Victims of their circumstances
By K S Chawla

Juvenile delinquents are not professional criminals by nature. They are victims of their circumstances. They are deprived of basic necessities. Bad company adversely influences them during their adolescence. A majority of these juvenile delinquents belong to law economic status families. These findings have been made in a study — An analysis of the factors of Juvenile Delinquency in Ludhiana district of Punjab — conducted by Anupam Ratra of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University.

There are three Juvenile jails in Punjab — at Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. The Ludhiana and Jalandhar jails were selected for this study. According to the study there was a little rise in the rate of crime in the year 1985-86 over that of 1980 when the percentage of juvenile convicts increased from 17.29 to 26.29. It may be due to disturbed law and order situation in the state. There was relatively more normal period in 1991-92 and 1992-93 and then again there was a sudden spurt in the rate of juvenile crime.

The report also reveals that the maximum percentage of crime was of murder or homicide (58 per cent). It was followed by theft (10 per cent), rape and border crossing (6 per cent). There were however, a few cases of prostitution, smuggling of narcotics or illegal making of armaments and their smuggling and running away from home.

The higher caste people committed maximum (40 per cent) crime followed by the lower castes (20 per cent) whereas the backward castes had the lowest share in the crimes (12 per cent). It indicates that crime rate is higher among the adolescent children of higher caste showing more violent behaviour as compared to those of other castes.

The study points out that students had committed maximum crime (32 per cent) followed by other profession (26 per cent). Adolescent period is full of stresses and strains. The students are particularly more restless because of uncertainity in their career development and tender age which misled them to commit more crimes compared to others. It was further found that percentage of juvenile criminals was more among the illiterates (32 per cent) and it decreased as the education of the child increased. It was the lowest among the senior secondary pass and graduates (10 per cent each). It also shows that education prevents them from committing crimes. This indicates that if the children are properly educated and trained, they become more mature to differentiate between good and bad and would keep themselves busy in constructive activities.

Analysing the economic status, the study points out that the percentage of juvenile convicts was the minimum (14 per cent) among the families who earned between Rs. 10,000 to 25,000. Thus low income forces children to commit crime because they could not get to what they had been exposed. Further, more than required income also spoils the children and they indulge in anti-social activities.

The character of children is formed by the way they have been brought up in their respective families. It has been noticed that 82 per cent of juvenile convicts belong to nuclear families, while only 10 per cent came from joint families.

The report further says that strains and stresses have increased in the nuclear families where the parents could not spare sufficient time to guide their children in the right direction. Moreover, parental expectations have also risen which increased stress on the children. However, there is less frustration and tension in the joint families as compared to nuclear families where children get enough attention from members of joint families.

In the case of one-child familie, the crime rate was only 12 per cent. A majority of the criminals (92 per cent) were married. The standard of living of the family indeed has direct impact on the personality development of the child which sometimes leads to crime. The family relations also had their impact on the circumstances to committing the crime. As much as 22 per cent reported hostile family relations responsible for their committing crime.

The study has emphasised that a majority the respondents felt that improvement must be made in the legal and judicial system alongwith its implementation in the right earnest. The basic needs of each and every individual should be met and they must be brought up properly. They should be made aware of their moral values and respect for law. One must have control over anger, should avoid bad company and the differences between the rich and the poor should be narrowed down. There should be a check on the population growth and unemployment. The report concludes, ‘ A proper socialisation and careful handling at this stage can make a child a good human being and a desirable citizen of the society’