The National Crime Record Bureau says there is a rise in crime against children since 2009. The number of incidents rose from 24,203 in 2009 to 92,172 in 2015, resulting an increase of almost 300 per cent in a span of six years
Every day as many as 290 children become victims of crime, data shows. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, offences against kids have increased fourfold in just two years. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of crimes recorded under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) went up from 8,904 to 35,980 – a fourfold jump. Also, there has been a steep rise in sexual offences against children
Data released by the National Crime Records Bureau shows 76 per cent of all juveniles arrested for rape and murder in 2016 were aged 16 years or older. Between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016 — a year after the Act was passed — a total of 2,034 juveniles were arrested for rape. Of them, 1,553 (76%) were aged between 16 and 18 years, which means they could be tried as adults. Similarly, 901 (76%) juveniles of the 1,177 arrested for murder were in the same age group.
The statistics released by National Crime Records Bureau reveal that 1,186 cases of heinous crimes, including murder and rapes, involving juveniles were reported in Haryana in 2016, against 1,098 and 1,041 cases in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
The number of crimes committed by juveniles in Punjab was 117, 111 and 277; and 204, 195 and 272 in Himachal Pradesh for the same period. In Haryana, juveniles were allegedly involved in as many as 62 cases of rape whereas the number in HP and Punjab was 13 each. Haryana stood on the ninth rank in the country when it came to juvenile crimes.
An analysis of the family background of juveniles arrested in 2016 shows that 38,061 or 86% of the 44,171 minors apprehended lived with their parents, while another 4,550 (10.3%) lived with guardians. Only 1,560 of them were homeless.
Delhi tops a list of 19 metropolitan cities in terms of criminal offences committed by juveniles, followed by Mumbai with 946 cases. In Delhi, these Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) allegedly committed 143 rapes and 35 unnatural offences.
Delhi witnessed more than 5% increase in crimes, including rapes and thefts, committed by juveniles in 2016, according to government data.
The number of crimes allegedly committed by juveniles last year was 2499, up from 2366 in 2015, with an increase in the number of rapes and vehicle thefts.
The total number of juveniles apprehended by Delhi Police in 2016 was 3808, 238 more than that in 2015. Rapes allegedly committed by juveniles saw a 23% rise — 155 in 2016 from 119 in 2015 — and theft of vehicles doubled between 2015 and 2016. While the total number of thefts decreased from 530 to 497 in 2016, thefts of vehicles by minors increased to 288 last year from 139 in 2015. Robbery committed by minors also witnessed a dip from 457 in 2015 to 382 in 2016.
Experts say parental neglect, lack of education, poverty, and absence of a support system, at school and home, are forcing juveniles into crime in the Capital.
A study by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has described parental neglect as the main factor which forces juveniles into the world of crime. The study has also found that only 29 per cent of the children’s parents spend quality time with them.