More than 99% of the Juveniles apprehended for crimes in 2018 are Boys
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 23, 2020
As per the 2018 ‘Crime in India’ report, the number of crimes reportedly committed by Juveniles was more than 31000, down almost 6% compared to 2017. More than 99% of the juveniles apprehended for these crimes are boys.
Juvenile delinquency or criminal activity by children below the age of 18 years continues to be a topic of discussion following the involvement of a juvenile in the Nirbhaya gang rape case that shook the nation in December 2012. The latest ‘Crime in India’ report published by NCRB  for the year 2018 stated that a total of 31,591 crimes committed by juveniles were reported in 2018. Maharashtra alone accounted for 19% of these cases.
Maharashtra reported maximum number of cases committed
by Juveniles in 2018
The number of ‘Juveniles in conflict with law’, according to NCRB,  reflects the reported number of crimes committed by children below 18 years of age. Maharashtra reported the largest number of cases under this category in 2018, accounting for almost 19% of the national total. Not far behind, Madhya Pradesh accounted for 16.6% of the crimes. Incidentally Madhya Pradesh reported the greatest number of such cases in 2017. Delhi with 8.6% of the cases was third in the list.  The top 10 states together accounted for 81.7% of the cases in 2018.
Majority of the crimes committed by juveniles were
offences affecting human body and property
92% of the casesinvolving juveniles were IPC related crimes. The maximum number of cases,including both IPC and SLL, were that of offences affecting human body (37.7%).This included hurt and grievous hurt (47%), rape (13%) and assault on women tooutrage her modesty (12%) among many others.
Property related offences amounted to 37.6% of all crimes involving juveniles. Theft alone constituted 70% of these offences followed by burglary constituting 16.8% and robbery accounting for 10%.
Cases under the POCSO Act, 2012 accounted for 45.4% of the cases under SLL.
91% of the juveniles had received at least primary
level education
Most commonlypresumed reason behind the involvement of juveniles in crimes is theireducation and parenting. The 2018 data reveals that almost 45% of the juvenilesinvolved in these cases were educated between matriculation and highersecondary. About 28% had education up to primary level. Some 9% wereilliterate.
85% of the juveniles involved were living with their
parents
The familybackground as per NCRB report is the set up in which a juvenile was living.While almost 85% of the apprehended juveniles lived with their parents, 9%lived with guardians and only 6% were homeless.
99.3% of the juveniles involved were Boys
99.3% of the juveniles involved in these cases were boys and around three-quarters of the juveniles were between 16 to 18 years of age. A total of 382 juveniles or about 1% of all were below 12 years of age.
Number of crimes involving Juveniles has decreased
since 2016
Overall, infifteen years, the number of crimes committed by juveniles has increased byabout 65%. During this period, 2016 saw the highest number of crimes byjuveniles. Since then, the number has decreased by 6% each year.
Number of juveniles between 16 to 18 years of age,
apprehended under IPC has decreased sine 2016
In the case ofjuveniles aged between 12 and 16 years, the number of them booked under IPC andSLL both dropped continuously since 2014. Except for 2016, the trend in thecase of those below 12 years of age also shows a similar trend.
In the case of juvenilesbetween 16 to 18 years, those booked under SLL crimes has increased between2016 and 2018 while the same under IPC has decreased by 13.8% since 2016. Priorto 2016, there was a mixed trend in this number.
One reason for the decrease in the number of cases in the 16 to 18 year age group could be the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act passed in 2015, which came into force in 2016. The Act was passed on the aftermath of the Nirbhaya case with the intention to act as a deterrent for children from committing such crimes. This act contains a provision which permits the court to hold a trial of a child aged above 16 years, as an adult after a preliminary assessment, in cases he has committed a heinous offence.
The law describesheinous offences as those offences which have a minimum punishment of sevenyears’ imprisonment under any law. Rape and murder are examples of such crimes.
However, with theavailable data, it cannot be concluded that the amendment mentioned above is solelyresponsible for this declining trend since the number under SLL increasedduring this period and certain SLL provisions also come under heinous crimes.
The juvenile is produced before a Juvenile Justice
Board for inquiry
A child who hasbeen apprehended for having committed an offence will be placed under a childwelfare police officer and then produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.Following an assessment, based on the kind of offence committed and itsgraveness, the Board decides whether the child can be sent home, should undergocounselling or be sent to a special home.
There are numerous factors which may influence a child to commit such crimes. It could be out of peer pressure, state of mind, drug abuse or even exposure to internet or television in addition to the socio-economic factors which can foster such a tendency. Parents, teachers, society and media, all have an important role in moulding children into adults and it is necessary that proper care and attention are given to children while they grow.
Featured Image: Crimes by Juveniles