Investigating the process of juvenile delinquency in Durban, South Africa

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Investigating the process of juvenile delinquency in Durban, South Africa: Insights from the Capability Approach Laura Van Raemdonck & Mariam Seedat Khan To cite this article: Van Raemdonck & Khan (2017): Investigating the process of juvenile delinquency in Durban, South Africa; Insights from the Capability Approach, Youth Voice Journal To link to this article: https://youthvoicejournal.com/2017/05/02/laura-van-raemdonck-mariamseedat-khan-2017-investigating-the-process-of-juvenile-delinquency-in-durban-south-africainsights-from-the-capability-approach/

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Investigating the process of juvenile delinquency in Durban, South Africa Van Raemdonck & Kahn

“Investigating the process of juvenile delinquency in Durban, South Africa: Insights from the Capability Approach”

Published in the Youth Voice Journal, February 2017 http://youthvoicejournal.com/ © IARS 2017 Submission date: 06/03/2012 ISSN(online): 2056 – 2969

Laura Van Raemdonck & Mariam Seedat Khan

Abstract In this study, the Capability Approach is applied as a comprehensive investigative framework for the purpose of understanding juvenile delinquency in Durban, South Africa. The Capability Approach measures justice by focusing on a person’s capabilities and agency freedom. The use of a justice theory model revealed innovative insights in comparison to the largely applied crime theories. This study adopted a qualitative research methodology. Eleven in-depth interviews were undertaken with six ex-juvenile offenders on an integration programme, organised by a Durban based NGO ‘YMCA’. Furthermore, five YMCA employees were interviewed. We found that juveniles’ deprived capabilities – lack of educational opportunities, lack of job opportunities and the absence of positive social networks – directly influence their agency freedom to reach a life they have reason to value. This study contends that the reason they engage in crime is motivated by their failure to secure legal conduits to cope with deprived capabilities or legal ways to activate their agency freedom in order to achieve an elementary life they reason to value. Consequently, the ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 1


findings endorse preventive interventions that diminish inequalities and interventions that assist ex-juvenile offenders to legally enhance their agency in order to reach a life they reason to value.

Key Words Capability Approach, juvenile delinquency, risk factors, juvenile justice, agency freedom

______________________________________________________________ Corresponding Authors: Laura Van Raemdonck, is a PhD student in Social Work at the University of Antwerp and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is currently pursuing her fieldwork in Durban, South Africa. Her topic is ‘The Capability Approach in social work practice and community networks of service organisations: Investigating the interventions of South African NGOs among vulnerable groups (e.g. survivors of intimate partner violence, juvenile offenders, street children, refugees)’. Mariam Seedat Khan, is a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. She is a Clinical Sociologist and the Vice President of The International Sociological Association Research Committee for Clinical Sociology. She is the editor of ‘Introduction to Sociology’, the first South African Sociology textbook by South Africans for South African Scholars. ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 2


1. Introduction South Africa has a high incidence of violence, increasing annually. The murder rate per 100,000 people increased from 32.9 in 2014/15 to 33.9 in 2015/16 (SAPS, as cited in Africa Check 2016). On average in 2015/16, a murder was recorded 51.2 times a day. The robbery with aggravating circumstances1 rate per 100,000 people increased from 238.3 in 2014/15 to 240.9 in 2015/16. On average in 2015/16, robberies with aggravating circumstances were recorded 363.1 times a day (SAPS, as cited in Africa Check, 2016). South Africa’s population below the age of 15 years is 28.3%. The proportion of young persons below the age of 25 was estimated to be 48.5% in 2014 (Statistics South Africa, 2014). The excessive amount of young persons in South Africa makes crime and unemployment a particularly large problem for adolescents (Clifford,1974). A cause of the high amount of young people in South Africa is the high number of orphans (16%: maternal, 4.4%; paternal, 9.3%; double, 3.2%) primarily resultant from a national 12.2% HIV and AIDS prevalence (HSRC, 2014). Notwithstanding the current high crime rates, South Africa has a turbulent history of crime as resultant from apartheid (1948-1990). The transition to a post-apartheid era was and continues to be associated with high levels of crime committed largely by the youth (Ovens, 2008). This paper aims to explore the stages of juvenile delinquency utilising the Capability Approach (CA) as an investigative framework. The CA is a justice or well-being framework that examines (dis) advantage, which is judged by a person’s capability to do things he or she reasons to value (Sen, 1992). A person’s benefit in terms of opportunities is judged in comparison to others if she or he has fewer capabilities or less real opportunities to achieve those things that he/she reasons to value (Sen, 2009). Alongside the possession of capabilities, the evaluation of freedom to determine what one wants, what one values and ultimately what one decides to choose is an important feature of (in) justice regarding the CA (Sen, 2009). A comprehensive and altered view on juvenile delinquency in Durban, South Africa is targeted. Disparate from other theories of justice and crime, the CA includes a comprehensive focus on how an individual’s overall (dis) advantage can be assessed. The CA does not only focus on the subjective and final stage of well-being ‘happiness’, nor does it focus exclusively on peoples ‘resources’ for measuring human development (Sen, 1984). The distinct nature of this study lies in the expansive examination of ex-juvenile offenders 1

Robbery with aggravating circumstances occurs when a person uses a gun or weapon to unlawfully and intentionally forcefully removes property belonging to another person.

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resources, personal, social and environmental factors, capabilities and agency freedom for crime involvement. The understanding of the underlying factors of (in) justice is vital for social work interventions. The prevention of juvenile delinquency and the reintegration of juvenile offenders into society is an important area for this empirical study. Although existing scholarship acknowledge the added value of the CA in the field of juvenile delinquency, the practical application of a justice or well-being framework in the context of juvenile delinquency is rare (Patton, Snyder & Glassman, 2013; Shand, 2014). Notwithstanding limited CA-research in the field of juvenile delinquency, Patton et al. (2013) undertook a study utilising the CA among substance abusers’ risk factors to engage in sex work. Capability oppressions of life, bodily health, bodily integrity, emotions, practical reasons, and control over one's environment were identified as significantly associated with sex work (Patton et al., 2013). In line with existing literature, one can conclude that children living in deprived circumstances are more vulnerable and likely to engage in criminal activities than those children living in economic sustainable and intact families (Maree, 2008; Breetzke, 2010). This study, however, investigates how the CA can reveal deeper insights on the process of juvenile delinquency in relation to the juveniles’ capabilities and agency freedom. Research on the CA and street children states that the CA is able to provide new insights for the development of a more refined approach to supporting young people (Shand, 2014). By using the CA, a specific need to build capabilities and assets for the future is addressed, which contributes to the well-being children (Shand, 2014). Fundamentally, the intention of this case study is to provide a collective voice to young people in order to positively influence the perceptions of government and donor agencies (Shand, 2014). Advancing ex-juvenile offender’s reintegration process and wellbeing should focus on their capabilities and agency freedom rather than compulsory and normative accounts of childhood. The key research questions examine Q1 What are the juveniles’ resources, personal, social and environmental risk factors of crime involvement and how does it affect their capabilities? Q2 How do deprived capabilities affect the juveniles’ agency to pursue a dignified life? Q3 How do deprived capabilities and agency freedom influence the juveniles’ pathway to crime involvement? Q4 Which interventions are recommended to cope with capability and agency deprivation?

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2. Methodology This study utilises a qualitative research methodology, which includes eleven in-depth interviews. 2.1. Sampling The participants involved in the eleven in-depth interviews included five employees from the Durban Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA); the director, national youth justice coordinator, programme coordinator, a student intern and a volunteer. Six ex-juvenile male offenders who were on the ‘life skills’ reintegration programme, facilitated by the YMCA, were interviewed. All respondents were over the age of eighteen. Table 1 provides an overview of stimulating circumstantial material on the ex-juvenile respondents. All participants live in deprived economic situations. Table 1: overview of ex-juvenile offender’s background information Age

Ethnicity

Reoffender

Gang

Drugs

Current home situation

1.

27

Coloured

Yes

No

Yes

Lives with mother, stepfather and son

2.

24

Black

Yes

Yes

No

Lives with mother and one sister

3.

24

Black

No

Yes

Yes

Lives with mother and two brothers

4.

26

Black

Yes

Yes

Yes

Orphan, lives with grandmother

5

25

Coloured

Yes

Yes

Yes

Orphan, lives with aunt and uncle

6.

27

Black

Yes

Yes

Yes

Orphan, lives with aunt

All in-depth interviews were conducted in the offices of the YMCA, which are located in the Durban city centre. Informed consent forms were provided to all respondents and the interviews were audio recorded and thereafter transcribed. Additional observation material, such as notes during site visits and training session observations were used briefly for interpreting the qualitative data. The data from the interviews was analysed through the use of qualitative data software NVivo. 2.2. Research typology and analytical framework The in-depth interviews were semi-structured with open-ended questions grouped according to the following themes: personal, social and environmental factors ‘Can you tell me your story: in which circumstances did you live before you ended up in prison?’ capabilities and agency freedom ‘If you had all the opportunities, what would you like to do in life? What ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 5


holds you back?’ and recommended interventions ‘Do you have any suggestions for reintegration programmes?’ Grounded theory was used as an analytical framework. Grounded theory is an indepth methodological approach that is systematic in the development of theory. Secondary records such as statistical records, journal articles, and dissertations were used to substantiate and evaluate the qualitative research findings alongside existing literature and theoretical underpinnings. 2.3. Purpose and justification of current project methodology Limitations of this study include the study being undertaken with one NGO alongside the relatively small group of participants makes generalisation challenging. This limitation, however, has been partially overcome through the use of statistics in the city on the topic and the available literature. Moreover, by utilising grounded theory as an analytical framework, the focus to achieve deep insights rather than general surface information was achieved. Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) Grounded theory is one of the most expansively accepted approaches for qualitative methodologies. It is suggestive to social work research (Gilgun, 1994). By operationalising the grounded theory method, the focus on the apprehensions that participants of the study may have, and how they might try to resolve them from their own perspectives is effective.

3. Results By utilising the CA, we examine the process by which a young person becomes a juvenile delinquent. Figure 1 depicts the stages of juvenile delinquency regarding the CA. It indicates five main components of the CA: 1) a person’s resources ‘means to achieve: economic resources, commodities and services’; 2) personal (e.g. mental health), social (e.g. home situation) and environmental factors (e.g. home location); 3) capabilities ‘The real opportunities or freedoms one has to achieve a life one reasons to value’; 4) agency freedom ‘A person’s actual choice, act or role in realising any kind of aims or values that he/she considers important’ and 5) functionings ‘A person’s beings and doings, it reflects the consequential state of being after the decision people make upon their capabilities and agency to achieve a life one reasons to value’ (Sen, 1984, 1985, 1992, 2003). Investigating the narratives of six ex-juvenile offenders, we are identifying their resources, personal, social and environmental risk factors, capabilities and agency freedom. All these concepts are related to the functionings – beings and doings – people reason to value. This varies per ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 6


person. ‘Being a juvenile offender that has committed certain crimes’, however, is not, in particular, a functioning that people value. Why did they become juvenile offenders despite the deviance associated with it?

Below we relate the described CA concepts to citations of six ex-juvenile offenders that are currently on a ‘like skills’ reintegration programme, organised by the YMCA. Additional citations of several YMCA employees are included. Secondary sources were used to substantiate the findings. 3.1. Resources All six ex-juvenile offenders lived in underprivileged situations during their involvement in crime. They were either unemployed or had a low paying job that was insufficient in making ends meet. In addition, their guardians failed in providing them with basic needs such as food, clothes and a place to study. The citation below captures the need for a father to provide his son with a small amount of money to attend school. I have a son and at that time it was very hard for me to look after him. I worked in a car wash; they paid me 18 rand (or 1,30 USD) per day... Even when I was still going to high school my son knocked on my door because he also needed to go to school to ask me R 2 rand or something… That day it was raining and I decided to do something, which I know that it is wrong but it was to earn money, I needed money… I robbed a couple; I took their money and their cell phone… (Ex-juvenile offender 1) Existing literature theorises that economic deprivation is related to crime worldwide (Breetzke, 2010). Maree (2008) argues that it is not poverty as such that contributes to crime, but how people experience their financial situation within their social environments. The majority of poor people do not commit a crime, but those who feel deprived will often resort to crime. It is known that countries characterised by huge income disparities such as South Africa have higher crime rates than countries with lower income inequalities (Maree, 2008). ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 7


3.2. Personal, social and environmental factors 3.2.1. Personal factors During the study, two personal factors were highlighted as key risk factors for crime involvement among juvenile offenders. These were identified as: 1) problems with anger management and 2) substance abuse. 3.2.1.1. Problems with anger management By asking the ex-juvenile offenders about their favourite life skills sessions in the reintegration programme at the ‘YMCA’, the importance of the anger management session came to light: When I was with YMCA, they talk about things… Just for example anger management. I have a huge problem with anger management. I used to do several things, which, in the end, I didn’t even realise. A lot of things came out for me; this is where I start changing… We try to talk about those things, so my life has changed ever since I have met them (ex-juvenile offender 2). Existing literature identifies personality traits, such as a person’s poor ability to control their behaviour as important factors that predict juvenile offenders’ behaviour (Maree, 2008). This trait involves the following characteristics: impulsiveness, hyperactivity, restlessness, clumsiness, not considering consequences before acting, a poor ability to plan ahead, short time horizons, low self-control, sensation seeking, risk taking and a poor ability to delay gratification. Other personality traits that are linked to criminal involvement are ones that are associated with the antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy (Maree, 2008). 3.2.1.2. Substance Abuse We identified that five of the six ex-juvenile offenders, which we interviewed, came in contact with drugs. When we asked them if the abuse of substances reinforced and supported their willingness to commit a crime, they all agreed that it did: Sometimes drugs do reinforce committing crimes. Because when you are craving and you don’t have anything, you don’t have any money, you still have to get it... So there is a higher possibility to do anything wrong when you are craving, always are good to get the drugs. And you only get the guilty consciousness afterwards, when you are sitting alone and think of what you have done… (Ex-juvenile offender 3). Parry et al. (2004) identified that drug-related behaviour is frequently linked to criminal involvement and the involvement in high risk profitable criminal activities such as the illicit drug trade. South African statistics indicate that in 2000, 77% of arrested criminals were ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 8


burglars, 53% of them were robbers, 52% were murderers and 47% of rapists tested positive for the use of at least one illicit drug (Louw, as cited in Maree, 2008). South Africa is a country wherein the raw materials for illicit drugs are easily obtained. The availability dagga (cannabis) is high (Maree, 2008). There are a series of additionally utterly appalling adverse social, well-beings and health implications that result from drug abuse, which has been associated with academic difficulties, declining grades, absenteeism, truancy, and increased school drop-outs rates (Parry et al., 2004). Adolescent substance use involves an increased risk of injury and death from interpersonal violence, motor vehicle accidents, drowning’s, an increased probability of engaging in high-risk sexual behaviours, an increased risk for suicidal ideation behaviour and increased co-morbid psychiatric disorders, for instance, mood disorders (Parry et al., 2004). 3.2.2. Social Factors During the study, three social risk factors related to juvenile delinquency were emphasised: 1) peer pressure; 2) disrupted parental relationships and family ties and 3) stigmatisation. 3.2.2.1. Peer pressure We identified that all ex-juvenile offenders were either in youth gangs (four out of six) and/or involved with deviant people that provide them with drugs (five out of six). The citations below indicate that youth gangs are related with crime and peers can influence each other to take drugs: I left my home for nothing, just to be in a gang. We committed crimes together, mostly robbery (ex-juvenile offender 2). I used to go visit the wrong people. I chilled with them, sit with them. That’s when I started those drugs, and after that, I started committing crimes (ex-juvenile offender 3). Finley (2007) and Maree (2008) found that juvenile delinquency occurs most frequently within a group context and that gang membership and gang-related crimes are primarily a youth-related problem. Finley (2007) notes that the characteristic of a gang most commonly cited on the 1998 National Youth Gang survey was that youth ‘commit crimes together’. Today there are nine types of gangs that constitute the broad category of ‘street gangs’: these include hedonistic/social gangs; party gangs; instrumental gangs; predatory gangs; scavenger gangs; serious delinquent gangs; territorial gangs; organised/corporate gangs and drug gangs. Although there are differences between the gangs, gang members are involved in criminal activities related to drugs (Finley, 2007). Mukwende (as cited in Breetzke, 2010) argues that ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 9


juveniles are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures including peer pressure. 3.2.2.2. Disrupted parental relationships and family ties In all six cases, the father of the ex-offenders was absent and three out of six ex-juvenile offenders were orphans. All orphans in this case study pointed their lack of parental relationships, in combination with a disrupted gardener relationship and economic deprivation, as key factors for their crime involvement. The following citation demonstrates the challenges of an orphan: I had no one to help me, to assist me as a parent. I’m a young man who got no parents. My father absconded when I was one year old and my mother passed away in 2001. I have been raised by my granny. Even now I’m staying with my granny. And I have got a twin sister who is in Johannesburg now. My granny does not work, she is on pension. By that time we did not have anything much. That’s also why I end up doing crime because we got anything much (ex-juvenile offender 4). Orphanhood is acknowledged as an enormous visible risk factor for children taking the streets and getting entangled with criminal activities (Chama, 2016). Maree (2008) found that a fractured family, lack of parental supervision and life on the streets were social risk factors that are analogous to the findings of current scholarship. Further social risk factors that were reported was a parent and sibling criminality or antisocial behaviour (Maree, 2008). Former studies merely emphasise less secure relationships between the juvenile and the family (caused by neglect, violence or abuse) as a predictor for juvenile delinquency (Igbinovia, 1988; Restivo & Lanier, 2014). The family is usually the first environment within which an individual interacts. The importance of the family in socialising from birth, teaching them the rules of behaviour in society and taking the appropriate steps to keep them within those rules cannot be emphasised enough (Maree, 2008). The absence of these functions exposes juveniles to the risk of coming into direct conflict with the law. 3.2.2.3. Stigmatisation (labelling) as an enhancer for reoffending The YMCA employees and all six ex-juvenile offenders and expressed the difficulties they face when they return to their communities, as a consequence of stigmatisation. The stigma that the people in the community had about me was “L. is a naughty boy, he is on drugs…and we know that sometimes he steals”, you understand... So, before I came out of jail, I wanted them to see that I have changed. Because even in my own home, it is not easy because you do find that sometimes you are being isolated. They have acknowledged that you are a criminal. It’s also difficult to change their minds. They can forgive, but they will never forget. So, whenever I do something wrong, it ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 10


directly comes back. Now I try in many ways to not do anything wrong because I do not want them in the end of the day to spit out those bad words which come straight to me. It hurts because I’m trying so hard… (Ex-juvenile offender 6) Five out of six ex-juvenile offenders were reoffenders, they did not come out of prison for the first time. The YMCA programme coordinator pointed out the difficult reintegration process in the communities as a contribution to them reoffending. In our society, if you have been to prison, they call you names, they call you ‘isiboslwa’ which means prisoner or ‘isigebengu’ which means robberer. Those names can provoke a person to make bad decisions; “You know what, I don’t really belong here, let me just rather reoffend”. Some reoffend quick as they cannot face the real life out there. The real life needs money, which you get from jobs and if you have a criminal record, chances of you being employed are very slim in South Africa (Programme coordinator, YMCA Durban). A theory that links the stigmatisation of ‘criminal’ or ‘juvenile offender’ to future criminal activities was identified. The labelling theory hypothesises that those who receive formal punishment are more likely to commit a crime in the future because of the label that has been attached to them (Restivo & Lanier, 2014). Consequently, labelling theorists argue that official intervention by the criminal justice system and subsequent reactions from members of society can be the precipitators towards the development of a persistent criminal career (Restivo & Lanier, 2014). Formal labelling is not a factor that can be seen as a cause for the first act of crime but can be a predictor for future crime, depending on how the situation is handled. As many juvenile offenders are rooted in a ‘culture of violence’, we argue that formal labelling is an important aspect to include. Restivo and Lanier (2014) argue that this effect is not necessarily identical for all labelled offenders, it depends on the specific context. Their study revealed that the effect of official labelling and subsequent involvement in crime and delinquency is significantly amplified by the presence of family conflict, risk-seeking propensity, weak commitment to school, and negative perception of police. 3.2.3. Environmental Factors Lastly, we examine a comprehensive environmental risk factor that includes the vulnerability of youth living in underprivileged communities such as townships. The citation below provides reasons why the YMCA in Durban, who works with both street children and (ex-) juvenile offenders is located in a deprived area. Several environmental issues are emphasised such as inadequate housing conditions and high exposure to drugs, violence and crime:

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I think it is logic that we are here at Albert Park. The community here is very mixed. There is a lot of people coming from other countries that are staying here around the Albert Park area. The places in the apartments are very crowded because they are residing with all their relatives, all their parents’ friends. The kids are exposed to a lot of things. Because of the lack of resources, space, they fight for surviving. There are also a lot of homeless people and street kids around the Albert Park. Sometimes even walking around in the street, it is not easy, it is not safe… People got stabbed, they snatch cell phones… It’s because of poverty, or they are attached to drugs and some of them get involved with crime. So the kids are very vulnerable. Because, it is such a challenge to survive, the parents come home very late from their jobs as a street vendor or domestic jobs. So most of the time the kids are left on their own and then get involved with other street kids and gangs… (National youth justice coordinator, YMCA Durban) All ex-juvenile offenders admitted that their family homes were township-based. Breetzke (2010) revealed two inter-related aspects of urban spatiality to South African cities during the post-apartheid era, which included desegregation and rapid urbanisation. Desegregation refers to the emerging black middle-class who has largely migrated from the formerly segregated black townships into the more affluent former ‘whites-only’ suburbs. Those who were not beneficiaries of democratic policies have been left behind. This resulted in the redistribution of wealth generated from the emerging black middle-class who lived in the former ‘whites-only’ neighbourhoods, while there was no advantage for the townships where the ‘new wealthy’ emerged from (Breetzke, 2010). Consequently, with the exodus of the black middle class from the townships, the much anticipated urban growth and development in the black townships have failed to emerge. Townships, therefore, continue to be ravaged by poverty, homelessness, street children, crime and limited access to a range of basic services and limited employment opportunities (Breetzke, 2010). All six ex-juvenile offenders admitted they start committing crimes on the streets, four out of six were related to a street gang and two out of six individually wandered on the streets and start to steal because of their substance abuse. The (ex)-juvenile offender describes in the citation below how he got more and more involved with street life, and how it contributed to him committing crimes. I’m born in the township Merebank. When I was young I used to come to the Durban to Golden beach, to swim and have fun at the beach. I saw there were other boys my age. We worked all together so we had something to eat, the money… When I was growing up I start joining a bad group, a gang. There they showed me how to get your own money. Not only two rand but maybe 500, 1000 rand. When I started joining them I started to commit crimes very soon. When we got the money we started going to the nightclubs, drinking,… So after this, we committed crimes. I started going to jail from ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 12


2006, I came in and out, in and out... I was staying in Point, there was lots of corruption and crimes, city crimes and everything (Ex-juvenile offender 5). The environmental risk factor of ‘hanging on the streets’ correlates to criminal involvement in various ways (Maree, 2008). Maree (2008) argues that children and juveniles living on the street are one of the fastest growing problems in Africa. There are several groups of street children, these include children sent out by parents daily to earn money by whatever means (usually returning home at night), children with loose family contacts (occasionally returning home to their families), children without any family contact (living in temporary shelters or with other street children in gangs) and street children or adolescents permanently living on the streets (Maree, 2008). Four out of six ex-juvenile offenders could be related to the group of ‘children with loose family contacts’. My mum was so worried, she came looking for me in Durban. Sometimes she didn’t find me, and sometimes when she did find me, I was not going home… It was hard for her. Sometimes I went home for maybe 3 or 4 nights (Ex-juvenile offender 2). Street children typically have to contend with insufficient food, clothes, and shelter and they have no access to basic services such as medical care and literacy training (Schurink, 1994). In South Africa, street children often live in slums and other deserted or dilapidated buildings in cities. They have their own territories and gangs and survive by engaging in informal unregulated jobs. These include helping motorists to park their cars, washing cars, selling fruit and vegetables, begging, prostituting themselves, pickpocketing, selling drugs and committing other crimes that help that access cash. Living on the street leaves children vulnerable to social, sexual and psychological abuse (Schurink, 1994). 3.3. Capabilities In order to identify the juveniles’ capabilities (or real opportunities to reach a life a person reasons to value), it is important to first gain insight in what they value in life. We first captured the actual functionings or life goals that the six ex-juvenile offenders aim to achieve if they had all the capabilities or opportunities to achieve those funtionings. The life goals cited by the respondents were occupations: ‘to become a doctor, a policeman, an entrepreneur…’. They oftentimes revealed unrealistic occupational life goals. We subsequently investigated more underlying reasons why they committed crimes. Various underlying life values came to light: ‘being a good father, having nice clothes, going out to fancy places, having fun with peers’. We argue that the respondents have limited capabilities or opportunities to achieve what they value in life. Based upon existing literature and ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 13


narratives utilised in the previous paragraphs (Cfr. resources, personal, social and environmental factors), we identified three main capability-lacks that play a significant role in the achievement of various valuable functionings: 1) lack of educational opportunities; 2) lack of job opportunities and; 3) lack of positive social networks. In the following paragraphs, we present a brief literature review on the deprived capabilities or opportunities of South African youth with regards to education, employment, and positive social networks. 3.3.1. Lack of educational opportunities In 2013, 14, 8.3% (approximately 551) of the 6 676 schools in South Africa that offered the NSC examination obtained 100% passes (DBE, 2015). Although the pass percentage in 2013 is higher than the 6.7% of 2012, it is still relatively low (DBE, 2015). Factors such as poverty and learning disabilities are embedded in the lack of educational opportunities for South African children. Investigating poverty factors, the parent’s inability to pay school fees or school uniforms, which help children feel included at school should be taken into account (Ward & Seager, 2010). Furthermore, there are limited sufficient support systems at schools for children with learning disabilities, which contributes to dropping out of school (Ward & Seager, 2010). Setlahare-Meltor & Wood (2016) and Ward & Seager (2010) emphasise that children that dropped out of school, value secular education but are discouraged because of their situation. Furthermore, when children or juveniles want to return to school after dropping out, it is rather challenging. Children are either too old for the grade to which they need to return or experience other learning-related challenges (Setlhare-Meltor & Wood, 2016; Ward & Seager, 2010). 3.3.2. Lack of job opportunities The South African unemployment rate2 has increased to 26.7% and remains on the increase. It is currently the highest unemployment rate since September 2005 (Trading Economics, 2016). It affects South Africa’s youth negatively. In a South African survey, street children were asked what they believed was essential that the government could do to support them. The most common response was to provide employment (80 children or 26.2 %) (Ward & Seager, 2010). 3.3.3. Lack of positive social networks

2

In South Africa, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force (Trading Economics, 2016).

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Notwithstanding familial fragmentation, teenagers and adolescents have a prevailing urge to be around their friends at a time in their lives when they need to associate peers and to minimise the importance of relationships with parents (Maree, 2008). When investigating the social networks of the ex-juvenile offenders, all six juveniles identified a limited amount of positive contacts. Note: This is about their current situation, they have already broken ties with gangs and is supported to become street vendors. To be honest with you, I haven’t got anyone. Only my mum, my son and church (Ex-juvenile offender 1). Eish, you can’t say I have friends. Because now most of the time, I’m always in town to keep my business running. I’m doing it all by myself (Ex-juvenile offender 5).

3.4. Agency freedom Agency freedom3 mediates between ‘capability-lacks’ and ‘being a juvenile offender that has committed certain crimes’. We identified two4 options to react to their deprived capabilities; they either remain in a state of frustration or they can activate their agency freedom in order to achieve their valued functionings. We contend that the juveniles who choose action, find ways – legal or illegal – to meet particular values in life. In this section, we relate the revealed capability-lacks to the juvenile’s agency freedom in order to achieve their pursued valuable beings and doings. The narratives provide insight into their agency freedom to achieve valued functioning-objectives such as ‘becoming a businessman’, ‘providing an income’ and ‘connecting with peers’. 3.4.1. Lack of educational opportunities: frustration The juvenile describes his lack of agency to become a businessman in the citation below. This lack of agency freedom frustrated him and reinforced his drug and crime involvement. Before my dream was always to become a businessman, you understand. I wanted to start a catering and event company and a coffee shop, but I dropped out of school at a young age. I was just so frustrated at one point that there is no way where I could go to get help from... I gave up my dream and as a frustrated young man, it is so easy to get involved with drugs and crime (ex-juvenile offender 6).

3

Agency freedom is a person’s actual choice, act or role in realising any kind of aims or values that he/she considers important (Sen, 1985, 1992). 4 We trust that there are suplemental options. However, we identified these two options as contributors to the process of juvenile delinquency.

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3.4.2. Lack of job opportunities: activating their agency through illegal ways A juvenile’s agency ‘to buy food and nice things for him/herself’, is negatively affected by the deprived capability ‘lack of job opportunities’. The juvenile demonstrates in the citation below that in order to buy food and clothes, he had to choose the illegal pathway. Life is hard, you see... Because you have to eat and when you want to buy nice clothes, you need to go and rob. Everything is about money. And if you don’t find ways to earn money in a legal way, you will try illegal ways. It’s as simple as that (exjuvenile offender 5). 3.4.3. Lack of positive social networks: activating their agency through illegal ways Gang involvement contributes to juveniles’ agency freedom to connect with like-minded peers and to minimise the importance of parental relationships (Maree, 2008). The juvenile describes in the citation below that children living in townships are easily convinced to join a gang in order to make money and to connect with like-minded peers. Many children that arrive and exit prison think it’s right to be in a gang. Even me, I heard about this thing, talked about it, and heard stories about those people. They were giving me all those reasons to join them. Many people that are living in townships like it because it gives them the ability to earn money, it makes them connect with peers because they are all in the same boat... But it’s a bad thing (Ex-juvenile offender 4). An ex-juvenile offender confesses in the citation below that it is hard to break ties with band members. I broke all the ties with them but I still greet them. It’s difficult if they see you are changing your life they might rob you or do bad things to you… I lost also my friends you see, but now I’m carrying on with my life (Ex-juvenile offender 5).

4. Discussion Figure 2 presents a summary of the findings of this study. It identifies key components and examples of the processes of juvenile delinquency regarding the CA. We emphasise that this summary is limited, the process of juvenile delinquency is more complex and we, therefore, did not include all aspects that are involved in juvenile delinquency. Our aim was to examine the CA as a research framework for juvenile delinquency, which brought supplementary insights to prevailing crime related scholarship.

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According to the narratives of the ex-juvenile offenders and YMCA employees, in combination with existing literature in the field, we conclude that the process of juvenile delinquency is complex and driven by various factors. Utilising the CA as an investigative framework, we found that in addition to all aphoristic risk factors described (Cfr. resources, personal, social and environmental factors), there are additional dignitary aspects that are related to crime involvement. We emphasise that the consequences of the juveniles’ limited capabilities or opportunities and limited agency freedom to reach a they reason to value, should not be underestimated. The narratives indicate two5 types of responses, which the juveniles used to cope with their limited capabilities and agency; frustration or action (activating their agency through illegal ways ). The lack of educational opportunities resulted in frustration, which was related to drug and crime involvement. Moreover, the lack of job opportunities and absence of positive social network contributed to the juveniles’ choice to steal and to get involved with a youth gang. 5. Recommendations

5

We trust that there are suplemental and legal options. However, we identified these two options as contributors to the process of juvenile delinquency.

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The challenge in combatting juvenile delinquency is to break the vicious cycle of deviant behaviour caused by capability deprivations. We recommend preventive interventions protocols that account for multiple oppressions. Following Wessells’ (2015) arguments for a comprehensive approach, we embrace multidisciplinary interventions such as shelter provision, job creation, financial support, family support, community support, sport and other outreach programmes, educational support and drug rehabilitation programmes. Within the family and community support, we emphasise in agreement with Molepo and Delport (2015) to direct parents towards the local and community services and support. Consequently, more children will be reached. Within the educational support, we emphasise that the reintegration into mainstream schooling for children who dropped out of school is not straightforward. Alternative education programmes like the YMCA, focusing on practical skills have proven successful and therefore, we recommend further actions deepening on that approach (Ward and Seager, 2010). Here, if you want to make money and you came from prison you need to have a skill like carpentry, plumbing, all those types of skills… Those are better, as you can start your own thing, rather than waiting for somebody to employ you. In the post-release programme here at the YMCA, we offer computer skills. Some of them volunteer in an internet caffé and they assist and make copies for the people because of the skills they gained from the computer skills programme (programme coordinator, YMCA Durban). Furthermore, although certain risk factors are identified, this should not be seen as the main reason for crime engagement, such an approach will make people less accountable to society and slow down rather than encourage their maturation process (Maree, 2008). We argue that social service providers should invest in the juveniles’ agency freedom to cope with limited capabilities, in addition to resolving the capability lacks. This is in line with the life design model purposed by Setlhare-Meltor and Wood (2016). The life design model covers three themes: (1) recognising assets and resources, (2) developing awareness of personal values and life goals, (3) changing patterns of the past. This life design model makes vulnerable youth aware about their coping mechanisms and encourage them to thematically integrate painful past narratives with a future life plan (Setlhare-Meltor & Wood, 2016). Also the YMCA social workers in Durban emphasise the importance of group work, developing realistic plans for the future and assistance in realising their plans. We often find that they are isolating themselves. That’s why it is important that we keep working with them, and that we are doing group work. They can share their experiences and connect with people that are on the same page. It makes them open ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 18


up, not only about the bad things but also about the good things, the future. We are there to help them with their plans, to guide them. We never force them ‘you should do this or that’, we just assist them with whatever they are interested in, that can be starting a small business as a street vendor, or learning a practical skill such as painting (Social worker, YMCA Durban).

Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. However, the first author is on a PhD exchange grant awarded by the Erasmus Mundus Action 2 partnership called EUROSA: Europe and South Africa Partnership for Human Development. ISSN (online): 2056 – 2969 19


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