The rising scale of the problem of juvenile delinquency has provoked mixed responses from governments and different sections of society across the world. Some have called for improved rehabilitation and support of juvenile offenders. Many argue that we have a long way to go, before arriving at a ‘Child friendly’ Juvenile Justice system. ‘Juvenile Delinquency’ is not only a Goa centric and national issue but also a global phenomenon. It is one of the major concerns all over the world and reform initiatives are going on in many countries. A child in conflict with law is the central subject of Juvenile Justice Systems.
While Goa can boast of a beautiful structure set up at its Juvenile home for children, the government of Goa has zero facilities for these children in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration.
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Due to negligence and no dedicated planning for inmates, it is a common feature that children run away from the State run home at Merces.
Until recently it was believed that juvenile crimes in Goa were the handy-work of outsiders.
But this is not true anymore. Children from our own State have now come into the ring as offenders and their numbers rapidly on the rise! Children are national assets and it is on their physical and mental well-being that the future of the nation depends.
Justice requires that we work to restore those who have been injured. Engaging juvenile offenders with education and skills-based training is an important component of successful rehabilitation. Their positive engagement in meaningful activities associated with improvements in areas such as self-belief and protection against participation in future criminal activities.
Efforts to engage juvenile offenders in vocational and/or occupational activities have shown benefits in a number of areas. Difficulties with language and communication skills appear to be prevalent among them. We must remember that it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
According to Aristotle, crime originates from poverty and Plato has stated that the unmet needs of the human beings is the cause of crime. A child’s personality is rendered unbalanced due to lack of love and affection, emotional insecurity, very strict discipline, feeling of insufficiency or inferiority and a reaction or revolt. Such a state of mind leads a child to criminal behaviour. Children who come into conflict with the law are considered as victims of social hardships, neglect, violence and deprivation. Thus, they require special attention, treatment, care and protection. They are not supposed to be held accountable for the violation of criminal law as adults are. Many recruits of terrorist groups are juveniles under the age of 18.
The juvenile justice system is child centred, with the overall philosophy and goal being rehabilitation and social reintegration of every child. The philosophy is equally applicable to both groups of children — children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law.
The focus of the Juvenile Justice systems is to reform and rehabilitate the juvenile in conflict with law, so that they also may have access to the opportunities enjoyed by normal children. This is in contrast to the perception that society should be protected from the juvenile offenders who commit violent crimes. Rather juvenile justice systems make efforts to address the root-cause of the offending behaviour of the juvenile and bends forward to introduce measures to prevent such behaviour. Many children are products of single parents with no particular criminal inclination but whose very lack of direction put them in the vulnerable positions they presently are.
Child rights based juvenile justice is a key concept which aims to protect children’s survival and development and therefore it insists that the society ought to rehabilitate the juvenile offender into the community with his/her dignity and integrity intact. This could be actualised through the use of care, guidance, counselling, technical training, education and leisure. The content and implementation of a rehabilitation plan intends to lower the risk and to enhance the offender’s well-being. Our criminal justice system treats you better if you are rich and guilty, then if you are poor and innocent.
Experts say that if children can’t read by the end of the fifth grade, they lose their self-esteem, making them more likely to enter the juvenile justice system. I believe that education is a capital investment. Juvenile crime is not naturally born in anybody, but is largely due either to the spirit of adventure that is there in him/her, to his/her own stupidity, or to his/her lack of discipline.
It is high time we in Goa re-evaluate existing policies and methods with regard to the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents and re-integrate them into society.
IN CONCLUSION: The children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. As adults it is our responsibility to nurture them, and protect them from social evils and provide a safe and peaceful environment for them to grow. Whether they are victims of crimes or delinquents, protection of their future is our responsibility.
Therefore, protecting, caring for and rehabilitating the juvenile delinquents are of utmost importance in the juvenile justice system. Our engagement with them should be constructive and enabling. Let us remember these children are ‘victims of circumstances’, ‘easy targets for police’, ‘victims of law’.
(The writer is a social scientist and is at present a member of the Juvenile Justice Board Goa)
