Shreyas H S
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Jun 1: In an alarming trend, Dakshina Kannada district has been witnessing a spike in crimes committed by children since 2012. The data procured from the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) reveals that 43 fresh cases have been registered in 2014, in the period from January to April.
The number of cases registered every year has been on the rise, with more and more children indulging in crimes such as theft, assault, murder, and sexual abuse. While there were only 24 cases reported in 2012, the number jumped to 54 in 2013.
The data shows that the graph of sexual assault crimes in the district has been escalating at an alarming rate. Of the 43 cases filed with the JJB in 2014, 9 were in connection to sexual assault including rape. The number of cases registered under this category was 2 and 3 in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Apart from this, another heinous crime, murder, remained constant for three years, with only 3 cases registered in consecutive years. The rate of murder has also marginally increased since 2007.
Moreover, crimes related to assault and theft that rose from 10 and 9 (2012) to 25 and 23 (2013), are at 12 and 19 in the current year.
This suddenly changed scenario among juveniles has forced the JJB in the district to focus on the issue to holistically analyze the reasons for the increased crime rate among juveniles.
Srilatha Ullal, member, JJB, speaking to Daijiworld, said, “The number has cautioned the JJB, which is now mulling an analytical study of the issue. The JJB is planning to study the reasons behind the increased crime rates among juveniles. Presumably, socio-economic background of children plays a prime role.”
Some of the children indulging in theft and sexual abuse hail from rural areas and belong to the economically weaker section of society. This indicates that socio-economic background of a child plays a pivotal role.
According to Srilatha, the boom of the information age is the biggest culprit in forcing children to be in conflict with the law. “Uncontrolled access to the internet and TV sprouts the inquisitive nature of the child. This draws the child to involve in unlawful acts,” she added.
The JJB has managed to deal with 105 cases since 2012. The pace of disposal has also doubled in comparison to years prior to 2012. In the years 2012 and 2013, 22 and 45 cases were closed while 38 cases were resolved till April 2014. This also marks the active participation of the JJB in solving the cases.
The JJB that was established in 2007 in the district was earlier dealing with cases that were registered in Karwar and Udupi. Till date, the juvenile court has resolved 163 cases. The total number of cases tried in the court go up to 468, some of which (149) have been transferred to the newly established JJBs at Udupi and Karwar.
The district JJB is resolving only cases pertaining to the district since 2012. The pending cases according to available data stand at 146 till 2014.