IJSRP, Volume 10, Issue 6, June 2020 Edition [ISSN 2250-3153]
Rasheed B. Ibrahim, Ismail A. Nasirudeen, Monsurat Isiaka, PhD
Abstract:
Juveniles commit a broad range of offences from smoking to murder. Several factors have been empirically established as motivations of youth to a lifestyle of delinquency. Scholars have connected some specific misbehaviors with the home, neighborhood, schools among others and by exploration, these agencies and their agents constitute the bystanders and enablers of deviant behaviors. Against this background, this research attempts to determine their culpability regarding juvenile delinquency. Relying on three theories, the research adopted a qualitative approach to explore the role of bystanders and enablers in juvenile delinquency. Results revealed that majority of the bystanders and enablers are equally as guilty as the juvenile delinquents because they also contribute to the rise in juvenile delinquency either overtly or tacitly, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, the study recommends provision of equal opportunities, social infrastructures, adequate parental guidance, strict supervision and monitoring of children, among others.