Rehabilitation of Juvenile Delinquents: A Survey of Approved Schools in Kenya

Abstract

The major focus of this study was an investigation of the major factors that trigger off juvenile delinquency and the delinquents subsequent committal to approved schools and whether the said juveniles were rehabilitated after committal or not. The effects of institutionalization on the juvenile delinquents were also studied. The study was guided by three hypotheses. These were. one. that low socio-economic status at home triggered delinquency and subsequent institutionalization. Second. That rehabilitation success depended on sex. each juveniles attitude towards the rehabilitation programmes and institutionalization and third. That effects of institutionalization depended on the juvenile delinquents~ overall environment prior to institutionalization. The subjects of the study were inmates and ex-inmates of the approved schools and uninstitutionalized non-delinquents who were used as control group. The approved schools~ inmates were drawn from four approved schools while the ex-inmates were former inmates. The uninstitutionalized non-delinquents were drawn from two primary schools. Twenty two officials from the four approved schools were also interviewed. The key instrument of data collection was the interview schedule. However. unstructured interviews were also administered to the key informants. The study found that the majority of the committed juvenile delinquents hailed from low socio-economic backgrounds which could (vi) have predisposed them to delinquency. The study found out that the major delinquent acts committed by the studied .juveniles were ; theft, being idle and disorderly, burglary, vandalism, among others. Female approved schools' inmates and ex-inmates were found to register higher rehabilitation success vis-a-vis their male counterparts as a result of social and economic factors. Another factor found to influence rehabilitation sucess was inmates and exinmates attitude towards rehabilitation programmes and committal to approved schools. Juvenile delinquents' overall environment prior to committal was found to have some significant influence on their attitude and integration into the approved schools. It was concluded that no juvenile delinquent should ever be committed to an approved school unless reform seems unobtainable by other means. It was also recommended that community based rehabilitation services should be initiated as an alternative to institutionalization. Finally, it was felt that constant evaluation of rehabilitation programmes was necessary so as to streamline their effectiveness.