Evaluation of Juvenile Delinquency Cases in a District Forensic Medicine Branch Office
Abstract
Aim: It was aimed to evaluate children in conflict with the law who were referred by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to the Forensic Medicine Branch Directorate under Article 31/2 of the Turkish Penal Code, in terms of their ability to perceive the legal meaning and consequences of their acts and to direct their behavior, based on the types of crimes and their sociodemographic data.
Material and Methods: Children pushed to crime who were referred to a Forensic Medicine Branch Directorate for evaluation under Article 31/2 of the Turkish Penal Code were retrospectively examined in terms of the types of crimes they committed, whether they had previously committed offenses, their sociodemographic data, and any existing psychiatric diagnoses and examinations.
Results: It was determined that among the 50 children participating in the study, 18 were girls and 32 were boys, with a mean age of 13.84. It was found that 18% had a prior criminal record, 26% had a history of psychiatric clinical involvement, and 10% had previously used various psychiatric medications. In 44% of the cases, offenses such as simple assault, insult, and threat were observed.
Conclusion: In our study, it was observed that cases of juvenile delinquency increased most notably among the 14-year-old age group and among boys, and that children were most frequently brought to law enforcement for offenses such as minor assault, insult, and threat. In order to prevent these cases, significant responsibilities fall on families, as well as on many institutions and organizations.
Keywords
Ethical Statement
References
- Mahajan SN, Tigga AU. Psychosocial profiling of children in conflict with law: an exploratory study in India. Academic Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2024;7(2):66–82.
- Abhishek R, Balamurugan J. Impact of social factors responsible for juvenile delinquency – a literature review. J Educ Health Promot. 2024;13:102. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_786_23.
- National Crime Records Bureau. Crime in India 2021 [Internet]. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India; 2022. [cited 2026 Apr 24]. Available from: https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/crime-in-india-2021-volume-iii/
- Hasanath KP F, Kannekanti P, Munda SK, Alagarsami AR. Mental health issues and psychosocial contexts in CICL children versus non-CICL children: a comparative study. Indian J Psychol Med. 2024:02537176241279546 doi:10.1177/02537176241279546.
- Karatoprak S, Ayaz N. Assessment of sociodemographic risk factors for juvenile delinquent boys. J Basic Clin Health Sci. 2023;7(1):26-34. doi:10.30621/jbachs.998914.
- Ozen S, Ece A, Oto R, Tirasci Y, Goren S. Juvenile delinquency in a developing country: a province example in Turkey. Int J Law Psychiatry. 2005;28(4):430-41. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2004.05.001.
- Itskovich E. Economic inequality, relative deprivation, and crime: an individual-level examination. Justice Quarterly. 2025;42(4):637-58. doi:10.1080/07418825.2024.2435859.
- Shader M. Risk factors for delinquency: an overview [Internet]. Washington (DC): Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; 2003. [cited 2026 May 13]. Available from: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/frd030127.pdf
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Clinical Sciences (Other)
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Betül Altıner
*
0000-0002-7974-8227
Türkiye
Nihal Yurteri
0000-0002-4681-2210
Türkiye
Yusuf Atan
0000-0002-8716-9452
Türkiye
Publication Date
May 24, 2026
Submission Date
December 2, 2025
Acceptance Date
April 26, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 16 Number: 2