The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Why do children commit crimes?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Why do children commit crimes?

Sahana Charan

Consumerism, disintegration of extended family affect children’s decision-making process

There have been an increasing number of cases of juvenile delinquency
Violence on TV blamed for aggression among children

BANGALORE: Recently, Bangaloreans were aghast at media reports of two 10-year-olds reportedly strangling their classmate to death on their way home from school following a quarrel. Even a populace inured to daily reports of all sorts of crime must have done a double take over this one. They are getting younger, aren’t they?

Lately, there have been an increasing number of cases of juvenile delinquency. But why do children become delinquent or show deviant behaviour?

According to Vasudev Sharma of Child Rights Trust and Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Bangalore (Urban), changing social values and disintegration of the extended family may be some of the reasons for children to come in conflict with the law. “Through our interaction with children in conflict with the law, we have found that most of the crimes committed for money or material such as vehicle and mobile thefts, duping people to make money and so on are usually associated with children from the middle class and upper middle class. The more serious crimes such as murder may be committed by juveniles from various backgrounds, but it only reflects the society we are living in,” he said.

Mr. Sharma added that general violence in society and in the homes, neglect by parents, peer pressure and the constant aggression and violence depicted in the media, especially the pictures that come to our living rooms through television, are largely responsible for aggression among children.

“Adults, especially parents, and the family structure can influence a child into showing deviant behaviour. If a boy is constantly witness to his mother being beaten up and abused by his father and there is no one to tell him what is right and wrong, he may grow up to think that abusing women is a common and right thing to do,” Mr. Sharma said.

According to M.V. Ashok, child psychiatrist at the St. John’s Medical College Hospital, lower general intelligence, learning disability, impulsiveness and lower socio economic class frequently correlate with juvenile delinquency in research cited more often from Western countries. Social deprivation, a tendency to become inured to the impact of violence due to chronic exposure to it (including television), may also be some of the reasons.

Violence on TV

“There are analysed reports implicating viewing violence on television by 4 to 12 year olds in later delinquent acts. Exposure to violence in children incapable of assessing the impact of the same and reflecting on the messages is believed to skew the decision-making process in developing children. I feel there is a lot to be said for immediate role models and how they help children assimilate their experiences in developing control on their aggressive impulses,” Dr. Ashok said.

He added that children who see violence around them routinely — be it at home or in the neighbourhood — are more likely to believe that violence is sanctioned in presence of frustrating situations. If they are also deprived of well-trained teachers who spare the time and have the expertise to reach out to them, it is a painful end of innocence to these unfortunate youngsters.

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