The Legal Concept of Children Beyond Control: A Global Perspective

In any part of the world there have always been and will always be children who will not follow their parents’ orders, run away from home, play truant, smoke or commit other misbehaviours. In most countries, they are known as ‘status offenders’. Frequent commission of these non-criminal acts indicates that the children are beyond control of their parents which accordingly places them in a risk of delinquency. Many studies have linked these behaviours with crime whereby ineffective rehabilitation will lead to the commission of serious offences such as injuring, raping and killing. The aim of the study is to examine the concept of children beyond control in terms of its definition and rehabilitative measures adopted in several countries including Malaysia, Singapore, England and Wales, Scotland and United States of America. It employs library research (textual) method for data collection. The study analyses statutes, books, journals, reports, newspaper articles, conference proceedings and other periodicals. It concludes that although children beyond control across the world manifest relatively similar examples of behaviours, different concept of children is applied whereby some countries manage them as children in need of care and protection while others treat them as juvenile offenders. In either practice, the international standards which support restorative justice are increasingly adhered to for the best interest of the children