What is it called when a juvenile does something illegal?
When a juvenile commits an illegal act it is called a status offense or a delinquent offense. It is called a crime when committed by an adult. A status offense would be truancy (not going to school), running away, and not following the reasonable rules and expectations of authority members. A delinquency offense is an offense committed which would be a misdemeanor or a felony if committed by an adult such as: Tresspassing, vandalism, assualt, shoplifting, theft, etc.
