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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Juvenile delinquency is a serious issue, extremely

costly in personal happiness and social resources, and

appears to be increasing in incidence and gravity in

American society at an alarming rate.  Our children are a

precious gift from God.  They are just like an empty vessel

ready to be filled by their parents.  Parents in a changing

world must be ready, willing and able to prevent this

problem from invading their families, but also be prepared

to share their knowledge with other parents struggling to

save their children.

Children often test the limits and boundaries set by

their parents and other authority figures. Among

adolescents, some rebelliousness and experimentation is

common. However, a few children consistently participate in

problematic behaviors that negatively affect their family,

academic, social, and personal functioning. These children

present great concern to parents and the community at

large.

The prevention of delinquency requires identifying at-

risk individuals and their environments before delinquent

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activity and behavior occur, and then removing such risk

factors or strengthening resistance to the risk factors

already present. The most logical starting place for

prevention efforts is the family.

Delinquency prevention efforts are considered by many

to be crucial to the development of a consistent and

comprehensive approach to the problem of youth crime and

delinquency. Traditionally, evaluations have lacked

empirical support prevention programs’ impact on juvenile

misconduct. Today, however, a growing body of research

supports the idea of delinquency prevention as both a

practical and cost-effective means of reducing youth

misbehavior. In the conduct of preventing and or

controlling delinquency one of the means being applied is

the implementation of curfew hours (Brannen, 2012).

Addressing children concern was given premium in the

area of policing activities and community relations by the

PNP since the NAPOLOCOM issued a Memorandum Circular Number

92-010, which paved the way to the establishment of the

Child and Youth Relations Section (CYRS) in highly

urbanized cities, including Metro Manila, and the

designation of Child and Youth Relations Officer (CYRO) in

other police stations nationwide. The police needs to

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recognize that, in dealing with violence against women, and

more importantly, child abuse cases, they join other forces

in an integrated approach to send a clear message that

these crimes are not and will never be tolerated in a

highly civilized community.

As a law enforcement institution, the PNP is sharing

its manifest adherence to its social contract with the

people that issues and concerns for women and children can

never be demonstrated merely by the fact that crimes

against these defenseless members of the society are simply

being solved but that also the police, as part of the

society, should ensure that these crimes, especially

against children, never exist at all.

The Philippine National Police in coordination with

local Social Works and Development representative made its

fair share in dealing with delinquent minors. It has

intensified its campaign to preempt the commission of

crimes by minors. It has strengthened its effort to allow

for greater police engagement across communities with the

expected outcome being a reduction in juvenile

delinquencies.

Tuguegarao City is a 3rd-class component city in the

Philippines. It is the capital of the province

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of Cagayan and the regional and institutional center

of Cagayan Valley Region. A major urban center in the

Northeastern Luzon and a primary growth center, it is also

one of the fastest growing cities in the Philippines. The

population of the city as of the 2015 census is 153,502

people, making it the most populous city in the Cagayan

Valley region. The city also has recorded a large number of

youth that is not productive in the community. Some of them

are engaged in many anti-social activities; an anti-social

activity that is not conform by the prevailing norms. Some

of the youth are members of gangs, this groups might have a

great influence pertaining to youth behavior, this gangs

exist in the selected barangays of the municipality, it is

much likely can be explained as the deviance act, it is not

an aggressive offenses but sometimes it will trigger them

to level up and became like an adult criminal.

Thus, the researchers are interested to conduct a

study to determine the extent of familial factors that

influences juvenile delinquency in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan

for Calendar Year 2017.

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Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework of the study is based on the

concepts that if intervention is imposed on juvenile, they

can be prevented from engaging crimes in the future.

Interventions like curfews are built upon the idea that

“restricting the hours when young people may be in public

should limit their opportunities to commit crimes or become

victims” (McDowall, 2012, p. 59). With this underlying

motivation, such policies can take a variety of forms,

including variations in targeted age groups, hours of

operation, exceptions to the policy, and sanctions for

violations.

To further discuss the conceptual framework of this

study, the Input, Process, Output and Outcome (IPOO)

concept will be adopted and hereunder illustrated.

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Input Process Output

1. Demographic 1. Assessing the

profile of the profile of the
juvenile minors.
delinquents in Assessed
terms of: 2. Assessing Familial familial
1.1. Age factors influence factors that
1.2. Gender juvenile delinquency
influences
1.3. Household relative to above
Income dimensions. juvenile
1.4. Nature of delinquency in
Offense Committed 4. Correlate familial Tuguegarao
1.5. Number of factors influence City, Cagayan
Siblings juvenile delinquency for Calendar
1.6. Parent’s relative to and Year 2017
Marital Status their profile
And Proposed
1.7. Parent’s variables.
educational measures to
attainment deter juvenile
2. Familial delinquency.
factors influence
juvenile
delinquency
relative to:
2.1. Parental
Affection
2.2. Home
Environment
2.3. Nature of
Parenting

Feedback

Figure 1. Paradigm of the Study

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Under this model, the input refers to the independent

variables such as the profile of the minors and the extent

of familial factors that influences juvenile delinquency in

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan for Calendar Year 2017.

The process deals with normative survey with the use

of questionnaire checklists, statistical treatment and

analysis of data from survey instrument from among the

target respondents, actual observations in the research

locale of the study, and textual and tabular presentation

of results.

The Output deals with the result of the study wherein

the researchers have assessed the extent of familial

factors that influences juvenile delinquency in Tuguegarao

City, Cagayan for Calendar Year 2017.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to determine the extent of familial

factors that influences juvenile delinquency in Tuguegarao

City, Cagayan for Calendar Year 2017.

Specifically, it will seek to answer the following:

1. What is the demographic profile of the juvenile

delinquents in terms of:

1.1. Age
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1.2. Gender

1.3. Household Income

1.4. Nature of Offense Committed

1.5. Number of Siblings

1.6. Parent’s Marital Status

1.7. Parent’s educational attainment

2. To what extent of familial factors influence

juvenile delinquency relative to:

2.1. Parental Affection

2.2. Home Environment

2.3. Nature of Parenting

3. Is there significant relationship between the

extent of familial factors influencing juvenile delinquency

relative to and their profile variables?

4. What interventions can be proposed to deter

juvenile delinquency?

Hypothesis

The study is guided by a lone hypothesis that there is

no significant relationship between the extent of familial

factors influence juvenile delinquency relative to and

their profile variables.

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Significance of the Study

This study is deemed beneficial to the following

persons and sectors:

School Administrator. Results of this study will

be useful to the School Administrators to improve and

enhance their police interventions against minors.

City Government of Tuguegarao. Results of this study

will provide input on interventions program of the City

Social Works and Development to rehabilitate minors and

deter them from committing crimes.

Residents. They will be able to instill greater

awareness and involvement in the campaign against juvenile

delinquent.

College of Criminology. This research will be able to

enhance the awareness of the students on the prevalent

crimes committed by minors in order to deter them from

committing it.

Researchers. Findings in this undertaking may serve as

reference for future researches and may become a basis of

possible related academic work on understanding the crimes

committed by minors.
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Future Researchers. Findings of this study may provide

future researchers with information variables they will use

in similar researches.

Scope and Delimitation

This study will be delimited on the extent of familial

factors that influences juvenile delinquency in Tuguegarao

City, Cagayan for Calendar Year 2017. The respondents of

the study will be 5 minors or Out–Of-School Youth who

committed crimes each Barangay of Caggay, Capatan,

Cattaggaman Nuevo, Cattaggaman Viejo and Cattaggaman Pardo.

The Barangay Office is the primary source of information in

this study where reliable records of the crimes committed

by minors are kept. This study will make of use the

descriptive-correlational research method. A survey

questionnaire will be used as tool to obtain data that are

being investigated.

Definitions of Terms

For better understanding of the study, the following

terms are operationally defined:

Blotter. It is a logbook used by the PNP in recording

crime incidents that has been transpired within a period.

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Crime. It is a violent act committed by a person in

violation of public or penal law.

Chastity. These are crimes committed by the subject

against chastity.

Juvenile Delinquency. It refers to the habitual

committing of criminal acts or offenses by a young person,

especially one below the age at which ordinary criminal

prosecution is possible. These refer to the crimes

committed by minors in Tuguegarao City.

Person. This refers to crimes against persons

committed by the subject such as murder and homcide.

Property. This refers to crimes against property

committed by the subject like robbery and theft.

Public Order. This refers to crimes committed by the

subject against public order like alarm scandal and the

like.