History Main / Delinquents

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': the "Tough Customers" gang is a kid-friendly group of delinquents.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': Duncan and Mal like to bully, vandalize, seed discord, and cause chaos just because they can. They've been in and out of juvie, which they pride themselves on. Throughout the series, Duncan gets in trouble with the law behind the scenes until he is arrested and sent to jail for blowing up Chris's mansion. Mal obtains a new personality as Mike and lives a normal life until a blow to the head temporarily brings Mal back.

* ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'': Shinji and Asuka's daughter Ryuko went through a delinquent phase during her teen years: she dyed her hair dark lavender, had her eyebrow, nose and tongue pierced, wore ragged clothes and showed a devil-may-care attitude. Her parents sometimes called her a delinquent, but they didn't really mind.

The formal adjective definition of the word "delinquent" describes something or someone who fails in their duty. This sums up its more popular usage quite nicely; a delinquent is someone (generally a young person) who fails in their "duty to society" by being anti-social. They won't be plotting to take over the world or rob banks and they're more likely to be an AssholeVictim of TheAggressiveDrugDealer than an example. They are, however, likely to refuse to turn up to school (or are [[ClassClown disruptive]] if they do), harass people in the street, [[FiveFingerDiscount shoplift]] and drink or smoke while underage.

* ''VideoGame/YoungSouls'' downplays this. While the twins, Jenn and Tristan, have this reputation, they don't actively cause trouble around town (having a MoralityPet, that is the professor, helps) and are simply foul-mouthed and grumpy.

This trope can overlap with SpoiledBrat, PreachersKid, or LowerClassLout (depending on their family background). Expect them to act as {{mooks}} or be the "hat" of a GangOfHats.

* Chloe from ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange''. She is a troublemaker who does drugs, skips school, steals stuff, and a ''zero'' respect for the disabled; StealingTheHandicappedSpot and the Blackwell Handicap Fund meant for people with disabilities. True to this trope, she is a ToxicFriendInfluence to Max, who has no problems with using him as a scapegoat to take the blame off her.

This trope can overlap with SpoiledBrat, PreachersKid, GangOfBullies (some delinquent groups are also bullies), or LowerClassLout (depending on their family background). Expect them to act as {{mooks}} or be the "hat" of a GangOfHats.

This trope can overlap with SpoiledBrat, PreachersKid, or LowerClassLout (depending on their family background). Expect them to act as {{mooks}} or be the "hat" of a GangOfHats.

* The ZX Spectrum and C64 classic ''VideoGame/SkoolDaze'' has the player controlling Eric, a delinquent schoolboy who has to steal his report card from the school safe to avoid expulsion.
* The sequel, ''VideoGame/BackToSkool'', has him trying to return a forged positive report card to the safe. Both games allow you to punch people, fire catapults, get other students into trouble, and in ''Back To Skool'', cause chaos by releasing mice and frogs in the school, dropping stink bombs and more. The non-player characters Angelface and Boy Wander also count as delinquents.

* At the start of "Suffer with me" in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'', Mason and his fellow marines briefly encounter a gang of Panamanian teenagers vandalizing a Humvee with a graffiti that translates to "gringos go home". An angry [=McKnight=] throws a beer can at them, only to be stopped by Mason because they aren't worth it.

* ''Inverted'' in ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice''. The term is used to describe demons who attend the school that do... "odd" things. [[FelonyMisdemeanor Donating blood, picking up trash, attending classes, and even doing]] ''[[FelonyMisdemeanor homework]].'' Honor Students are the real delinquents; they skip class, cause fights, and so on. Of course this still fits the formal description of the term, as most of the students are aspiring {{Card Carrying Villain}}s and the school is supposed to train them to be "evil".
** The protagonist Mao is considered the top honor student because he has ''never attended a single day of school yet.'' He is deeply ashamed of that one time his rival forced him to perform "delinquent acts" of cleaning up and donating blood.
* The Streetwannabes from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' are this, with one of their quotes proclaiming that they are delinquents. Their turf is at Prawn Island, and are found loitering North Point Mall at night, often engaging in fights against the security guards.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': All of the party members beside [[NonHumanSidekick Morgana]] are high school students who moonlight as anti-heroic criminals. Ryuji and Ann also have the standard looks down when attending school, with blond hair (Ann's being natural) and extremely NonUniformUniform school clothing.
* Daigo Kazama, Eiji "Edge" Yamada and Gan Isurugi from ''VideoGame/RivalSchools''. Of course, the school they attend is [[PlanetOfHats nothing]] ''[[PlanetOfHats but]]'' [[PlanetOfHats deliquents]].
** In the sequel ''Project Justice'', they're joined by female delinquent Aoi "Zaki" Himezaki and her all-female gang, the Ladies Team. The two gangs even face off against each other in the game's story mode.

* ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' has the Renegades, a club (or more accurately a clique) composed of delinquents and thugs led by [[AChildShallLeadThem Max]] [[EnfantTerrible Villareal]]. Fittingly enough their activites involve causing trouble for Windenburg.

* The ZX Spectrum and C64 classic ''VideoGame/SkoolDaze'' has the player controlling Eric, a delinquent schoolboy who has to steal his report card from the school safe to avoid expulsion. The sequel, ''VideoGame/BackToSkool'', has him trying to return a forged positive report card to the safe. Both games allow you to punch people, fire catapults, get other students into trouble, and in ''Back To Skool'', cause chaos by releasing mice and frogs in the school, dropping stink bombs and more. The non-player characters Angelface and Boy Wander also count as delinquents.

* Terry McGinnis, the new Batman from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', is a former delinquent. This trait is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]], however, as it's not brought up until Terry's character arc has been established, so that it doesn't [[NeverLiveItDown take over his characterization]].

* Terry, the new Batman from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', is a former delinquent. This trait is [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]], however, as it's not brought up until Terry's character arc has been established, so that it doesn't [[NeverLiveItDown take over his characterization]].

* Billy Nolan and his friends in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Carrie}}''. His girlfriend [[AlphaBitch Chris]] is also one of these, though the film adaptations downplay it.

-->''Sometimes we don't return our shoping carts''

* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS10E09TheThingsWeLeftBehind "The Things We Left Behind" (S10, E09)]], [[Characters/SupernaturalOtherHumans Claire]] is in a solitary cell in a juvenile center after running away. Later we see that she is shoplifting and mixed up with a dangerous man, Randy.

* ''Series/GothamKnights'': Harper, Cullen and Duela are three youths who live on the street, surviving by theft.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' featured the "Delinquent Road Hazards" a quartet of troublemaking young cars composing of Boost, a purple and gray car with rocket boosters as their leader, Wingo, a green and white car with an oversized, multilayered spoiler, DJ, a blue van with speakers all over his body, and Snot Rod, an orange drag racer with an oversized engine.

Delinquents have come in many flavors in different times and places, but the stereotype tends to attach itself to [[TheNewRockAndRoll whatever scary new subculture the kids have come up with recently]]: [[GreaserDelinquents greasers]] in [[TheFifties 1950s]] America, [[ScooterRidingMod mods]] and rockers in [[TheSixties 1960s]] Britain, and [[TheQuincyPunk punks]] everywhere since the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]. In all cases, expect some form of DelinquentHair or NonconformistHairDye.

Delinquents have come in many flavors in different times and places, but the stereotype tends to attach itself to [[TheNewRockAndRoll whatever scary new subculture the kids have come up with recently]]: [[GreaserDelinquents greasers]] in [[TheFifties 1950s]] America, [[ScooterRidingMod mods]] and rockers in [[TheSixties 1960s]] Britain, and [[TheQuincyPunk punks]] everywhere since the [[TheSeventies 1970s]].