Juvenile delinquency is an enormous problem in India by which most of the
youth spoil their lives. Because of juvenile crime and related problems youth,
their families, and the entire society suffer multiple problems and
consequences. Not only does the problem affect the victims of the crime; it also
affects the juvenile delinquents' family, their future, and society as a whole.
The most obvious people affected by juvenile delinquency are the victims.
There
are various factors leading to juvenile delinquency in India. Psychological,
social, political, and economic factors are the major factors leading to the
consequences of juvenile delinquency in India and the various countries in the
world.
In this paper, I am going to discuss the main perspectives of the economic
factors and their impact on juveniles in India. Furthermore, I am going to
discuss the determining economic factors leading to juvenile delinquency,
various theories supporting economic factors, case studies, current news about
the juvenile delinquency related to economic factors in this pandemic period,
and the prevention of juvenile delinquency in India.
Prevention is better than
cure should be implemented in the case of juvenile delinquency so that the
society can progress with the healthy juveniles in the healthy environment in
India.
Introduction:
In simple words, Juvenile delinquency is the participation of children under the
age of eighteen years in illegal activities in society. The degree of
delinquency varies from one to another and it remains unnoticed unless and until
the particular act becomes the concern of society. Since adolescence is the
transitional period of life, during this phase one passes through rapid
evolutionary changes in one's physical, mental, moral, spiritual, sex, and
social outlook.
They become emotionally unstable and frequent mood change is
observed. It is a period of anxieties, worries, conflicts, and complexities.
Therefore during this period, they do certain things in order to satisfy one
need or the other which often leads them to become delinquent. Delinquent
children belong to that category of exceptional children who exhibit
considerable deviation in terms of their social adjustment and are consequently
also labeled as socially deviant or socially handicapped.
They display criminal
behavior and are punishable under legal procedure. Violation of social norms and
values threatens the peace of society and is therefore considered a criminal
act. The nature and kind of the crime may range from very mild to severe,
however, they are all antisocial and hence are subjected to legal criminal acts.
In this sense, they are very much like criminals and antisocial elements. In
legal terminology, however, they are referred to as delinquents and not as
criminals. On whole, juvenile delinquency is a legal term that denotes acts of
varying degrees of social consequences from mere naughtiness to major assault
punishable by law.
Act of delinquency may include:
- Running away from home without the permission of parents.
- Habitual behavior beyond the control of parents.
- Spending time idly beyond limits.
- Use of vulgar language.
- Committing sexual crime.
- Visiting gambling centers etc.
Poverty, accordingly,
is only one of a number of factors associated with juvenile
delinquency.[1] Among these other factors are bad housing, broken homes, mothers
working, parental negligence, over severity, over leniency, rejection, boy and
girl gangs, delinquent and criminal traditions, and other neighbourhood
conditions contributing to the delinquency of the child. Low income is rather
directly related to meager conditions of family life and insufficient provision
in the home for wholesome recreation.
Therefore, an adequate minimum and stable
family income is probably the most significant factor in the prevention of
serious cases of delinquency which now is appearing in our juvenile courts and
is committed to industrial schools and reformatories. Stable and adequate
income, together with its consequences in the improvement of family life and
neighborhood conditions would be a powerful preventive influence in reducing
juvenile delinquency.
Provisions Related To Juvenile Delinquency:
Sec 2(35) of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,2015
states Juvenile means a child below the age of eighteen years.
Juvenile Delinquency means child tending to commit a crime, it includes Child
in conflict with law as specified in sec2(13), a child who is alleged to found
to have committed an offense and who has not completed eighteen years of age on
the date of commission of such offenses.
Sec 2(14) states child in need of care and protection means a child:
- who is found without any home or settled place of abode and without any
ostensible means of subsistence; or
- who is found working in contravention of labor laws for the time being
in force or is found begging, or living on the street; or
- who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and
such person:
- has injured, exploited, abused, or neglected the child or has violated
any other law for the time being in force meant for the protection of child;
or
- has threatened to kill, injure, exploit or abuse the child and there is
a reasonable likelihood of the threat being carried out, or
- has killed, abused, neglected, or exploited some other child or
children, and there is a reasonable likelihood of the child in question
being killed, abused, exploited or neglected by that person, or
- who is mentally ill or mentally or physically challenged or suffering
from terminal or incurable disease, having no one to support or look after
or having parents or guardians unfit to take care, if found so by the Board
or the Committee; or
- who has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is found to be
unfit or incapacitated, by the Committee or the Board, to care for and
protect the safety and the well-being of the child; or
- who does not have parents and no one is willing to take care of, or
whose parents have abandoned or surrendered him; or
- who is missing or runaway child, or whose parents cannot be found after
making reasonable inquiry in such manner as may be prescribed, or
- who has been or is being or is likely to be abused, tortured, or
exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts; or
- who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or
trafficking; or
- who is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains; or
- who is a victim of or affected by any armed conflict, civil unrest, or
natural calamity; or
- who is at imminent risk of marriage before attaining the age of marriage
and whose parents, family members, guardians, and any other persons are
likely to be responsible for solemnization of such marriage.
Economic Determinism:
Carl Marx (1818-1883 stated that early exponents located crime in the conflicts
of behavioral norms and saw crime as being rooted in poverty, misery and
depravity.
Aristotle, the Greek Philosopher stated that poverty endangers revolution and
crimes originate from poverty.
Donald Taft stated that crime is a mere phenomenon of prosperity rather than
adversity
Beccaria And Bentham stated that crime rate rises when poverty increases in
times of economic depression
Relationship Between Economic Structure And Crimes:
- Inverse View: when economic conditions are favorable, the incidence of
crime is comparatively low but in times of economic depression, criminality
records an upward trend. (William Aldrian Bonger, Dutch scientist strongly supported this
contention)
- Direct Or Positive View: The crime rate shows an increase in periods of
prosperity and decreases during periods of economic depression. (Enrico Ferri
supported this contention by performing the research explicitly in his work Law
of Criminal Saturation)
Theories Of Economic Crimes:
Marxist Theory:
Crimes emerge solely out of capitalist domination of society.
Unfair division of labor and capital would eventually lead to a conflict between
rich and poor.
Communism would replace capitalism
The poorer sections of society remains oppressed through the coercion of the
legal system and their discontentment generates crimes as stated by Richard
Quinney who supported the Marxist ideology.
W.A.Bongers's Economic Theory:
In his doctoral thesis, Criminality and Economic conditions, he established the
relationship between poverty and delinquency
Influence of economic conditions on delinquency are due to the capitalistic
economy which breeds disparity and unequal distribution of wealth.
Economic cycles of inflation and deflation are frequent by which inflation
results in bankruptcy and insolvency which in turn makes the affected persons
lead an anti-social life and leads to criminality[3]
The employment of children and women furnish soothing ground for criminality
despite effective legislative restrictions banning their improper utilization
in industrial establishments.
Robert K. Merton Theory:
In social strain theory, he stated that mismatch between cultural prescribed
means and socially prescriptive goals lead to deviant behavior
The children who are in facilitated family background and economic background
are in conformity with the society and no criminality is found in them.
Differential Opportunity Theory:
Cloward And Ohlin: stated that the anomie tradition influenced by Emile Durkheim and later articulated by Robert K. Merton places attention on the
economic pressures that could lead to deviance and juvenile delinquency.
Social Disorganization Theory:
Shaw And Mckay: stated that poverty is the common problem for the highest crime
rates in neighborhood.
Gang Sub-Culture Theory:
COHEN, in Delinquent Boys, The culture of the gang stated that the working class
boys problem is one of the 'status frustration' who acts as a thrust into the
competitive system where achievement is judged by the middle-class standards of
behavior and performance which in turn leads to juvenile delinquency.
Case Study 1:
Dibya Nayak (name changed), a 16 years of age kid from Barbil close Bhola
Garage, Keonjhar was indicted for the robbery of link wires under area 379
I.P.C, he has been in this adolescent home for under a half year, and has been
taken to the court for just a single time.
He has never achieved school and is
the center child of his folks. His dad Madhur Nayak matured 36 years of age is
an uneducated day-by-day wage work gaining Rs 3900/ - month to month. His mom
Padma Nayak matured 33 years of age is additionally an uneducated day by day
wage work gaining around Rs 3120/ - month to month. Their family condition is
exceptionally poor and their sustenance is additionally extremely poor. He
likewise has another three sisters and one more youthful sibling.
They remain in
a ghetto territory. He says that he gets a kick out of the chance to stare at
the TV and more often than not he used to go through alongside his companions,
and he likewise says that he has peer bunches whose impact 30 has two senior
siblings who fill in as a day by day wage workers and win Rs 120/ - every day
and are paid with a low wage, as they are hitched and have their own family so
it winds up troublesome for them to support their employment.
As there is no
reprobate record in the family yet he has been gotten by the police and has been
asserted as a killer. He remains in the ghetto zone under a covered rooftop. He
says that he enjoys watching activity motion pictures, and he is likewise keen
on playing cricket coordinate alongside his companions instead of doing the
study. His lone help was the non-classmate companions.
This demonstrates there
is a solid associate impact that has redirected him from doing his
investigations and connecting with himself in other superfluous works. Before
being captured he used to fill in as an establishing laborer in a song press
processing plant, in Jamali. As per him, he has not carried out the wrongdoing
rather it has been conferred by some other International Journal of Pure and
Applied Mathematics Special Issue 2886 town colleagues and in this manner he was
gotten by botch. He was gotten alongside his other six kindred companions who
are remaining with him in this short remain home.
This reprobate kid clarifies
the episode by saying that "the police came in the night with a warrant request
of a man who was remaining only alongside his home, seeing these numerous
villagers accumulated and began contending with the policeman After this
individuals began beating the policeman with sticks, and meanwhile one villager
beat so barely on his head that it prompted the passing of the policeman."
This
guilty party says that he didn't know about this occurrence yet at the same time
the police got him, and now he is sitting tight for a long time to finish so
that subsequent to discharging from here he will complete a decent activity
which demonstrates his inspirational demeanor towards work.
According to said by
the managers that this adolescent never used to tune in to his folks and was one
of the stiff-necked youngsters among his kin. He is suited with recreations,
examination, and another professional preparing including classes given by the Ravi Shankar's Art of living, and formal training in a struggle with the law by
his teachers in consistent interims, which satisfies his requests.[4]
Case Study 2:
Manoj Dalai a 16-year-old kid from Loponga, Keonjhar and has been charged for
Carouse (substantial drinking) under segment 47 (a) B and O Excise Act, he was
gotten by the police and was kept in Ram Chandra police headquarters for one
day. It has been under a half year of his remaining.
He has been to class yet
has just gone to till upper essential level and he is the center child of his
folks. His dad Manua Dalai matured 42 years of age is an ignorant individual who
fills in as a cultivator and procures Rs 7000/ - month to month. His mom
Subasini Dalai matured 38 years of age is additionally an ignorant lady who
invests her energy in caring for the minding and raising of her kids and other
family exercises.
He has two senior sisters and two more youthful sisters and no
other part to procure so it winds up troublesome on the part of his dad to give
him exactly 31 cash and other essential offices. He lives in a ghetto and in
reverse territories. Directly he occupies sound wellbeing and stable mental
condition.
The casualty has portrayed that he didn't have any wine bottle in his
pocket when he went to go to the capacity or meal which was sorted out in the
period of Makar Sankranti, one individual came and put the container in his
pocket and fled. Meanwhile, the police got him and place him in Ram Chandra
Police Station, and kept him there for one day. He had been to Chennai for
artisan work and used to procure Rs 8000/ - month to month, yet he returned over
from the dread of Tsunami.
Nowadays he is filling in as an assistant and is
procuring Rs 100/ - every day. He says that he has no enthusiasm for learning
engine bicycle International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special
Issue 2887 repairing which is being educated by the instructor in the
Observation Home, however, he loves sitting in front of the TV, playing
recreations alongside his companions, and furthermore he used to jump at the
chance to invest the vast majority of his energy alongside his associate mates
because of which he began embracing the terrible social propensity for drinking,
biting tobacco, beetle, and he additionally says that he because of his
companions his day by day routine was influenced.
Because of the inspiration and
indoctrination from his companions he has submitted this offense. In this short
remain home, he goes to the classes which are being given in the Observation
Home. He says that there is no other wellspring of amusement other than staring
at the TV, playing diversions and classes which are given in this Home in this
way, he is fulfilled by the classes and different offices that are being given
in this Home. In the wake of meeting this reprobate kid, I found that he has a
duplicitous identity and this occurred because of the absence of parental
inconsiderateness.[5]
Case Study 3:
A delinquent caught by the hands of Justice at the young age of 17 years, Hyder
Ali the son of Mohammad Siddique was looking towards a bright future. However,
being brought up in a constringent environment of political agenda and
dominance, a poverty-ridden home and being influenced by the wrong friends
resulted in Hyder resorting to drugs (Chars) at an age as young as 13 years.
Hyder began working as a salesman at a local market from the age of 11 and
earned a mere Rs. 3,500 per month.
Being the eldest sibling in a family of 3
brothers and 3 sisters with an ailing mother and an unemployed father, Hyder
learned the hard way of survival and feeding the mouths dependent on him. His
ailing mother and one younger brother also tried to support the family by
working as servants and earning an additional Rs. 4,000 per month. Although, he
tried to obtain an education while he was working he could only study till the
8th Grade.
However, being a resident of an area, where a local political party
is heavily influential, Hyder became involved with the wrong friends at the age
of 13. These friends persuaded him to taste the freedom provided by Chars and
soon he became an addict. This lapse in judgment caused his first arrest in 2011
where he was enjoying his usual Chars in the evening at a park with his friends
when a police officer caught them. However, the privileged friends were released
by paying a bribe.
This initiated his arduous journey into the world of the
inhumane prison environment. His first time at the Youthful Offenders Industrial
School was for nearly a month however, he was released on bail. During his
initial welcome at the Prison, Hyder was made to work as a sweeper inside the
Prison. However, he did not suffer any peer pressure from the other under-trial
prisoners. Upon release, Hyder again contorted to his original drug habit and in
August 2013, was caught by the police on a stolen bike. He adamantly opposed
having been involved in theft however, he said If I had an opportunity, I would
never have done it again.....it's all about opportunity.
During his second
experience at the Prison, he was once again made to do labor and at the same
time, he made a few friends inside the prison. One of them is a fellow
re-offender. For Hyder, life before the prison was filled with worries and
responsibilities. The responsibility of feeding his family, the responsibility
of providing his siblings with an opportunity to be educated, and the
responsibility of marrying his three sisters off into respectable homes. Hyder
stated that at least within the vicinity of the Prison he can think of himself
other than his family for once in his life.
According to Hyder police officials
physically abuse any under-trial prisoner who dares to misbehave or befall from
the stringent Prison rules. However, at the prison, Hyder enjoys religious
classes, enabling him to learn about the religion and make peace with his
circumstances. At present Hyder also enjoys computer classes which familiarizes
him with the operating technique for computers. Moreover, Hyder feels free from
the political and religious ambiance that he faced regularly outside the prison.
According to Hyder, he is happy with his life in prison however, he reiterates
the need to provide economic independence to juveniles to eradicate future
recidivism.[6]
Juvenile Delinquency During Covid-19 Pandemic Situation:
Minor Darkside Out In Lockdown :[7]
Even as Kochi recorded a steady decline in the number of crimes committed by
minors over the last four years, incidents registered this year during the
Covid-induced lockdown show a concerning trend. As per the data provided by the
Ernakulam District Crime Records Bureau, nine cases involving 15 minors made it
to police records in the past few five months of lockdown. In the whole of 2019,
the city reported 19 juvenile crime cases.
Mirroring a statewide trend, the city
had recorded a significant reduction in juvenile crime cases in 2018 with only
29 being reported that year as compared to 60 in 2017. However, if the latest
data is anything to go by, 2020 may break the declining streak. Among the
category of crimes minors are mostly implicated in, ordinary theft and motor
vehicle theft cases take the top position followed by those relating to Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Six cases of ordinary theft and robbery
have been reported this year, almost five times higher than other crimes.
According to Arun B Nair, assistant professor of psychiatry at Government
Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, stealing from homes and
neighborhoods, and hiding cameras in washrooms to capture nude videos are some
of the frequent crimes committed by children.
There has also been a trend in
which children are exploited by the drug mafia to peddle narcotics. More often,
the reward for peddling is not money but a packet of cannabis.That is how they
are pushed into becoming both criminals and addicts, he said.
Experts point to
multiple bio-psycho-social reasons which lead minors to indulge in delinquent
behavior. Genetic factors, adverse familial environment, social conditioning,
peer influence, and fluctuating hormones during puberty are contributing
elements. Common psychological issues observed in children who eventually
indulge in anti-social activities are conduct disorder and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Pandemic Forces Jobless Youth To Turn To Crime:[8]
Ameer Ahmed, 28, earned a decent salary as a receptionist at a Bengaluru hotel.
He had no criminal history. But Covid changed all that. He lost his job and
couldn't find another. A desperate Ahmed came across a person from Visakhapatnam
who had
stuff that could help him earn big money. It turned out to be
ganja.
Ahmed, while searching for potential customers near a Peenya factory, was
arrested and jailed. Sameer Kumar Shah, 25, too lost his job like Ahmed.
Desperation drove him to use a photo of a woman manager of a women's fashion
store, impersonate her and send messages to her colleagues asking for money to
be deposited in a bank account on the pretext of the woman's mother needing
treatment. One even deposited Rs 4,500.
When the woman learned of it, she filed
a complaint with East Cyber, Economic & Narcotics (CEN) police, who nabbed him
in July. In another incident, daily wage workers from a village near Jamkhandi
taluk in Bagalkot district targeted elders wearing jewelry after being denied
jobs at construction sites. On being arrested, they confessed to robbing as they
were jobless. Police officials said that though crime has not increased, the
pandemic-triggered job loss has resulted in more first-time criminals -- like
Ahmed, Shah, and the daily wage workers.
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police BB Ashok Kumar said, There are
instances of circumstances pushing people with no criminal history to commit
crimes like chain snatching. Such incidents will stop only when the economy
improves. S K Umesh, a retired Superintendent of Police, said, As many lost
their livelihoods, they started committing crimes.
At a higher primary school in Jattenahalli village, miscreants stole three gas
cylinders worth Rs 3,600, while in a similar incident in KR Nagar police limits,
rice bags, kitchen utensils, and gas cylinders were stolen from the government
high school in Hampapura village. Mysuru city police registered over 14 murder
cases, while Mysuru district police registered 15 during April-September, post
Covid-19 outbreak. The period saw 26 burglaries, 110 theft cases, and 15
chain-snatching incidents in the city limits, while 53 burglaries, 124 thefts,
and 5 chain-snatching cases in the district.
Former DG&IGP ST Ramesh said economic slowdown results in unemployment and
various business establishments undergo loss or close down. When sources of
income dry up, people tend to look for shortcuts to earn money and crime becomes
an option. In such unprecedented times, police vigil may not succeed in putting
down crimes. The only solution is for the economy to improve, he says.
Need To Set Up Protection For Kids During Pandemic: Supreme Court Judge:[9]
Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, who chairs the court's Juvenile
Justice Committee, has emphasized the need to step up measures to ensure better
care, protection, and well-being of children during the second wave of Covid-19.
Speaking at a review meeting held by the committee in coordination with UNICEF,
Justice Bhat pointed out that there are children who lost either or both parents
to Covid-19 or are without parental supervision and care when their parent/s are
in hospital or under medical care.
These children are more vulnerable now than
ever before. Concerted efforts should be made by all the key stakeholders to
ensure the care and protection of children during the second wave of Covid, he
said.
Prevention Of Juvenile Delinquency In India:
Prevention is necessary for the delinquent children and the need of the hour in
our country. Delinquency Prevention is the broad term for all efforts aimed at
preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal, or other antisocial,
activity. Increasingly, governments are recognizing the importance of allocating
resources for the prevention of delinquency. Prevention services include
activities such as substance abuse education and treatment, family counseling,
youth mentoring, parenting education, educational support, and youth sheltering.
Preventive Programmes Of Juvenile Delinquency:
There may be two kinds of programs for preventing juvenile delinquency:
- Individual Programme The individual program involves the prevention of
delinquency through counseling, psychotherapy, and proper education.
- Environmental program involves the employment of techniques with a view
to changing the socio-economic context likely to promote delinquency.
These two
forms of preventive approaches are reflected in the following strategies, which
are adopted in crime prevention programs.
- Individual Programme
- Clinical Programme
The object of this clinic is to provide aids through Psychiatrists Clinical
Psychologists and Psychiatric Social workers to help the Juveniles delinquents
in understanding their personality problems. Taft and England have listed the
function of clinics as follows:
- To participate in the discovery of pre delinquents
- To investigate cases selected for study and treatment.
- To treat cases themselves or to refer cases to other agencies for
treatment.
- To interest others against in psychiatrically oriented types of
treatment of behavioral disorders in children.
- To reveal the community's unmet needs of children.
- To cooperate in the training of students intending to specialize in the
treatment of behavioral problems.
- Educational Programme
The impacts of educational institutions are very significant in the countries
where almost every child going to school and the preventive programs can be
launched in an effective manner through the schools. Teachers should not
discriminate among the students; they should be treated equally and provided the
moral education which is very helpful to the students for their life stand.
Moral education is a significant factor for the students, which decides their
life. They should be able to understand the difference between right and wrong
ideas which are favorable for them and which are not.
- Mental Hygiene
This method is also helpful in prevention and treatment of
Juvenile delinquency. To prevent the mental conflict and to bring about a proper
mental adjustment in childhood and value of mental therapy in curing a mental
disturbance cannot be overemphasized. The mission of life must be determined and
energies must be directed towards the fulfillment of the high mission. The
development of high sentiment and values in the child also prevents Juvenile
Delinquency. In October 1944, on the occasion of inauguration of the Indian
Council for Mental Hygiene Dr. K.R. Masani, the then Director of Indian
Institute 72 of Psychiatry and Mental Hygiene, said that the application of
mental Hygiene was wide and varied and in Education, Law, Medicine, the Public
health industry, mental hygiene played an important role in preventing
delinquency and crime.
- Parent education
Every community should ensure opportunities for parental educations, which
will help to make good homes, improve the family relationships, and
education and care of children. Some educational programs inform parents on
how to raise healthy children.
- Recreational programs
The recreational programs are a good check on delinquency. Recreation programs
enable youths to mix up with other adults and children in the community and
develop friendships. Such positive friendships may assist children in later
years. Youth programs are designed to fit the personalities and skills of
different children and may include sports, dancing, music, rock climbing, drama,
karate, bowling, art, and other activities.
It is believed that the energies of
youth can be very well channelized into pursuits like sport games and other
healthy activities, which would counteract delinquent among the participants.
The establishment of recreational agencies like sports, playgrounds community
centers, concerts drama, puppet shows are very necessary for preventing
delinquency and developing social group work and youth groups. In rural areas,
recreational agencies should provide open-air meeting halls, playgrounds for
sports and cultural activities. Youth organizations and groups/agencies should
take and assume the responsibility for organizing these programs so that
Juvenile may be kept away from delinquency.
- Removal of inferiority complex, fear, apprehension may sometimes lead
the child to commit a crime under wrong and misplaced belief/impression of
proving himself. Children deserve encouragement to become confident and
good-spirited people. Discouragement pulls them behind in their life. They
should be properly to face various good and bad phases of life and their
failures should not be criticized. Praise cheer, sympathy, and love should
be showered to banish the inferiority complex.[10]
- Environmental program
Community Programs The basic aim of the community program is to reach the people
in need of help instead of people approaching the workers and agencies. Another
significance of this program is that the participation of the local community is
considered to be more important and the role of professional leadership is
sought to be kept at the minimum level. Marshal B. Clinard has outlined the key
supposition of these programs as follows:
- Local people will participate in efforts to change neighborhood
conditions.
- And they do not accept an adverse social and physical environment as
natural and enviable
- Because self-imposed changes in the immediate Environment will have real
significance to the resident and consequently will have a more permanent
effect.
- Publicity
This method can also be very useful in preventing Juvenile Delinquency. The
newspapers, magazines, radio, television and motion pictures, etc. should show
the juvenile delinquency in proper perspective honestly and should also present
real reports about the various wrong done by the juveniles and analyze its true
causes and also protect the juvenile against false and misleading reporting. The
actual the position should be presented and produced before the society about
their delinquent behavior so that they may be properly assessed.
- Parental love and affection
Child needs unconditional, immediate, and true love, care, and protection of his
mother and father. On account of deprivation of such love and care the child may
develop frustration and dissatisfaction leading to crime. So parental love,
care, and protection are very necessary for the child to prevent him from
committing or doing the crime. So parental love, care, and protection are very
necessary for the child to prevent him from committing or doing the crime.
- Family Environment
Family factors which may have an influence on offending includes the level of
parental supervision, the way parents discipline a child, parental conflict or
separation, criminal parents or siblings, and the quality of the parent-child
relationship. Many studies have found a strong correlation between a lack of
supervision and offending, and it appears to be the most important family
influence on offending.
Conclusion:
Children are the future of our country. It is the responsibility of everyone to
ensure that they have a safe and friendly environment to live in. As per the
statistics, there is a huge leap in the rate of juvenile delinquency in the last
decade in developing countries like India.
Poverty and unhealthy family
background lead to the increase in JUVENILE DELINQUENCY in India. The main
purpose of the juvenile laws is to treat, rehabilitate and reform juvenile
delinquents. As the juvenile crime rate is increasing, this is high time that
the necessary steps should be taken and an amendment should be made in the
present law to be enacted and enforced in a strict manner.
The exploitation of children is the other main factor that varies in nature as
physical, sexual, or psychological, or as a combination. The abuse has a
long-lasting and profound effect on a child's life. The problem of child abuse
is a serious one and it is unlikely that it gets solved any sooner. Also, the
reason why this has prolonged is that society has affected the children in a
negative way, and in the society there are factors such as family influence,
social environment, mental disorder, and sexual abuse.
This develops in young
people with low self-influence, social environment, mental disorder, and sexual
abuse. This develops in young people's low self-esteem and they go through
mental trauma which later correlates with delinquent behavior. Most economic
research on crime and delinquency has focused on how lawbreakers can be deterred
through the criminal justice system and on the relationship between legal
employment and illegal activities. This relationship between work and crime may
be far more intricate than many economic models have implied thus far.
Determining optimal enforcement policies becomes even more problematic when
individual choices are aggregated across a wide range of individuals. The
increase in juvenile crime has also revealed the inadequacies of the economic
models in explaining non-rational behavior and crime. Economists also need to
consider how best to include environmental and behavioral factors (e.g., peer
group pressure, family and community, status) in research that seeks to explain
this phenomenon.
Suggestions:
Mere proper implementation and amendments of the Juvenile Justice Act cannot
help reduce juvenile delinquents. Juveniles involved in crimes are just not
criminals but also the victims of this sick society. Juvenile delinquency can be
stopped at an early age, provided that due care is taken in the home and in the
school.
Parents and teachers play a significant role in nurturing and molding
the mind of the child. There is no proof that harsher laws will lead to fewer
crimes. An effective deterrence strategy should target an individual's
short-term preferences that need to be identified across individuals with
different motivations and reasons for engaging in crime. The ideal is gradually
gaining the wider acceptance that juvenile delinquent needs the sympathy and
understanding of our society and not just the heavy hand of the law.
Instead of
labeling the juvenile delinquents, necessary steps should be taken to give them
a scope of rectification. However, as far as India is concerned poverty plays a
major role in a child's life. This is one of the major causes because of which
children incline themselves towards criminal acts. Poverty forces a child to get
involved in criminal acts. Poverty does different things to different people,
for some its pressure can cause anti-social behavior. Social-media today is
having more negative than positive imprints on young minds. There is a growing
concern that social media which undoubtedly inform, educates, and entertain has
become a source of contamination in a child's minds.
They tend to provide
sensational information about the crime, i.e. the types and techniques of the
weapons. This type of violence and vulgarity alleges to induce viewers for
committing rapes, robbery, assault, or murder. In India, a developing country
where the literacy level is low these types of actions have more impact on the
general attitude and behavior. Structural breaks in the family, except in the
case of death of any family member leads to tension, quarrels, and disruption of
peaceful living have a traumatic effect on the children.
Though, in some
circumstances, the family environment tends to improve the atmosphere. The main
reason behind such improvement is the inter-personal communication and
conditions of the family members. It is widely believed that early-phase
intervention is the best approach to prevent juvenile delinquency.
Control of
delinquency needs effective implementation of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 with
full public awareness and proper orientation and training to professionals and
law enforcement agencies. Government should put more emphasis on useful and
attractive beneficial long-term schemes for juveniles so that they feel
motivated to join the mainstream of society.
Thus they regain their
self-confidence, which is generally lost because of the callous attitude of
society. The approach of the agencies like police involved in the system may be
more of reformative character rather than pure penal. The objective may be to
reform the delinquents, rather than to punish them.
References:
- Ernest W. Burgess, The Economic Factor in Juvenile Delinquency, 43 J. Crim. L.
Criminology & Police Sci. 29 (1952-1953)
- Criminology & Penology (including Victimology) by Prof.N.V. Paranjape Eleventh
edition (2019) pg no.903
- Criminology & Penology (including Victimology) by Prof.N.V. Paranjape Eleventh
edition (2019) pg no.120
- International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 120 No. 5 2018,
2881-2892 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/
Special Issue (2886)
- International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 120 No. 5 2018,
2881-2892 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) Url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/
Special Issue (2887)
- A Qualitative Study of poverty as a major indicator of recidivism in
juvenile delinquents by Shaheer Ellahi Khan, Shabeeb Anwar ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SITE 8
(1637)
- The New Indian Express, published on 21st August 2020 04.12 AM; By Swetha
Kadiyala
- The New Indian Express, published on 15th November 2020 10.23 AM; By Team TIE
- The Indian Express, published on May 9, 2021, 2.11.29 AM; By Express New
Service, New Delhi
- Juvenile Delinquency in India Causes and Prevention Kiran Phogat, in Journal
of Advances and Scholarly Researchers in Allied Education \Multidisciplinary
Academic Research (2019)
End-Notes:
- Ernest W. Burgess, The Economic Factor in Juvenile Delinquency, 43 J. Crim.
L. Criminology & Police Sci. 29 (1952-1953)
- Criminology & Penology (including Victimology) by Prof.N.V. Paranjape
Eleventh edition (2019) pg no.903
- Criminology & Penology (including Victimology) by Prof.N.V. Paranjape
Eleventh edition (2019) pg no.120
- International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 120 No. 5
2018, 2881-2892 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) Url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/
Special Issue (2886)
- International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 120 No. 5
2018, 2881-2892 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) Url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/
Special Issue (2887)
- A Qualitative Study of poverty as a major indicator of recidivism in
juvenile delinquents by Shaheer Ellahi Khan, Shabeeb Anwar ISSN 1013-5316;CODEN
:SINTE 8 (1637)
- The New Indian Express, published on 21st August 2020, 04.12 AM; By Swetha
Kadiyala
- The New Indian Express, published on 15th November 2020, 10.23 AM; By
Team TNIE
- The Indian Express,published on May 9, 2021, 2.11.29 AM ; By Express New
Service, New Delhi
- Juvenile Delinquency in India Causes and Prevention Kiran Phogat, in
Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education
\Multidisciplinary Academic Research (2019)
Award Winning Article Is Written By: Ms.Sarala Jayakumar
Authentication No: SP124935977889-07-0921 |
Please Drop Your Comments