The past few decades have witnessed a growing global interest in formulating juvenile justice systems that can prevent juvenile delinquency as well as rehabilitate and reintegrate juvenile offenders. . It is undeniable that offences committed by young offenders in Malaysia are increasing , the rise in the juvenile delinquencies is an issue that must not be neglected, as this will affect future generations that are supposed to lead the country. Early 2014, the nation was shocked with the statistics released by the Malaysia Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) which showed an increase number of juvenile delinquency cases involving children between the age of 8 until 15 years. This research studies the Malaysian juvenile justice system, both in terms…show more content… The delinquent acts of a juvenile can be divided into two categories; First, acts or omissions which are prohibited and punishable by law under the respective legal systems and second, acts which are known as status offences.
In Malaysia, two forms of status offences are recognizable, i.e. as follows: (i) being beyond the control of parents, and (ii) being exposed to moral danger. In Malaysia, statistics recorded that there were 29,337 juveniles who were arrested for committing offences through the years 2002 until 2006, i.e. the average of 488 cases per month and 16 cases per day. The number of juveniles involved in delinquent acts kept on increasing from time to time. This trend can be alarming. In 2006 alone, the number of arrest stood at 8125, i.e. the average of 677 cases per month and 22 cases per…show more content… Some of the earliest theories of juvenile delinquency were economic in their perspective. Economic theories are known as classical theories. They generally state that juveniles are rational, intelligent people who have free will, which is the ability to make choices. Young people calculate the costs and benefits of their behavior before they act. Delinquency is the result of juveniles imagining greater gains coming from breaking the law than from obeying it. In the same way, children and adolescents that skip school first weigh the likelihood of getting caught against the potential fun they will have. Similarly, juveniles who commit serious crime weigh the pleasure they imagine they will receive against potentially being arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and sent to prison. Since behavior is a conscious decision that youths make, they may be held responsible for their choices and their consequences. One of the major figures in classical theory is Cesare Beccaria (1764-1963), who formulated his ideas about crime control during the 18th century when the criminal justice systems throughout Europe were cruel and ruthless and exercised a callous indifference toward human rights. People were punished for crimes against religion, such as atheism and witchcraft, and for crimes against the state, such as criticizing political leaders. Worse yet, “offenders” were