New Delhi: In a worrying statistic, the Delhi Police have identified over 220 such juveniles in conflict with the law who for lack of proper guidance continued committing crimes even after becoming an adult. Significantly, the data gathered by the city police showed that children were found involved in over 2,800 heinous crimes in the last three years.
The Delhi Police has asked its officers to take appropriate measures to ensure juveniles are not involved in criminal activities.
The data of three years (till October 8, 2020) revealed that the Metro unit had identified over 30 such juveniles who turned major and were involved in crime whereas more than 25 such juveniles were found in the northwest district. The data further shows that more than 20 such JCLs were identified by the Shahdara district. "Criminal gangs look for minors mostly from an economically weaker background as they are young, vulnerable and can be brainwashed easily," an official said.
When asked what kind of gangs target juveniles and recruit them for their illegal activities, the official replied, "Every gang that is involved in crime whether it is a street crime or heinous crime, recruits juveniles," the official said. The investigation has also revealed that the gangs give proper training to children and then send them to commit a crime.
The data further shows that in over 2,800 heinous offences, juveniles were found involved whereas more than 10,000 non-heinous crimes were committed by JCLs. As per the data, over 380 of these heinous offences were committed by juveniles in one of the districts whereas in another district about 270 heinous crimes were committed by juveniles.
"The highest number of non-heinous cases were reported from one district which was more than 1,200. Whereas in two districts, more than 900 non-heinous cases (separately) were reported," the data showed.
During a law and order meeting held last year, Delhi Police had told senior officers that illicit liquor, drugs, gambling and other vices are prevailing, especially in underprivileged areas. "These are the primary reasons for juveniles to take up crime. Such vices should be wiped out at the earliest," officials were told.
One Child Welfare Committee member told Millennium Post that children involved in crime need long counselling to make them comfortable enough to trust and then share their problems. "At the very first stage children will not tell the truth. Regular counselling is required so that they can be able to share their issues, problems," the CWC member said.
Lack of parental attention, environmental factors, improper guidance, illiteracy are among key reasons that make kids vulnerable to the world of crime. The data further revealed that more than 10,000 juveniles were contacted by police teams to know about their whereabouts and how they are living.
Over 7,000 juveniles were also counselled and enrolled in vocational courses, YUVA activities and other recreational
work.