THE CORRELATES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

 The issue of Juvenile delinquency is becoming polemical and widespread. Delinquency prevention are either unfitted to deal with the present happenings or do not exist. Most of the emerging countries have established some mechanisms to deal with this problem, and international programmes are evidently inadequate. Even where programmes are in place, the mechanism are always inadequate to address the multiple ways in which these children must be assisted. This article assessed factors influencing delinquent behaviours and the effective ways of rehabilitating young offenders. Building on this premise, the article reviewed relevant literatures on juvenile delinquency and its prevention measures. As evident in the literature and discussion in this article, juvenile offenders, as labelled individuals, are hampered by social conditions and support that are required to enhance their recovery, constructive behaviour and full rehabilitation. As juvenile delinquency is not caused by a single factor, its prevention and treatment should not be limited to a single factor. The interaction between the offender and significant others before, during and after the act of deviation, is important to the overall prevention of delinquency. Therefore, it is important that prevention and treatment of juvenile must be appropriate to the offender’s age, gender, ethnicity, social circumstances and culture. Punitive measures should be discouraged while individualised treatment oriented measures should be encouraged.