The research also focused on and was able to identify factors that have contributed to the criminal behavior of young people in South African society. Therefore, this study sought to investigate how affected youth responded to a diversion program in the South African context.
Location of the Study
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa, 1996) provides that children's rights must be protected at all times. According to du Plessis (2006), South Africa is characterized by a tightly controlled input market, which was influenced by both the social and economic implications of the political regime of the apartheid era, which led to high unemployment rates.
Motivation for the Study
Burton (2016) argues that the current situation in South Africa is full of opportunities in the social environment for young people to learn violent behaviour. The study therefore focused on young people in areas on the outskirts of Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
Problem Statement
Research Statement
Aim of the Research
Objectives of the Study
Research Questions
Does the Youth Empowerment Scheme program create the capacity for self-discipline among young people in conflict with the law? Is the Youth Empowerment Scheme successful in rehabilitating young people who have been in conflict with the law?
Value of the Study in Terms of Research Development
What value, if any, does the Youth Empowerment Scheme program add to the lives of youth who have previously been in conflict with the law. A further goal was to understand what aspects needed to be addressed to prevent recidivism in order to provide diversion programs that would be beneficial to youth in conflict with the law and to the community at large.
Key Concepts
Motivation for a Qualitative Research Approach
Research design
Structure of the Dissertation
Chapter three: In this chapter, the two theories that have been guiding in the interpretation of the data are explained. Chapter Four: This chapter focuses on the research design and the methodology that was used to achieve the objectives of the study.
Conclusion
In view of the foregoing, the focus of this chapter is on diversion programs for youth who have found themselves in conflict with the law due to criminal acts and behavior. The purpose of the literature review is to provide a broad understanding of the impact of diversion programs and how youth respond to this type of rehabilitation initiative.
What is a Diversion Programme?
The study focused on young people in conflict with the law who were referred to the Youth Empowerment Scheme. The primary goal of diversion programs is therefore to reduce recidivism without requiring juveniles to be formally dealt with in the criminal justice system.
Youth Offending and Deviant Behaviour
Despite gender differences in involvement, members of both sexes are less likely to commit a crime if they engage in conventional activities (Siegel, 2011). Matza (in Tshiwula, 1998) shares many of the assumptions found in differential association theory.
Factors Contributing to Deviant Behaviour
Family-related factors
Most studies have found that children from broken families are more likely to deviate than children from intact families. Fergusson and Horwood (1998) found that youth who were exposed to interparental violence were more likely to commit violent and property crimes.
Peer influences
Spanier's (in Tshiwula, 1998) input on the issue of broken homes is that adolescents who do not have good role models or adopt role models who encourage abusive behavior could become involved in criminal activities. Wells and Rankin's (1991) meta-analysis states that broken homes are most likely to be associated with abusive behavior when it is caused by divorce or separation rather than death.
School-related risk factors
Adolescents who do not have consistent access to school are at risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour. However, access to school does not necessarily mean a positive influence, as poor academic performance can lead to negative attitudes towards school, which can influence and reinforce antisocial behavior in a child (Bezuidenhout, 2013).
The Effectiveness of Diversion Programs
In an evaluation study conducted by Muntingh (2001), one of the main goals was to measure the recidivism rate of diversion participants. Summary results of meta-analyses conducted by Wilson and Hoge (2013) indicated that diversion programs were more effective in reducing recidivism than the traditional justice system.
One study conducted (Lipsey, Howell, Marion, Chapman, & Caver, 2010:5) on the effectiveness of diversion programs found that it was difficult to determine their impact. Bezuidenhout describes this day as a historic day for the protection of the rights of children in South Africa.
Aims of Diversion Programmes
Objectives of Diversion Programmes
Prior to the Juvenile Justice Bill, young offenders were prosecuted under criminal justice provisions with a lack of regard for children and their context. Fake (2005) points out in this context that diversion is one of the areas where the criminal justice system can be more effective in reducing crime.
Consideration of diversion
Additionally, a prosecutor may consider the views of the victim or any person with a direct interest in the victim's affairs in the decision to divert the case. When dealing with more serious criminal cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions may decide to divert a case after the victim or the victim's representative has stated that the case can be diverted.
Diversion options
The public prosecutor may also consult with the police officer responsible for investigating the case about the possibilities of diverting a case. The victim also has a say in the content of the fallback option and conditions regarding compensation or the provision of a specific benefit or service (Bezuidenhout, 2013:179).
Retributive Justice versus Restorative Justice
It is within this paradigm that the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO) runs its diversion programs and seeks to empower offenders, victims and society from the foundations of the criminal justice system. NICRO offers five diversionary options that are rooted in the restorative justice paradigm and contrasted with retributive justice.
Nicro’s Diversionary Options
The Youth Empowerment Scheme Programme (YES)
Initially called the Youth Offender Programme, this life skills program was later renamed the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) programme. The most suitable ages for participants included in the Youth Empowerment Scheme program are between 12 and 18 years.
Aims of the Youth Empowerment Scheme programme
It is required that the juvenile delinquent must have a permanent address, because this allows a certain degree of control to be exercised over the whereabouts of the young delinquents. Participation in the program is strictly voluntary. There must therefore be an admission of guilt on the part of the juvenile delinquent before he or she is eligible for a diversion alternative.
Youth Empowerment Scheme programme content
Upon successful completion of this session, participants are expected to understand what respect means and be able to articulate the importance of respect in their lives. The eighth session focuses on getting participants to explore and understand the concept of respect.
Conclusion
Social Reaction (Labeling) Theory: This theory states that people become criminals when important members of society label them as such and accept these labels as a personal identity (Siegel, 2011:168). Social learning theories support the view that crime is a product of learning the norms, values, and behaviors associated with criminal behavior.
Theoretical Basis for the treatment of Offenders .1 Classical theories of crime and punishment
Theories of the sociological school of criminology
The theories of the sociological school contrast with classical and psychological approaches, as they focus on the characteristics of the individual rather than the nature of the crime. The next section provides a brief discussion of the two theories underlying this study, namely labeling theory and differential association theory.
The Labelling Theory
Curiously, labeling theory suggests that official determination to control crime may actually increase. The influence of labeling theory is evident in the creation of separate terminology for juvenile courts and adult courts.
Evaluating the Labelling Theory
Labeling theory thus places too much emphasis on the impact of official interactions, such as those between the youth and the juvenile court. In addition, the influence of labeling theory helped create separate terminology for juvenile courts and adult courts.
The Differential Association Theory
According to differential association theory, criminal behavior is reduced through the process of reinforcement and punishment (Hess, 2010). Thus, differential association theory states that people learn criminal behavior and attitudes from their significant others.
Evaluation of the Differential Association Theory
The premise for using this theory in this study was that the learning process does not only affect individuals negatively, but also positively, such as when youth offenders are diverted from formal court proceedings into diversion programs. In the process, the possibility of being labeled and learned about further criminal behavior is reduced.
Contextualising the Labelling and Differential Association Theories
The differential association theory argues that antisocial behavior is learned through the social learning process. In addition, youth can also learn good behavior through diversion programs (Wilson & Hoge, 2013).
Conclusion
Both of these theories support the use of diversion programs as they maintain the principle that when juvenile offenders are diverted from formal court procedures to reintegrative diversion programs, the potential for being labeled and the acquisition of criminal behavior is reduced. One of the main reasons for diversion programs is to keep youth away from formal court procedures and from being stigmatized by these processes.
Research Methodology: an Overview
The purpose of qualitative research is in particular to investigate the participants' understanding and view of their social environment. Therefore, the purpose of qualitative research is to describe or understand the phenomenon being investigated from the perspective of the participants.
Research Design
This design allowed the researcher to identify and analyze several themes that emerged from the data. This enabled the researcher to answer the research questions and determine whether young offenders' understanding of their own criminal behavior had changed as a result of completing the Youth Empowerment Scheme programme.
Target Population
Biographical questions were included to help the researcher establish the participants' background. In light of the above, the researcher made use of attendance when the interviews were conducted in order to gain the trust of the participants.
Case Studies: Biographical Data, Background and Behavioural Patterns
Bridge City Court case studies Case 1
Apparently he had been doing this for a long time but this was the first time he had been caught. However, when he was referred to a diversion program, he was relieved that he would not be going to jail, but also questioned what the program would entail.
Durban court case studies Case 5
He explained that even though he didn't come from a wealthy family, he had everything he wanted. He stated that the incident did not affect him because he was still in school.
Examining the Backgrounds of the Participants
Negative aspects of the school environment
He also hated going to school because he had to walk a long distance to get there. Another participant said that sometimes he liked going to school and sometimes he didn't because “there's no extracurricular activities, no pools or soccer, nothing.
Negative aspects within the family
Positive aspects of family life
Exploring Behavioural Patterns in Diversion Programmes
- The reasons for the youths’ offending behaviour
- Individual factors
- Social circumstances
- Economic circumstances
- Unintentional offending
- Peer and environmental influence
Bartollas (in Bezuidenhout, 2013:35) indicates that "the weaker a child's interaction with family members is, the greater the risk that he or she will engage in misconduct". The data indicated that most of the offenders interviewed had been influenced by their peers to engage in antisocial behaviour.
Anxiety and Stress as Contributing Factors to Delinquency
The labeling perspective emphasizes the process of labeling and views deviant behavior not as a state of being, but as a result of social interaction” (Joubert et al. 2009). Whether someone is labeled a criminal is not directly determined by the fact that someone has broken the law.
The Participants’ Reaction to the Diversion Programme
The above comment reflects the youth's frustration and his response reveals that he felt he had been treated unfairly. He even indicated that it would have been more acceptable if he had been arrested for something that he had actually done wrong.
Participants’ Reaction to being arrested
NICRO hereby adheres to the provisions of the Children's Rights Act and the participant has agreed to this in order to avoid a criminal record. The study examined whether the program met the diversion objectives set out in the law, in encouraging young people to take responsibility for their offending behaviour.
The Participants as Self-Regulated and Law-Abiding Citizens
Therefore, the findings of the study confirm the principles of differential association theory, which states that learning criminal behavior patterns is similar to learning any other patterns (Siegel, 2011). Analysis of the above quotes clearly showed that these youth benefited from the program.
Restorative Justice
In the latter study, young people complained that the police would falsely accuse them of being drug addicts and take them to the police station and lock them up all night. The participant persisted in the strong belief that he was arrested for a crime he did not commit, and therefore he should not have been kept in the cell all night.
Conclusion
Therefore, a process of change took place for some of the young people who participated in the program. This objective was also achieved as the researcher was able to determine that the impact of the Youth Empowerment Scheme was predominantly positive.
Recommendations
Nicro diversion programmes
This tendency to treat innocent youth through a diversion program is a concern because the criminal justice system has a significant effect on the behavior and emotional well-being of adolescents. With no power over the criminal justice system, he had no choice but to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit.
The criminal justice process
It is essential that the criminal justice system deals with young people sensitively to ensure their well-being. Apparently, the perception of unfair treatment by the criminal justice system has a significant psychological effect on young people.
Further research
Offender perspectives on violent crime In Burton (ed.) Someone stole my smile: an exploration of the causes of youth violence in South Africa (pp.89-111). Unpublished dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of M.A.Soc.Sc (Clinical) in the Faculty of Arts, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
