ABSTRACT
The Ranchi District is highly prone to child trafficking and juvenile crime, and this has been one of the major reasons for choosing Ranchi as the place for the research to explore juvenile crime, especially among the children. This study basically focused on identifying the pattern, nature and causes of juvenile crime and explored its network to organize such processes as well as documenting the process of rehabilitation in juvenile homes. The places of field work in collecting data have been selected purposively, especially focused on the juvenile crime areas. The data for this study have been collected from the juvenile home Dumerdaga of Ranchi District and the rehabilitation centre of an NGO (non-governmental organization) Bhartiya Kisan Sangh. Focus group discussion and case studies have been conducted with the girls and women of Kishori Niketan. To uncover the network and source of the organized crime, in-depth discussion has been conducted with the victims and resource persons.
After interviewing 50 delinquents, it was found that the most vulnerable children are in the age group between 16–18 years. The study reveals that rape is seen as the most frequently committed crime followed by theft and murder respectively. Lack of education and awareness is observed as the major reason for turning children into delinquents. In most of the rape-cum-murder cases, it is seen that juveniles get involved in such crimes because of lust or friendship with the other sex. Theft is the second largest crime committed by children. It is the lure of easy money which causes them to indulge in theft. Children at this age need proper counselling and guidance from their schools and parents to be on the right track. Schools should conduct more and more recreation programmes, whereas parents need to talk with and be friendly towards their children and guide them to take the right way to earn money. Schools should guide their students to make education their priority. This chapter attempts to study the crimes committed by children and to give suggestions on the corrective actions to be undertaken for the purpose. Better recreation programmes by the NGOs and better rehabilitation facilities by the government will help in reducing the number of delinquents in the near future.
