juvenile offenders Act/ Prison life

JUVENILE OFFENDERS ACT

PRISON ACTS JUVENILE OFFENDERS ACTS The Bombay Children Act of 1948 lays down that in "the trial of a case in which a child is charged with an offence and is not being tried jointly with an adult , the court shall sit in a different building , on different days a different times from those at which the ordinary sittings of the court are held

Under the law prepared by the Law Revision Commissioner , under the authority of Law Revision Act

"Child " means any person who is below

fourteen years of age

The various arrangements of the sections include

1 . Juvenile courts

2 . Bail of children and young persons arrested

3 . Custody of young persons not discharged on bail after being arrested

4 . Association with adults during detention , in police stations

5 . Remand to custody in place of prison

6 . Procedure in juvenile court

7 . Attendance at court of the delinquent parent or child

8 . Payment of fines by parents , rather than children

9 . Restrictions on punishments

10 . Detention in certain cases or types of crime

11 . Children allowed to be committed to care of a relative

12 . Expenses on maintenance

13 . Presumption and determination of age

Under these heads certain regulations are as follows

No person shall publish the name , school or any other proof of identification of the child before the court unless permitted by the court

The delinquent will be committed to custody and not a prison till the hearing unless certified by the court that he is too unruly a character to be safely committed

It is the responsibility of the court to explain the offender in lucid language the substance of the alleged offence

Attendance of the parent is necessary during the trial period of the child

Presumption and determination of the age of the offender is done by the court

JUVENILE COURTS Juvenile Courts all across the globe are the product of the idea that treatment of juvenile delinquents should be separated

From that of the adult offenders , that is to say , juvenile offenders should receive special treatment . It was in 1899 that the

First regular juvenile court was established in Chicago (U .S .A

Gradually many other countries also established juvenile courts . The essential features of these courts are

Informal or chancery procedure including the use of petitions or summons rather than indictment or warrant

Separate hearings for juvenile cases by judges especially qualified for the job

Regular probation service for investigation and supervision

Separate detention

Special court records and probation records

Provision of mental and physical examination

Juvenile court is a noble institution with the main focus on protecting and reforming children who are otherwise deviants

However though such courts were designed to act as a rehabilitation centre and provide them with protection , in practice they have more than often failed to do so REFORMATORY SCHOOLS Reformatory Schools were first established in India under the Reformatory schools act , 1987

These schools are meant for the education and vocational training of the delinquent children . They provide for proper food , water , clothing bedding and other necessities of the inmates as well as some industrial training BORSTAL SCHOOLS Borstal schools are special correctional institutions for adolescent delinquents , named from the first correctional purpose reformatory of the kind set up at Borstal . Education and vocational training are imparted to the inmates , having regard to the age , character and record of the inmate . Boys are given training in mixed farming , building and engineering , while girls in cooking , house keeping and laundering REMAND HOMES When a young offender is brought before the court , he is kept in the Remand home until the special investigations in regard to him are complete . The delinquent is kept i8n the Remand home where he is observed , for a week or a fortnight by an expert staff . i .e . Probation officer or a social worker on whose recommendation the final disposal is made

Sometimes juvenile convicts are remanded for a few days and released

In India , The Second Five Year Plan period witnessed both central and state attempts to combat juvenile delinquency . Three Acts were passed by the Indian Parliament -Women 's and Children 's Institutions Act of 1960 the Children Acts seeks to provide for the care , protection maintenance , welfare , training , trial and rehabilitation of neglected and delinquent children in the Union Territories . It provides for two agencies , - the Child Welfare Board to deal with neglected children and the Children 's Court for delinquent children . This Act is regarded as model legislation for other states EMPERICAL REFERENCES : the ratio of the number of juvenile delinquents to the 2000 to 2003 CONCEPT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY The changes in the traditional patterns of life in the family , labor market and schooling which have taken place have changed the pattern of life of the young children . With industrialization , underemployment and unemployment have become rampant , there have been overcrowding in urban areas with a huge rise in population but a remarkable decline in employment rates . All this and more have led to a magnificent rise in delinquency rates , no only in developing but developed countries also

The problem , if allowed to develop unchecked , may eat into the "socio-psychological vitality " of a nation . The problem demands serious attention on the part of administrators , legislators , educationists social scientists and the community at large has defined a delinquent child as

"a child who has violated any law of the state or any ordinance or regulation of the subdivision of the state , who by reason of being wayward or habitually disobedient is uncontrolled by his parents guardian or custodian , who is habitually truant from school or home and who habitually so deports himself as to injure or endanger the morals or health of himself or other

There has been a steady rise in serious juvenile crimes over the recent years such as robbery , murder , drug gangs etc

Antisocial behavior or violation of certain norms of the society may be viewed as a part of adolescent behavior , which disappears with time , but in certain cases criminal subcultures are formed which may lead to organized criminal activities

Cyril Burt defines delinquency as occurring in a child "when his antisocial tendencies become so grave that he becomes or ought to become the subject of official action

W .H .Sheldon calls delinquency "as the behavior disappointing beyond reasonable expectations

, which has simply defined a delinquent as one who has been found guilty of committing an offence , where a child is defined as a boy under the age of 16 and a girl under 18 FORMATION OF DELINQUENT TRAJECTORIES : The intensity and severity of juvenile crimes can be attributed to social and economic factors such as family and peer pressure , unemployment or long hours of work with meager pay . Sometimes the breakdown of traditional cultures leads to a lack of understanding what correct and incorrect behavior is . Moreover , the gap between rich and poor , peer influences , migration from rural to urban areas and industrialization exerts pressure on the young ones to sustain under dire conditions . All these strongly contribute to an increase in delinquency rates around the world

As Bertrand Russell pointed out , maladjustments in existing institutions may give rise to social disorganization

Long hours of work , bad housing conditions , unemployment and economic insecurity lead to delinquency

Lack of parental affection , broken homes , lack of discipline and control also are active stimulants

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

For the years 1980 to 2004

Crimes related to property- 90 , violent crimes-10

Projected crime index Years

160 ,972 2005

183 ,015 2010

208 ,076 2015A CASE STUDY (INDIA More than 80 of the delinquents came from the lower income group Juveniles were responsible for 2 .6 of the the country . The maximum number of juvenile offences was reported from Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh , Tamil Nadu and Delhi

PREVENTION OF JUVENILE ACTS

Prevention of juvenile crime is essential for the overall crime prevention in the society . The United Nations , prefer social rather than judicial measures for preventing crime . Since juvenile delinquency leads to the violation of child rights , it is important to spend money time and other resources to treat the problem . Various countries use various resources to prevent delinquent acts and it is believed prevention is most effective in the initial stages when punitive prevention are used to explain the severity of punishments i .e explaining the harmful effects of crime with the view to reconcile offenders

The United Nations Conventions On The Rights Of The Children provides a framework in this direction under the following areas

Survival Rights-Provision of basic needs like housing , clothing , medical facilities for proper growth

Development Rights-access to education training , recreation

Protective Rights-social and legal provisions made by each country to prevent exploitation

Participation Rights-enabling children to express their views on life , family , society etc . clearly .REFERENCES Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharyya (2000 ) - Sociology 7th edition

HYPERLINK "http /www .yale .edu /ynhti /curriculum /units " \t "_blank www .yale .edu /ynhti /curriculum /units

HYPERLINK "http /www .mpk .rmp .gov .my /journal /2006 /crimelevels .pdf " \t "_blank " www .mpk .rmp .gov .my /journal /2006 /crimelevels .pdf

HYPERLINK "http /www .belzilaw .org " \t "_blank " www .belzilaw .org

HYPERLINK "http /www .un .org /esa /socdev " \t "_blank www .un .org /esa /socdev

http /books .google .co .in /books ?id 4bzgr415U3EC dq juvenile delinquency source gbs_summary

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