Criminal or Juvenile ?

Human mind is a labyrinth.  A conundrum still undecipherable and actions still unjustified. Out of all stages of human life, the most complex is teenage. The mind of an adolescent can’t be controlled. They desire freedom and the ability to take their own decisions. The inability of parents to grant this to them is the beginning when the children seek comfort and felicity in their friends. But they are unable to understand what the comme il faut company for them is. This inability leads them into a big trap from where there is no turning back and soon they find themselves buried in alcohol, drugs and loads of bad decisions.

‘Delinquency’ is no longer the term that should be used regarding the crimes committed by children because rape, murder, burglary and assault are not petty crimes. The fact that these children know that they are protected by the court under the ‘Juvenile Law’ is something that encourages them to perform these ludicrous actions.

Should delinquent juveniles below the age of 16 years be tried as adults? Most of the people would say that at the age of 16 a child doesn’t know what his actions are. But most of the people are wrong. The question we should be asking is that what leads to four people raping a minor girl in Gurugram three out of which are her classmates? Women are the easy targets because women are not regarded as human but an inanimate object of pleasure.

Though after the Delhi gang-rape of 2012 the age of juvenile has been reduced to 16 years but it took three years for the law to come into play. Most people debated that the children committing such crimes come from poor and wretched background of the society and hence their social predicament and illiteracy makes them commit such cases of extreme brutality. But then why do the children of extremely rich and well-educated people also commit crimes? The only difference is that their cases don’t come forward as their parents do everything to mask it.

Proper schooling at respective institute and also at home by parents will not only help but will also decrease the juvenile crime rate. Crimes committed by teenagers are not a spur of the moment decision; their psychology develops over the time. Certain actions like disregarding their parents, quickly getting angry and receding to themselves are the symptoms that can help you from knowing whether your child is suffering and needs help.