.Social workers who are trained,committed, and supported toprovide high quality, responsiveservices and keep youth in theeducational mainstream.Making home visits. This targetschronic absenteeism only, anddoes not have as much effect onoverall attendance rates.A collaborative approach ofsocial service combined with acommunity-based programme cansignificantly increase schoolattendance for extremely high-riskchildren. A truancy worker may beappointed to meet the youth andfamily to provide short-term familycounselling.Retired police officers devotedsolely to truancy intervention alongwith a group of parent-volunteerscan have an impact among thetruants, but much depends on thepersonality and skill of the officer,availability of resources,cooperation of family members andcooperation of schools.



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Police officers have to detaintruant children who are outsideschool grounds and in theatres,malls or shops during schoolhours.Conclusion:Having a clear attendance policy,

rewarding students for attendance,assigning a truancy specialist toserious but not chronic cases, andworking with parents in multiple waysare proven strategies.

Also, the student’s grade level andthe diversity of families need to beconsidered in developing truancyprogrammes. In addition, muchresearch has focused on factorsoutside of the individual truant child,such as factors that motivate youth toattend school. With every approachtaken, it is necessary to includeongoing, rigorous evaluation tomeasure the impact of theprogramme.

A Note from EditorPlease send your articles in DOC format and NOT in DOCX format. Some

of our peer reviewers express difficulty to open DOCX format in theircomputers.

Focus for the month of December 2013: Parenting IssuesHSE: Dr LakshmiEvidence-based or field-based research articles are invited on or before 20th November

2013 to facilitate peer review. Please send along a declaration that the article is original andhad not been submitted elsewhere for publication. The references should be in APA stylewith name of the author(s), year of publication, title of the book, place of publication andpublishers as follows:

Name, initial (Year): Title of the Book.Place of publication: Publishers.Name, initial (Year): Title of the Article. Name of the Journal, Volume: issue. pages. ~Ed.

References:Truancy Guide-A Training and Resource Manual for Truancy Intervention(2005),The Children’s Law Office, USC School of Law in Cooperation With The SouthCarolina Center for Truancy and Dropout Prevention, South Carolina.Truancy prevention in action : Best Practices And Model Truancy ProgramsExecutive Summary, (2005), National Center for School Engagement, ColoradoFoundation for Families and Children, Denverhttp://www.susanscheff.net/truancy-causes/index.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/info_8591978_causes-effects-truancy.htmlhttp://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/juvenile-law-status-offenses-32227.htmlhttp://www.redorbit.com/news/education/396422/ the_causes_ views_ and_traits_of_school_absenteeism_and_truancy/

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Introduction:Cyberbullying is said to occur

when a child or teenager is harassed,humiliated, embarrassed, threatenedor tormented using digital technology.This is not limited to the Internet; it alsoencompasses bullying done throughsuch means as text messages usingcell phones. It is important to note thatcyberbulling can only happenbetween minors. It is often asystematic attempt to get anotherchild or teen to feel bad about him orherself through electroniccommunication. It usually happensmore than once, and includes leavingdemeaning messages on someone’sFacebook page, uploadingembarrassing photos, or spreadinggossip or rumours through instantmessaging and text messaging.

Humiliation online:There are a number of ways to

humiliate and threaten children online.And because the damage is oftenpsychological, and carries over intothe real world, the threats posed bycyberbullying can be very real. Therehave been cases where cyberbullyinghas led to severe depression, selfharm and even suicide. Conventional

Impact of Cyberbullying among School ChildrenSowmya K*

* Sowmya K, Research Officer, Academy of Prison and CorrectionalAdministration, Vellore.

bullying and victimization withinschools have been identified asproblem, its prevalence together withthe physiological and psychologicalimpact amongst children have beeninvestigated and reported upon forsome considerable time. However,over the last three decades cyberbullying/cyber victimization hasstarted rearing its ugly head and itsprevalence and impact are beinginvestigated. Although up untilrecently the focus has tended to beon secondary school children Ybarraand Mitchell, (2004) investigatedinternet use amongst 10-17 year oldsalso.

Review of literature:Bullying has traditionally been

considered to be a school problem.Smith et al. (2006; 2008) comparedinstances of traditional and cyberbullying together with traditional andcyber victimization with pupils aged11-16 years old. With thedevelopment and increasing use ofICT (Information CommunicationTechnology) by youngerchildren(aged 11-15 years) togetherwith the increased affordability andaccessibility of the internet and mobilephones



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(MobileLife, 2007; Byron Review,2008), Monks, Ortega, Robinson andWorlidge (2009) identified bullying andcyberbullying behaviour among highschool children. Whilst Ortega, Elipseand Monks (2010) considered theemotional and perceived effects ofbullying and cyberbullying. Carr(2004) suggests high self-esteem isa determining factor in positiveinteraction amongst peers, these peerinteractions have been associatedwith positive psychological well-being.

Difficulties in definition:Technological bullying, known

today as cyberbullying, has allowedthe problem to expand, become moreelusive, and even harder to define.This form of aggression involves theuse of information and communicationtechnology such as mobile phones,video cameras, e-mails, and webpages to post or send harassing orembarrassing messages to anotherperson (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004).Different types of cyberbullying havebeen reported ranging from flaming tocyberstalking. There are sevendifferent categories of commoncyberbullying (Willard, 2004):

Types of cyberbulling:·Flaming: Sending angry, rude,vulgar messages about a personto an online group or to that personvia email or other text messaging.

Online harassment: Repeatedlysending offensive messages viaemail or other text messaging to aperson.Cyberstalking: Online harassmentthat includes threats of harm orexcessively intimidating.Denigration (put-downs): Sendingharmful, untrue, or cruelstatements about a person to otherpeople or posting such materialonline.Masquerade: Pretending to besomeone else and sending orposting material that makes thatperson look bad which can also betermed as identity stealing.Outing: Sending or posting materialabout a person that containssensitive, private, or embarrassinginformation, including forwardingprivate messages or images.Exclusion: Cruelly excludingsomeone from an online group.Past victims turn bullies:Research indicates that children

who are bullied are also likely to bullyothers. In a review of the research onbullying at school, Espelage andSwearer (2003) challenged theperception that children can bedichotomously classified as eitherbullies or victims. Students who bullyothers using the Internet or theirmobile phone are more likely to have

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parents who are less involved withtheir children’s computer and internetuse (Vandebosch, H. and K. VanCleemput, 2009). These perpetratorsare also more likely to report having apoor emotional bond with theircaregiver, as well as more frequentdiscipline and more infrequentmonitoring by their caregivers(Ybarra, M. and K. Mitchell, 2004).

Current scenario:Children in India suffer the third

highest online bullying rate, afterChina and Singapore, among the 25countries surveyed under a recentlycommissioned project by MicrosoftCorporation to understand the globalpervasiveness of online bullying. Thestudy revealed that more than 50%of the children in India using the netwere either threatened or harassedonline and 7,600 children werebetween the age group of 8-17 years.(The Times of India). Anup Girdhar, acyber crime investigator, said thatthere were several cases ofimpersonation that occurred throughsocial networking sites. India earlierwitnessed stray social medianegativity in one case leading to atragic suicide. Last September, anMBA student of the Indian Institute ofManagement (IIM), Bangalorecommitted suicide after her boyfrienddumped her on Facebook. A recent

‘Tata Consultancy Geny Survey 2011-2012’ of nearly 12,300 high schoolstudents across 12 Indian cities foundthat 85% of the students useFacebook. The survey indicates thatmany students in schools underwentcyberbullying through socialnetworking websites and these siteshave a tremendous impact on the self-esteem and mindset of children. It isnoted that many children wereaddicted to Facebook and spentnearly six to seven hours online.Television is no longer the king asSocialogue, a survey on social mediatrends and behaviour, revealed that56% of Indians would prefer giving uptelevision than social networking sites.It revealed that nearly 37% peoplepreferred a large network of friends.

Methodology:Samples selected for this study

were 100 students between the agesof 15 and 17 (50 males and 50females) from three small urban highschools in the city of Chennai.Purposive sampling technique wasused to collect the data using astructured questionnaire from schoolstudents. Among the 100 students 83were victims of cyberbullying.

Results and discussions:The majority 83% of the students

admitted they were the victims ofcyber bullying which includes 48%



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female and 35% male.Fig. 1: Types of victimization:

·

From the above pie chart we inferthat 4% were victims of outing (A),16% were the victims of flaming (B),14% of them were harassedonline(C), 14% of the students weredenigrated(E), 32% of them werestalked online (D) and 20% were thevictims of masquerade (F).

Concealed identity:Internet is the perfect environment

for students because of anonymity. Itis easy for the bully to hide ownidentity, get access to potentialvictims, and there’s a huge pool ofstudents who become the victims aswell as the bullies. Students findthemselves re-victimized when theirabusers brag online or forwarddegrading pictures to classmates. to

From the above figure we infer that12% of the victims changed phonenumber and Email ID due to

bullying. Studies declined in the caseof 15% and 23% of the students feltdepressed and lonely, 17% of themwere anxious and 10% of the victimsfelt that their relationship with friendsgot affected. Many teens facecyberbullying which is commonamong their peers. Teens say therereally is no way to avoid coming intocontact with some sort of ‘cyber issue’but they are willing to take the risk if itmeans they’ll have a ‘cool’ social life.

Suggestions:Message board, chat room, andsocial networking websiteadministrators should moreeffectively monitor their sites inorder to limit harmful behaviour andprotect the privacy of their users.Parents and guardians need tomake an effort to teach theirchildren respect, responsibility andreport offensive or abusivebehaviour, whether it is online orin person.Faculty, teachers, and othereducators should enact and

enforce policies to create an openand secure learning environment .Students must be educated onthe harmful consequences ofbullying and cyberbullying. Young people (peers) whowitness acts of bullying orcyberbullying must learn tointervene. “Bystanders” must beempowered to help preventcyberbullying by becoming“upstanders.”Conclusion:As technology has evolved, so has

the problem of bullying. The rise of theinternet may have been hailed as oneof the greatest technologicalinnovation of all time, but it has alsoradically changed the nature of socialinteractions. The study shows thatcyberbullying is a serious problemamong teens and it must beaddressed. By being more aware ofcyberbullying, teens and adults canhelp to fight it as it haunts manyadolescents and teens on a dailybasis.

References:Vandebosch, H. and K. Van Cleemput (2009): Cyberbullying amongYoungsters:Profiles of Bullies and Victims. New Media and Society.Ybarra M. and Mitchell K (2004): Youth engaging in online harassment:Associations with caregiver-child relationships, Internet use, and personalcharacteristics. Journal of Adolescence.Ybarra M. L. and Mitchell K J(2004a): Online Aggressor/ Targets, Aggressorsand Targets: A Comparison of Associated Youth Characteristics. Journal of ChildPsychology and Psychiatry.http://www.clyberbullying.us/Bullying.pdf , retrieved on October 20, 2013.

A B

CE

F

D

A: Outing 4%B: Flaming 16%C: Onlie Harassment14%D: Cyerstalking 32%E: Denigration 14%F: Masquerade 20%

Past friends Strangers

0

25

50

75

100

43%

57%

14%

71%

Fig. 2: Relationship to Victims:

Friends Ex-partners

From the above fig. 3 we infer that43% of the victims were bullied bytheir friends, 57% of them by theirformer friends and especially for girls14% of the bullies were ex-partnersand the majority 71% of them werestrangers. The study has revealedthat when the harassment occursonline, the victims tend to be inmainstream social groups at theschool - and the bullies wereoften friends or former friends and ex-partners.

Fig.3: Effect on victims:

10

15

20

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IDDecl

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Depres

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Anxiety

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5



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Introduction:A status offence is the behaviour

of a child (under the age of 18 years)although that same behaviour wouldnot be considered criminal ifcommitted by an adult. Such offencesinclude sexual behaviour, alcoholconsumption, running away, andtruancy. Legally, people who breaklaws that are prohibited only to certaingroups are said to have statusoffences. These offences includemisbehaviours such as breakingtobacco or alcohol consumption laws,not attending school, breaking curfewlaws, running away from home, drugabuse or being beyond the control ofparents. Research studies on causesof status offences have identifiedpersonal, family, and school problemsas contributing factors. Non-criminalviolations of the law by adults suchas speeding or illegal parking are alsosometimes called status or regulatoryoffences.

Definition:The term Status offence means

“an offence which, if committed by anadult, would not be designated a crimeunder Courts of Indian Offences andLaw and Order Code or under anordinance of the tribe.” (25 CFR

Legal Aspects of Status OffendersGeni Philipose *

* Geni Philipose, Advocate, High Court, Chennai.

11.900 [Title 25 – Indians, Chapter I –Bureau of Indian Affairs, Departmentof the Interior). Because so manyyouth offences lacked criminalbehaviour, the United States federalgovernment mandated in the 1970sthat behaviours such as violatingcurfews, using alcohol or tobaccoproducts, being truant, or runningaway from home be decriminalized.Those convicted as status offendersare usually not incarcerated in ajuvenile justice facility. If court ordersare repeatedly violated, however,young offenders can be founddelinquent.

Causes for status offence:Numerous causes have been

found for status offences. Theseinclude family problems such asdomestic violence or abuse, schoolproblems including academic failureand non-attendance, and personalproblems including drug use orchronic health problems. Manycountries have incorporatedintervention programmes to helpyouth experiencing these problems.Research has been conducted onwhether status offenders escalate intomore serious violence or criminalbehaviours. Juvenile courts generally

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have authority over three categoriesof children: juveniles accused ofcriminal conduct; juveniles neglectedor abused by their parents or in needof assistance from the state; andjuveniles accused of a status offence.

Familial factors:Family factors which may have an

influence on offending include: The level of parentalsupervision,Parental discipliningParental conflict or separation,Criminal parents or siblings,Parental abuse or neglectThe quality of the parent-childrelationship.Some have suggested that having

a lifelong partner leads to lessoffending.

Juvenile delinquency:Juvenile delinquency, also known

as juvenile offending, or youth crime,is participation in illegal behaviour byminors (juveniles) (individualsyounger than the statutory age ofmajority) Most legal systemsprescribe specific procedures fordealing with juveniles, such asjuvenile detention centres, and courts.A juvenile delinquent is a person whois typically under the age of 18 andcommits an act that otherwise wouldhave been charged as a crime if theywere an adult. Depending on the type

and severity of the offence committed,it is possible for persons under 18 tobe charged and tried as adults.

Declining trend:In recent years, the average age

for first arrest has droppedsignificantly, and younger boys andgirls are committing crimes. Between60–80% percent of adolescents, andpre-adolescents engage in some formof juvenile offence. These can rangefrom status offences (such asunderage smoking), to propertycrimes and violent crimes. Thepercent of teens who offend is so highthat it would seem to be a cause forworry. However, juvenile offendingcan be considered “normativeadolescent behaviour” (at least inAmerica) Steinberg, L. (2008) It iswhen adolescents offend repeatedlyor violently that their offending is likelyto continue beyond adolescence, andbecome increasingly violent. It is alsolikely that if this is the case, they beganoffending and displaying antisocialbehaviour even before reachingadolescence. Moffitt (2006). Originallythe term juvenile delinquent referredto any child found to be within thejurisdiction of a juvenile court. Itincluded children accused of statusoffences and children in need of stateassistance. The term delinquent wasnot intended to be derogatory: its



21

difference between the procedures ofthe criminal court system and juvenilecourts, the laws established toexercise control over juveniledelinquents and status offences havebeen continuously developed andimproved from the conception of thiscourt in the early 1800s.

The 1838 decision:The 1838 decision by the

Pennsylvania Supreme Courtincorporated parens patriae, and gavethe court control over juvenile matters.Today’s juvenile court system’spurpose to protect underprivileged, at-risk youth, is similar to the intent ofparens patriae. The courtsestablished reformation schoolswhose alleged prospect was“reformation and not punishment [in]the end…The object of charity isreformation, by training…inmates toindustry…and, above all, byseparating them from the corruptinginfluence of improper associates.”

Punishment to correction:In 1899, separate Juvenile Courts

were established by in Illinois, underthe doctrine of in loco parentis, andspread to all fifty states. Thejustification for creating a [separate]juvenile court was to stop imprisoningchildren next to adults becausechildren were different from adultsand, therefore, should be held to

different standards. Over time, widedifferences have been insisted uponbetween the procedural rights givento adults and those of juveniles. Thus,menial crimes such as fleeing fromparental custody, truancy, drinkingand smoking by the under aged, allbecame acts worthy of intervention forthe juvenile courts. Psychological, aswell legal, experts agreed, and thenas they do now, that this sort ofbehaviour is usually, in most cases, aprecursor of more serious crimes.Therefore, supervision andimprisonment of these statusoffenders seemed an effective tool inregulating juvenile crimes andpreventing them from transgressingtowards worse offences.

Correction to protection:Although much of the juvenile

court system has changed since itsconception, it is apparent that theestablished laws for such statusoffences have continually improvedand developed in hopes of protectingthe child from further wrongdoings(Tiffany Rose)

The culmination of these courtdecisions understandably led to theMcKeiver vs. Pennsylvania case. Aquestion concerning the extent of ajuvenile’s right to due process arose.Should the juvenile courts institute ajury into their court proceedings in

20

literal meaning suggested a failure ofparents and society to raise the child,not a failure of the child (Juvenile Law,Free dictionary by FARLEX).

The categories:Juvenile delinquency, or offending,

can be separated into threecategories:Delinquency, crimes committedby minors which are dealt with bythe juvenile courts and justicesystem;Criminal behaviour, crimes dealtwith by the criminal justice system;Status offences, offences whichare only classified as suchbecause one is a minor, such astruancy, also dealt with by thejuvenile courts. (Wikipedia)According to the developmental

research of Moffitt (2006) there aretwo different types of offenders thatemerge in adolescence. One is therepeat offender, referred to as the life-course-persistent offender, whobegins offending or showingantisocial/aggressive behaviour inadolescence (or even childhood) andcontinues into adulthood; and the agespecific offender, referred to as theadolescence-limited offender, forwhom juvenile offending ordelinquency begins and ends duringtheir period of adolescence. (Moffitt2006). Because most teenagers tend

to show some form of antisocial,aggressive or delinquent behaviourduring adolescence, it important toaccount for these behaviours inchildhood, in order to determinewhether they will be life-course-persistent offenders, or adolescents-limited offenders (Moffitt2006).Although adolescent-limitedoffenders tend to drop all criminalactivity once they enter adulthood,and show less pathology than life-course-persistent offenders, they stillshow more mental health, substanceabuse, and finance problems, both inadolescence and adulthood, thanthose who were never delinquent.(Aguilar, Sroufe, Egeland, & Carlson,2000)

Juvenile Justice System:Status offences and the treatment

of these juvenile offenders have beendebated throughout the twentiethcentury. There is great disagreementabout the roles that the juvenile courtsshould play in determiningpunishments for status offenders.Some are opposed to any criminaljustice sanctions for such offenders.However, others believe that the courtsystem established for juvenilediscipline is justified in its protectionand promotion of safety within thecommunity and towards the childrenthemselves. Although there is a



23

best interest of the child.Truancy policy of US:School absenteeism, a statutorily

created status offence, is anothersocial issue which juvenile courts tryto diminish. The law presently definestruancy as, “any pupil subject tocompulsory, full time education or tocontinuation education who is absentfrom school without valid excuse formore than three days or in excess of30 minutes on each of more than threedays in one school year.” The truancypolicy first started in the last half ofthe 19th century and early 20thcentury under Compulsory SchoolAttendance Laws. These regulationswere established to keep children outof labour markets, to integrate andacculturate children of immigrants,and to afford young people protectionsfrom hazards of the street, workplace,and their parents. Schools act in the“formation of an effective delinquencyprevention policy.” In addition, it allowspupils to further their skills andeducation, which benefits their societyby creating a more intelligentpopulation.

Truancy breeds delinquency:Long-term studies have

established a correlation betweentruancy and delinquency inadolescence and adulthood. There isevidence that truants engage in higher

levels of juvenile delinquency andhave more convictions as youngadults (17-24 years old). They alsohave lower status jobs, unstable jobhistory, and higher levels of anti-socialactivities. All of these factors helpdefend the importance of regularschool attendance and the laws thatensure such educational participation(Tiffany Rose)

Status offences in India:In India often the term status

offences are not used and it isgenerally classified as children inneed of care and protection. It is nota problem which can be ignored.According to statistics 40% of India’sestimated 440 million children are inurgent need of care and protection.In other words, 176 million childrenare currently being exposed toneglect, homelessness, educationalproblems, physical harm, sexualabuse, and substance abuse, truancy,infectious diseases like HIV and arein poor physical and mental health.Although laws and institutions tosafeguard these children exist,implementation is extremely poor.

Ignored and invisible Sunita is a 13-year-old ragpicker. She was abused andinjured by a local gang whileworking in the dumping grounds.She was traumatized but was

22

order to establish full due processprotections for children? The courtheld that “the imposition of the jury trialon the juvenile court system would notstrengthen greatly, if at all, the factfinding function, and would continuallyprovide an attrition of the juvenilecourt’s assumed ability to function ina unique manner.” Thus, since thejuvenile justice system was notsupposed to be an adversarialprocess, the Court felt that jury trialswere unnecessary.

Need for status offence laws:The development of the juvenile

justice system has continually workedto protect its youth from present andfuture harm. Although there issustained argument for greaterliberation of child’s rights, and manysupporters are missing relevantevidence about adolescent decision-making and development. From itsconception, the juvenile court systemhas embodied a large amount ofdifferent disciplines (medical, judicial,and psychological) in determining theproper treatment for delinquents andstatus offenders. That establishedevidence, arguably, creates a justbasis for the juvenile laws.

Protection to prvention:Behaviour charged as a status

offence, due in part by faulty decisionmaking, is the act of running away.

Currently the law is arranged toprotect children. Since 1974 with thepassage of the National JuvenileJustice and Delinquency PreventionAct in United States, programmeshave been established, by the juvenilejustice system and child welfaresystem, to supplement short-termcrisis intervention to runaway youth.These programmes are there to aidthe youth. However, it is the laws thatprohibit children from fleeing parentalcustody with an aim to protect them.Most runaways have suffered similarphysical and sexual abuse, parentaldrug and alcohol abuse, and otherviolent family settings. Yet, becausethey do not have the financialresources to live alone, they shouldnot look at running away as a solution.In most cases, these runawaysbecome homeless which becomes aneven greater personal and socialproblem. Runaways, and thushomeless youth, suffer a very high riskfor emotional and health problems dueto high frequencies of healthcompromising sexual behaviour anddrug use. The established laws are inplace to remove these runaways fromthe street, and if necessary, removethem from any other harmful setting(home). Once again though, thesystem, using the doctrine of parenspatriae, is in place to look after the



24

compelled to return to work as herfamily needed the money.Shankar a 15 years old wasrecently orphaned. His only relativeis an uncle who took him in andgave him work. But his uncle is adrug peddler and within daysShankar was caught by the policeand brought to an ObservationHome.Abdul is a nine-year-old boy whowas repeatedly beaten by hisviolent, alcoholic father. He ranaway from home only to be pickedup by the police who took him to aChildren’s Home. This frightenedboy was locked up in jail-likeconditions and was beaten, bulliedand abused.Vulnerable children:Most of the children are vulnerable

and exposed to offences when afamily or a community fails to protecta child. The child moves away fromhome, often supporting himself andbringing himself up as he knows best.These children are far more likely toparticipate in dangerous or criminalactivities, get trapped in child marriageor drug addiction, and perpetuate thecycle of abuse or violence.

In many cases, runaways arerescued, taken into state custody andsent to state-run Children’s Homes or,if they are accused of an offence, are

sent to Observation Homes. But theseinstitutions are often more harmfulthan helpful.

Child-friendliness:Although the Indian Juvenile

Justice Act sets detailed requirementsto ensure the child- friendliness ofsuch homes, these are not put intopractice. Harsh, jail-like conditions,neglect and physical abuse are notuncommon. When these children arereleased, they return to the streets, totough neighbourhoods or tomalfunctioning systems of care andprotection. They continue to beexposed to violence and abuse,compelling them to engage indangerous and harmful behaviour.Putting it simply, the situation is justas difficult, the child even morevulnerable (Aangan, NGO).

Survey by an NGO:In India an NGO survey revealed

that 63.6 % of patients coming in fortreatment were introduced to drugs ata young age below 15 years.According to another report 13.1% ofthe people involved in drug andsubstance abuse in India, are below20 years. Heroin, opium, alcohol,cannabis and propoxyphene are thefive most common drugs beingabused by children in India. A surveyshows that of all alcohol, cannabis andopium users 21%, 3% and 0.1% are

25

below the age of eighteen.Child drug abuse:An emerging trend about child

drug abusers is the use of a cocktailof drugs through injection, and oftensharing the same needle, whichincreases their risk of HIV infection.Overall 0.4% and 4.6% of totaltreatment seekers in various stateswere children. The problem in India isthere are no sensitizationprogrammes about drug abuse inschools or for children out of school.India does not have a substanceabuse policy. There is also a highincidence of charging children underthe Narcotic Drugs and PsychotropicSubstances (NDPS) Act, 1985.Children who don’t have access tohigh quality drugs will use volatilesubstances such as cough syrups,ointments, glue, paint, gasoline andcleaning fluids. There are very few tozero health centres that deal with childsubstance abuse problems,especially in the rural areas.

Use of tobacco:The use of tobacco is another

major concern amongst children. InIndia 20 million children a year andnearly 55,000 children a day aredrawn into a tobacco addiction. Thenumber is shocking when comparedto the 3000 a day new child smokersin the US. The use of certain drugs

such as whitener, alcohol, tobacco,hard and soft drugs is especially widespread among street children,working children and traffickedchildren but there is currently a lackof reliable data on drug abuseamongst children. These children areexposed to violence and abuse,compelling them to engage indangerous and harmful behaviour.Putting it simply, the situation is justas difficult, the child even morevulnerable children affected bysubstance abuse are considered aschildren in need of care and protectionunder the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.(Child line India)

Drug abusing children in India:Substances can be abused in

different ways. Substances may bechewed, swallowed, placed onmucous membrane, injected, smokedor inhaled. Drug abuse is a social eviland the effects of it are at individual,familial and societal level. Social –rejection by peers, family , employers,exploitation and violence, crimes maybe committed to obtain substance(WHO, 2000).The legislations whichare relevant to the abuse arePrevention of Illicit Traffic in NarcoticDrugs and Psychotropic SubstancesAct and Juvenile Justice Act.(SpecialPolice Unit for Women and children) ”Educational attainment not only



26

affects the economic potential ofyouth, but also their effectiveness asinformed citizens, parents, and familymembers” says the National FamilyHealth Survey of India (2009).Currently in India more youngstersdiscover themselves addicted todrugs than ever before. As a result,de-addiction centres are incorporating“youth specific” programmes into theircentres. These youth rehabilitationopportunities can be very beneficial,and often make strides towards afuture of total abstinence.

Alcoholism:A study has revealed that children

whose parents are alcoholics are at agreater risk of consuming alcoholwhen they come across stressfulsituations. The research from theSahlgrenska Academy, at theUniversity of Gothenburg, Sweden,sheds new light on the link betweenalcoholic parents and 50 per cent ofchildren having drinking habits in theimmediate future.

Legislation for status offences:In India the children who engage

in status offences are classified asChildren/Juveniles who need careand protection (CCNP)

According to Section 2 (d) ofJuvenile Justice Act, a child in needof care and protection means:Child who is found without any

home or settled place or abode andwithout any ostensible means ofsubsistence.Child who is found begging orwho is either a street child or aworking child.Child who resides with a person,whether a guardian of the child ornot, and such person hasthreatened to kill or injure the childor abused and there is areasonable likelihood of the threatbeing carried out or has killed,abused or neglected some otherchild or children and there is areasonable likelihood of the childin question being killed, abused orneglected by that person. Child who is mentally orphysically challenged or childrensuffering from terminal or incurabledisease having no one to supportor look after. Child who has a parent orguardian, such parent or guardianis unfit or incapacitated to exercisecontrol over the child.Child who does not have parentsand no one is willing to take careof or whose parents haveabandoned him or who is missingor run away child and whoseparents cannot be found afterreasonable inquiry.Child, who is being grossly

27

abused, tortured or exploited forthe purpose of sexual abuse orillegal acts.Child who is found vulnerableand is likely to be inducted intodrug abuse or trafficking.Child who is being or is likely tobe abused for unconscionablegain.Child who is a victim of anyarmed conflict civil commotion ornatural calamity.Status offences in US:Status offences are acts

considered wrongful or chargeableonly when committed by a minor. Theyinvolve restrictions placed on minorsso they will be more likely to attendschool, return home at a safe hour oravoid using or becoming addicted tonicotine, alcohol or illegal drugs.Juveniles charged with a statusoffence:Are accorded the same due-process rights as a juvenileaccused of a crime.Have a formal juvenile record ifthe court decides during itsadjudication (guilt or innocence)phase that the youth committed astatus offence. This type of recordsometimes can be expunged fromthe court’s files when the juvenilereaches the state’s age of majority.Are possibly assigned a risk

factor by the court. In other words,once a juvenile is found to havecommitted one status offence, ifthat juvenile comes before thecourt accused of another statusoffence or a crime, his or her riskfactor for being a repeat offendermay justify a stricter punishment inthe second case.PunishmentsWhen a juvenile court finds that a

youth has committed a status offence,a number of possible punishmentsmay be imposed:The juvenile may be given adeferred adjudication. This meansno formal probationary oversightand no formal ruling that thejuvenile committed a status offenceas long as he or she does notcommit another for a specificperiod of time.The juvenile may be allowed tocontinue living at home but placedon probation. The probationaryperiod usually depends on thejuvenile’s prior appearancesbefore the court or the severity ofthe current offence.·A disposition may be made(based on the nature of the offence,the willingness of the youth’sparents to keep him or her at home,etc.) that the juvenile should beboarded at a state



28

school for a period of time.Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention ActCourts today focus on prosecuting

violent gang members more thanprosecuting juveniles who commitstatus offences. In 1974, with thepassage of the Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention Act,Congress imposed a greateruniformity and reasonableness to thehandling of status offenders.

The act’s goals include:Discouraging the confinement ofstatus offenders after theiradjudication hearings, even whencourts find that they committed thealleged status offence Making sure that juvenilesentitled to stay under the juvenilecourt’s jurisdiction are notincarcerated within “sight or sound”of adultsCarefully checking that minorityjuveniles do not represent adisproportionate number of thosedetained based on the localpopulationCreating the Office of JuvenileJustice and DelinquencyPrevention, which conductsresearch and provides training andfunding to state and local juveniledelinquency preventionprogrammes. All states, territories

and the District of Columbia mustcomply with these provisions.Child in Need of Supervision:A parent, a school official or the

police may file a Child in Need ofSupervision petition with a court in aneffort to help a juvenile who continuesto commit one or more of the followingstatus offences:Running away from homeRefusing to obey curfew orcontinuing to act violently ordisrespectfully toward one or bothparents or guardiansSkipping school regularlyAbusing alcoholLoitering in areas forbidden bythe policeThe accused juvenile and his orher parents must sign the petitionin the presence of a probationofficer, who is responsible for tryingto help the family address thewrongful behaviour of the child.(get legal.com)Status offences and system:Traditionally, status offences were

handled exclusively through thejuvenile justice system. But in the1960s and 1970s, many states beganto view status offence violations as awarning signal that a child neededbetter supervision or some other typeof assistance to avoid future run-inswith the law. This view is grounded in

29

fact — research has linked statusoffences to later delinquency. For themost part, state goals in dealing withstatus offences became threefold :topreserve families, to ensure publicsafety, and to prevent young peoplefrom becoming delinquent orcommitting crimes in the future.

In this vein, the 1974 FederalJuvenile Delinquency Act emphasized“deinstitutionalizing” status offences.This meant giving prosecutors broaddiscretion to divert status offencecases away from juvenile court andtoward other government agenciesthat could better provide services toat-risk juveniles. Diverting a casebefore a delinquency petition was filedalso allowed a young person to avoidthe delinquent label — some believedthat label itself impeded a juvenile’schances for rehabilitation. In 1997,only one in five status offence caseswere formally processed by thecourts, and even fewer status offencecases actually made it to juvenile courtin the first place. That’s because lawenforcement officers are less likely torefer status offence cases to juvenilecourt, compared with delinquencycases. Of those status offence casesthat do get referred, 94% involveliquor law violations. Today, moststates refer to status offenders as“children or juveniles in need of

supervision, services, or care.” A fewstates designate some statusoffenders as “dependent” or“neglected children,” and giveresponsibility for these young peopleover to state child welfareprogrammes.

States approach status offences ina number of different ways. In somestates, a child who commits a statusoffence may end up in juvenile court.In other jurisdictions, the state’s childwelfare agency is the first to deal withthe problem. Some states haveincreased the use of residentialplacement for offenders, and othersemphasize community-basedprogrammes. But, in all states, ifinformal efforts and programmes failto remedy the problem, the youngperson will end up in juvenile court.

Penalties for status offences:For juveniles who do end up in

juvenile court over a status offence,the kinds of penalties the court mayimpose vary from state to state.Common penalties for status offenceviolations include: Suspending the juvenile’sdriver’s licenseRequiring the juvenile to pay afine or restitution Placing the juvenile withsomeone other than a parent orguardian (such as a relative, foster



30

home, or group home), orOrdering the juvenile to attenda counselling or educationprogramme.If a juvenile violates a court order,

most courts have the authority to orderthe juvenile’s detention at a secure,locked facility. And, in some states,courts can require that the juvenile’sparents attend counselling sessionsor parenting classes. (Juvenile Law:Status Offences, nolo.com)

The Indian Child Welfare Act:ICWA (The Indian Child Welfare

Act ) is a federal law that establishesminimum standards for the removal ofIndian children from their families. USCongress set out protections forIndian children and their families afterfinding “that an alarmingly highpercentage of (Red) Indian familiesare broken up by the removal, oftenunwarranted, of their children fromthem by nontribal public and privateagencies and that an alarmingly highpercentage of such children areplaced in non-Indian foster andadoptive homes and institutions.”ICWA was intended to protect Indianchildren’s best interests by, amongother things, ensuring that when anout of home placement wasnecessary it would be in a settingwhich would “reflect the unique valuesof Indian culture.”

Any Indian child placed in fostercare must be placed in “the leastrestrictive setting which mostapproximates a family and in whichhis special needs, if any, may be met.”The child should be placedreasonably close to his home andpreference should be given in thefollowing order:

(i) a member of the Indian child’sextended family;(ii) A foster home licensed,approved, or specified by theIndian child’s tribe;(iii) An Indian foster home licensedor approved by an authorized non-Indian licensing authority; or (iv) an institution for childrenapproved by an Indian tribe oroperated by an Indian organizationwhich has a programme suitableto meet the Indian child’s needs.Conclusion:From its conception, the juvenile

justice system has served to providefor and protect its youth. Statusoffences are manifestation of this dutyto protect and serve. Although therehas been controversy concerning thecorrect ways that this system shouldhandle status offenders, the lawswere established with the guidance ofdifferent disciplines. These differentareas of focus have studied the costsand benefits of such adolescent

31

behaviours and have espoused validreasons for the enactment of statusoffences.. Therefore, it becomesapparent that status offence laws arewell conceived as conscientious of theindividual and society, and with theestablished laws and psychologically,empirical evidence, the juvenile justicesystem has come that much closer toits aim at fairness and protection ofchildren. Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention Act andIndian Child Welfare Act in the United

States clearly provide for rehabilitatingand reforming the status offenderswhereas the Juvenile Justice Act inIndia merely gives provision asChildren who are in need of care andprotection. The Juvenile Justice Boardunder the Act has been given thepower to understand each case ofoffending juveniles and rehabilitatethem. Therefore it is the responsibilityof parents, families and nation toprotect, correct and mainstream andtake care of our children.

References:Special Police Unit for Women and children http://dpjju.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=164http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~uofla/Winter00/Rose.html Juvenile Justice and theStatus Offence: An Justification for the Current System By Tiffany RoseJuvenile Law http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Juvenile+Law.Te freedictionary by FARLEXhttp://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/GuideToJuvenileJusticeInNYC.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juvenile_delinquencyMoffitt (2006). “Life course persistent versus adolescent limited antisocialbehaviour”. In Cicchetti, D.; Cohen, D. Developmental Psychopathy (2nd ed.).New York: Wiley.Aguilar, Sroufe, Egeland, & Carlson, 2000http: //public.getlegal.com/legal-info-centre/juvenile-justice/status-offencesJuvenile Law: Status Offenceshttp://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/juvenile-law-status-offences-32227.htmlAangan,http://aanganindia.org/the-problemProtection & Child Rights » Vulnerable Children » Children’s Issues » Childrenaffected by Substance Abuse http://www.childlineindia.org.in/children-affected-by-substance-abuse.htmSpecial Police Unit for Women and children)http://dpjju.com/index.php? option=com_ content&view= article&id=52&Itemid=164 (Drug Abuse in the Indian Youth) http://deaddictioncentres.in/news/drug-alcohol-smoking-abuse-youth/



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