JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Author :- Rittika Paul, a student at Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College

The term "Juvenile" refers to a child or other individual who is deemed immature and has not reached the legal age to be referred to as an adult. And, the phrase "Delinquency" refers to any criminal activity or criminal act. Therefore, a criminal conduct done by a juvenile who is younger than 18 years old is referred to as juvenile delinquency.

                                            Young people are becoming more and more prevalent today. In addition to other crimes, they are increasingly getting involved in rape, sexual assault, murder, and other violent crimes. It is clear that these children have encountered difficulties that have contributed to their development as anti-social juveniles because they did not always appear to be that way. 

                                                                  

We have a responsibility to look after and correctly guide the next generation of people as elders, parents, and guardians. Children need a healthy atmosphere and the right care to blossom out wonderfully since they are as delicate as flowers. Therefore, it is our responsibility as elders to inform kids of the good and bad things.

The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 was passed because it is believed that juveniles lack the maturity to comprehend the gravity of the wrong they have committed, which is why they are labelled "anti-social" or "juvenile." Even for serious offenses, adolescents are not subject to harsh punishments under this Act; instead, they are sent to correctional facilities to help them learn from their mistakes and develop into more morally responsible adults.

Numerous factors have been identified as the primary root causes of the rising incidence of juvenile delinquencies through research. Some of them include mental abuse, family problems, lonesome childhoods, parent separations, a lack of parental direction, teen anxiety, inadequate schooling, peer pressure, and others. Therefore, a thorough study of their past is necessary to identify and address its causes. If a young child is discovered to have any of these issues, they should receive counselling right away to prevent them from developing into antisocial people. It is common knowledge that children are abused physically and mentally, which results in mental trauma and can occasionally lead to delinquency. To stop the rise of adolescent delinquency, this must be eradicated from society.

                                                The society is greatly impacted negatively by this. Delinquents' victims don't suffer alone; the juveniles themselves, as well as their families, endure great suffering throughout their lives. As a result of this conduct, the victims have been traumatized and are no longer able to lead normal lives. The fact that juveniles are punished and kept apart from other kids has a detrimental effect on their mental health. Even their family members are implicated by society, which makes them extremely angry. 

                                                      Therefore, it is necessary for parents to ensure that their children learn positive values from their families and can develop in a healthy environment, and they must devote enough time, care, and concern to them. In order to appropriately counsel students, teachers in schools should be concerned about the actions of the students and try to determine whether they are experiencing any domestic abuse. Additionally, parents need to keep a close eye on the individuals their kids hang out with and spend time with. Because youngsters may frequently be influenced by harmful companies and commit wrongdoing. 

                                    Racism is another issue that contributes to juvenile delinquency. The prevalence of prejudice against children from low-income households, lower castes, and children with dark skin should be decreased. To lessen the issue of racism, every youngster should be taught how to act decently and truly with one another. Teenagers should receive extra care because their hormone levels are changing at this age, which frequently has an impact on their behaviour. If they are not watched over at this young age, they may eventually engage in wrongdoing and develop into delinquents. Children who desire to be brave, adventurous, and on the edge of doing unsafe things under the influence of social media may do so without understanding the bad effects they will later have to deal with.

It is criticized by some specialists that children are not punished appropriately. Although they are considered juveniles, they believe that proper punishment should be administered to them rather than just placing them in juvenile detention facilities. They believe that if someone who has committed a horrific crime is not sufficiently punished, they may repeat the same act. Others believe that rather than punishing them severely, sending them to juvenile or correctional centres would be a better option because they are not fully developed to realize the significance of their crime.