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Abstract: This article focuses on the various causes, effects, prevention, and punishments for Juvenile delinquency. The crime of Juvenile delinquency is increasing day by day. The article also throughs lights on one of the very popular cases i.e. Nirbhaya case. This article seeks to investigate the delinquents' educational histories, familial histories, and socioeconomic circumstances as they relate to or impact juvenile offenders. The current study concludes that the primary factors contributing to the rise in this delinquent tendency are low family income, family background (nuclear, joint, or homeless), and a lack of parental supervision over children. Due to the detrimental effects of their surroundings and peer groups, the majority of crimes are perpetrated by people between the ages of 16 and 18.
Introduction
Have you ever witnessed a minor threatening or attacking someone, or heard of a child stealing anything from a store? You may find this shocking, I'm sure of it. You may also be wondering why a child would engage in such illegal or unlawful behaviour. However, it is true, I assure you.
The Latin word "delinquer," which meaning "omit," is where the word "delinquency" originates. The term "juvenile delinquency" describes the inappropriate behaviour that kids and teenagers exhibit, which often includes criminal activity. Put simply, it refers to a child's departure from accepted social norms and rules, where they typically engage in anti-social behaviour.
Juvenile delinquency refers to a juvenile who has committed a crime or an illegal offence. According to Juvenile Justice Act, 1960 Juvenile is someone who has not completed the age of 16 years in the case of boys and the age of 18 years in the case of girls. Juvenile Delinquency comes into existence due to various reasons and causes which needs to be looked upon. It can be seen that the criminal offences done by juveniles are increasing day by day. This may be because of proper education or any other relevant reason. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 states various laws regarding Juvenile Delinquency.
Causes of Juvenile Delinquency
Family Issues:
A child's first attachment is to their family. Youngsters generally pick up knowledge from what they see around them. Juvenile delinquency can result from family disintegration, which can occur due to ongoing arguments between parents, a lack of love and affection, or fractured homes, among other things. These factors can hinder a child's mental, physical, and emotional development.
Young children require tenderness, love, care, security, and direction. In order to raise successful, law-abiding children, families must place a strong emphasis on keeping their children from engaging in illegal behavior and instead concentrate on their personal growth and development. Their parents must provide kids with enough opportunities to grow into their full potential and receive well-directed education.
Poverty:
When a child lacks access to basic essentials, there's a good probability that the child will turn to criminal activity to gain what they need. If children aren't given basic essentials like clothing, food, shelter, education, etc., they may be forced to work to pay for their wants. Slum dwellers struggle to make ends meet as they can't access even the most basic requirements. In order to provide basic requirements for their families, impoverished youngsters frequently engage in theft, robbery, and other illegal actions. To end poverty and ensure that all individuals have access to basic essentials like food, clothing, and shelter, the government must take action.
Abusive Childhood:
According to recent studies, 75% of juvenile delinquents and incarcerated individuals stated that there was a familial history of child abuse, which included severe beatings, burns, strangling, neglect, emotional abuse, and rape or incest. Though possibilities are being investigated, the causal relationship is yet unknown. Delinquency arises from the same types of environments that give rise to child maltreatment. Parents who have wayward children often abuse them. It's challenging to assist the kids. Not only do the parents react violently to their abnormal conduct, but the institutions frequently exhibit abusive behavior as well. The majority of female prisoners hailed from dysfunctional households and were reared by people other than their parents. The majority of people who were sexually molested as kids had siblings who weren't abused.
Effects of Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is a serious issue that impacts not just the victims of the offenders but also the juvenile offenders, their families, and the community at large. Even if juvenile offenders are unable to foresee the consequences of their actions on their own, these acts have a negative impact on them.
The majority of these offenses result in the kids losing their freedom since they could end up in jail or on probation. Because they will miss academic events that take place during probation or incarceration, this also has a negative impact on their academic wellness.
Having a juvenile offender in the family can occasionally cause trauma for the other family members, which breeds instability and insecurity in them. The needs of the troubled young person must be met, and the family must pay the attorney's expenses. Families owe an ethical duty to the delinquent's victim as well. Counseling sessions are expensive and disruptive, and families must attend them.
There is a strong correlation between drug abuse, gang membership, sexual activity and juvenile delinquency. All of this harms the community by creating a hazardous environment and forcing the government to spend enormous sums of money on law enforcement and safety in schools.
Case - Mukesh & Anr v. State for NCT of Delhi & Ors
Facts:
A horrifying gang rape assault happened in Delhi on December 16, 2012, when Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old paramedical student, went to the PVR Select-City Walk Mall with her friend to watch a movie. One of the offenders convinced them to board an empty bus while they were waiting for transportation at the Munirka transport bus stop. Once inside, six men—among them a minor, seventeen years old—attacked them. The victim's friend was severely battered despite her best efforts to defend her. She endured severe beatings and coercive sexual assault.
She was savagely raped by the attackers, who also severely injured her and inserted an iron rod into her body. After the horrible act, she and her buddy were thrown off of the moving bus to die on the highway. It took hours for someone to eventually provide assistance and call the police, despite the passing cars. Despite fighting for her life, Nirbhaya passed away on December 29 from her wounds.
Juvenile’s Crime:
The Juvenile was from a village approximately 240 kilometres from the capital of the country, where his older sister takes care of the family of six. At the age of eleven, he ran away from home to work as a bus cleaner for Ram Singh. The Juvenile was the cruellest rapist among the six rapists. According to the Documentary made on Nirbhaya case, he was accused of inserting the Iron rod and pulling out intestine from victim’s body. All this information has been said by one of the rapists in the documentary.
Judgement:
The four prisoners, Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh, were hanged on Friday at 5:30 a.m. in the Tihar Jail in Delhi, following the Supreme Court's denial of their request for a stay of execution.
The medical student, identified as Nirbhaya, was 23 years old when she was killed by gang rape, and six men were accused in the crime. Out of the six, four were found guilty, while one was found guilty by the juvenile justice board while still a minor. Ram Singh, the accused, killed himself while incarcerated before to his conviction. The juvenile, who was under the age of eighteen, was taken into custody following the horrific event and placed in a three-year residential rehabilitation facility in North Delhi.
Amendment in Juvenile Law after the case:
The amendment in Juvenile Justice Act Says, “In case of a heinous offence alleged to have been committed by a child, who has completed or is above the age of sixteen years, the Board [JJB] shall conduct a preliminary assessment with regard to his mental and physical capacity to commit such offence and ability to understand the consequences of the offence.”
Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation
The main goal is to rehabilitate the Juvenile, even though they are held accountable for breaking the law and are being housed in juvenile homes or other comparable correctional facilities for the safety of the public.
The government's financial limitations stand in the way of restoration. Additionally, it promotes the involvement of nonprofits and social workers, which has led to the development of affordable multimodal rehab programs for young people. After care groups is another option for rehabs. The youngster is housed in these special settings prior to being reintegrated into society.
The juveniles are to be placed in transitional homes called After Care Organizations once they leave the special homes and children's homes. Juveniles who run afoul of the law require intensive care and security.[20] Aftercare centres give young people the opportunity to pursue an honest and hardworking life. The main goal of after-care groups is to enable young people to adjust to society. From their previous life in the institutional homes, the juveniles are guaranteed to remain in normal society here.
Juvenile who participates in the aftercare program are also given the opportunity to receive adequate financial support along with social, legal, and medical services. The aftercare organization provides regular educational and vocational training opportunities to teach the juveniles how to become self-sufficient. as well as to make money.
Both institutional and non-institutional techniques are used to ensure that Juvenile receive the proper care and development and to adequately address their difficulties. Finally, it turns to using institutional measures for the juveniles' welfare.
Conclusion
Since a significant portion of criminal behavior originates in childhood and causes serious issues worldwide, juvenile delinquency is a means for youngsters to become involved in adult criminal activity. It has grown to be a significant issue in today's world and requires more serious discussion. The more developed country statistics we compare to developing country statistics, the more challenging it becomes. It has been noted that a significant portion of these incidents include theft and robbery.
They also include kidnapping, burglaries, rapes, and murders. The impression that this crime is on the rise should not be discounted, according to the figures that are currently available. Juvenile delinquency was not a major problem in India in the past. There are claims that the juvenile laws were only haphazardly implemented.
However, following the violence in Nirbhaya, there was a lot of concern expressed to the government about the need to enact a law that would better handle juvenile offenders while also offering care and protection to those who are delinquent. A person becomes delinquent in every instance when society treats them in an odd way. A young person's mind reacts negatively to significant disparities in society.
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