Shocking picture of juvenile crimes
It is shocking and worrisome to learn from a Prothom Alo report that over 300 children have been involved in almost 100 murders in the capital in the last 16 years. According to the report, the victims were also teenagers, most of whom were aged between 12 and 17. While during the last one and a half years, as many as 13 children were murdered by other children in the capital, only in the last 10 days, two teenagers were killed. By analysing at least 30 of the murders, the daily has revealed some major reasons why these murders took place which include senior-junior clash, establishing supremacy in an area, drug trade and abuse, relationship-related conflicts, among other reasons.
As more and more children are getting involved in crimes such as murder, rape and drug abuse, and mugging, we need to address the root causes of such criminal behaviour among teenagers. We need to examine why children from middle-income and rich backgrounds—who have access to education and are supposed to be brought up in better environments—are getting involved in such crimes. Sociologists suggest that families should focus on teaching their children moral values and ethics which can resist various kinds of social malaise such as violent crimes and drug abuse. But that alone will not prevent children in our society from getting involved in crimes. We need to understand that juvenile crimes are not isolated incidents and that various criminal gangs in the city use teenagers to commit bigger crimes. So, in order to prevent children from indulging in criminal behaviour, we need to stop the bigger criminals first. Most of all, the general culture of impunity that these criminals enjoy must be broken to put an end to all kinds of crimes that are happening in our society at present.
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