Juvenile Delinquency and Child Protection in Bangladesh: How to Improve?

Crime is a socially harmful act or omission that breaches the values protected by a State. Sutherland characterizes crime as “a symptom of social disorganization”. At present context, a considerable part of juveniles are engaged with these crimes, juveniles who are our future generation to lead the nation. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 recognized that ‘Juvenile Delinquency’ means an offence or criminal activities committed by children at particular age below 18 years.

According to the Penal Code, 1860, a child below the age of 9 years is protected from any offence either committed or not. Besides, Section 83 of Penal Code, 1860 states that:

Nothing is an offence which is done by a child above 9 years old and under 12 years, that child has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his conduct on that occasion.

Reasons of juvenile delinquency:

Generally, when juveniles of the lower class are unable to achieve success through conventional means- they feel anger, frustration and resentment. Consequently, they develop a unique set of values and norms that are in conflict with conventional social norms which is known as “subculture” through which they achieve their success. But their criminal behavior is not a rebellion from conventional society rather it is an expression of conformity to their subculture.

• Family Relations: As family is considered as a major determinant of behavior, so if youths grow up in a family having conflict and tensions, lack of familial love and support- they are susceptible to get affected by such environment. 
• Parental Efficacy: One of the reasons may be the poor communication or parenting skills. It is the parents who rely on authoritarian disciplinary practices holding a “my way or the highway” orientation. Telling kids that “as long as you live in my house you will obey my rules” which my lead them to become crime prone. We may refer Oyshee Rahman vs. State; in this case she committed double murder (of her own parents) without any apparent motive. Due to business of her parents with their jobs, they didn’t spend enough time when she needed them most during her teenage years. If she could get parental efficacy, then it might not be happened. So we should concern on parental support so that kids who are at risk to delinquency may recover. In fact there are so many statistics that kids who have personality problem or neurological syndromes might have a much better prognosis if they receive effective supportive parenting.
• Peer Relations: Psychologists have long recognized that peer relations can be a double-edged sword which can have a dramatic influence on decision making and behavioral choices. Antisocial friends obstruct the aging-out process and loyalty to delinquent friends may outweigh the fear of punishment. Because of them, youth commit many antisocial activities.
• Drug Addiction: It is said that, we have seen several official and unofficial research statistics, which say there are around 7.5 million people addicted to drugs in Bangladesh. Among them 80% are youth, of whom, 50% are involved in various criminal activities. The trend of drug consumption is higher in youth and teenagers their age spanning between 15 to 30 years. There are a number of reasons why a teenager might try drugs:

• Peer pleasure is one of the leading causes. We may mention Oyshee case where she was influenced by her peer group and as a result she became highly addicted to drugs.
• Not only curiosity and excitement but also despair and frustration for continuous failure in works or economic insolvency may be the reasons for addiction.
• Some juveniles have fascination to follow the western culture of drug abuse and consequently, they get addicted to it.

Meanwhile, a separate study conducted by the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition (JHPN) of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB), shows that in capital 56.1 percent of the drug users are student or unemployed. About 85.7 percent get into consuming drugs under the influence of friends. In Rifat Sharif murder case, police has found that under the influence of antisocial peers, they developed “Gang Culture” named as “Bond 007” whereas they also run Narcotics business.

• Poverty: Due to economic pressure, poverty constitutes the root cause of juvenile delinquency. By taking advantage of poor economic condition, the criminal gangs deploy children in criminal activities. For example, they are engaged in pick pocketing and petty thievery. Therefore, we should ensure Education, vocational career and all necessities so that they can utilize their time.
• Cinemas: The violence and sex depicted movies incite them to go brothel but also to commit uncivilized activities. In Rifat Sharif murder case, Nayan who was a fan of James Bond movies, along with Rifat Farazi, opened a group named “bond 007” run illicit activities. Besides, there are so many television channels such as, star jalsha, zee bangla which have negative impact on youngsters. We should concern about it so that youths are not influenced by it.
• Migration: Sometimes people migrate from one village to cities because of loss of land by river, and unemployment etc. and leave their children uncared. Consequently, they got mingled with various groups conducting various antisocial, illegal or immoral activities.
• Influence of political groups: As only detention, softer and humanistic approaches have been taken to punish juvenile delinquent rather death sentence, political parties are often seen to use children especially at election time to commit illegal activities. In Adnan Kabir murder case, a gruesome murder of Adnan Kabir, one of the reasons to the extension of dominating power in area, took place. But the politicians should remember that the youths will lead us in future. So, they should ensure proper care of these youths.
• Lack of recreation: It is also a major reason in leading youths to crime. Parents should ensure their recreational environment.

Laws that governs Juvenile Justice System in Bangladesh:

Juvenile justice system is the process which ensures the fair justice as well as treatment of juvenile offenders. Though the Children Act, 1974 and the Children Rules, 1976 are considered as the basic law for protection of children, these were not fully in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the child (CRC) of 1989 and other international standards. Consequently, government passed of the Children Act, 2013 on the basis of CRC which recognizes the following process for the protection of children:

1. Protection of child victims and witnesses: The Act has a provision for them cementing legal instruments for their protection.
2. Appointment of probation officer: According to the Act, the government will appoint one or more probation officers.
3. Child Help Desks in the Police Station (CADO): Under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Child Help Desks will be formed in Police station all over the country whereas an officer, ranked sub-inspector or above appointed to look after desk.
4. Child friendly arrest procedure: Child below 9 cannot be arrested. Though a child above 9 is being arrested but handcuffs and rope around waist to the child cannot be applied.
5. Single Charge sheet against children: Single charge sheet consisting of adults and children is not permitted.
6. Children’s Court: Only 3 Juvenile Courts in Tongi, Jessore and Konabari have been established.
7. Constitution of National Child Welfare Board: Board at District and Upazila levels has been formed.
8. Punishments: As per Section 33(1) of the Act, No child shall be sentenced to death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment. Where a child is found guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, the children’s court may order the child to be detained in a Child Development Centre for a period of not less than 3 and not more than 10 years. Besides, Section 34 states – If a child is found guilty of an offence not punishable with death or imprisonment for life, s/he may be ordered to be detained in a Child Development Centre for up to 3 years.  Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 states – An accused under the age of 16 years may be released on bail even in the cases of non-bailable offences.
9. Legal Representative: A legal representative must be appointed in favor of the child.
10. Privacy: This Act provides a provision regarding privacy prohibiting publishing information and photo of the child.

Government is trying to ensure the overall improvement of the children justice system so that they do not suffer adversely from existing law. Although Bangladesh government has enacted Children Act, 2013 to ensure justice for delinquent juveniles but there is lacuna in case of ensuring their safety. The government should implement the following measurements:

1. In Bangladesh, there are only three juvenile courts, which is insufficient. Government should establish juvenile courts in others district also.
2. The magistrates have a tendency to follow the Code of Criminal Procedure rather than the procedures laid down in the Children Act, 2013. So, the government should take concern about it.
3. In spite of having provisions in the Act that they must not be allowed to associate with adult prisoners, in practice this practice is not always respected. The Jail authorities of Central and District Jails should take necessary steps to keep them separate from adults.
4. There have been numerous reported cases of Children being subjected to physical and sexual abuse in jails.
5. Due to lack of recreational facilities, detained children start revolting and try to commit suicide. Nutrition and sanitation facilities are poor. So, the jail authority should ensure separate clinical facilities considering the physical and psychological health of the juveniles.
6. Child Development Centers which are under the responsibility failed to provide education and medical care to the child prisoner. These centers should be monitored.
7. At every Police Station, there should be separate record and register about child.
8. Almost one-third of the delinquents are female juveniles who are passing disgusting life in jails as there is no separate arrangement for them. So, it is necessary to set up a separate female juvenile correctional Institute.
9. Sometimes after execution of death sentence, it has been found that the accused person did not receive fair trial. In George Stinney case, Stinny an African American child whose conviction overturned in 2014, 70 years after it has been proved that he had not received a fair trial. So, the justice system should convict a child after investigating all procedures. It is because in some cases convicted has no chance to get another opportunity after facing unfair trial.
10. The court shall ensure proper justice so that the convicted child does not commit any illegal activities again.

It has become a great challenge to ensure the protection of juvenile for us. Therefore, it is a crying need for the government to develop a step-by-step treatment program that would include care, parental affection and education in order to provide these juveniles, an opportunity to rehabilitate them. Moreover, the government should direct, closely monitor, coordinate, receive and evaluate the activities of the Child Development Centers. It is our responsibility to ensure their protection and rights in all sphere of life. 

Writer:

Meem  Afza Simee, Student of 3^rd year, Department of law, Jagannath University. 

Endnotes: 

1. N. V. Paranjape, Criminology and Penology with Victimology, 16^th edition, 2014.
2. Larry J. Siegel, Criminology, 1983, Eleventh Edition.
3. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2019/02/27/43-of-unemployed-population-addicted-to-drugs?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=a091d838cc4599ffd573e8e131a441e4c0ff5f5a-1591511290-0-AU0RnZm-R1SdxaPXNHhyS9pX7men95TogWU0uS75TQVYa3m1qIu9PDYLYfFSS_E476mZGd_QX8exOnDk1422bKlnnsJYyKn5-r35osld4g1MrpeLfBZ7aCfSHruBdlRbFdko_8r4XDqcCiPewclUwDCeTM9wRn2c_QTFz-4_j7GwGaMlojRq_8yxLuHM8gck9ywsemlctH-xhxlWmpJCsIsretjPUZZkOcFhIgbVlj94g8YBOd2YGZVP7HCuWT9Ia9DQSpTXyw-8xzvy1SStT_Xq0rJUfgLRTv1eO2vS_iuTVOeCQKEWOyeLAylkDSO-2XQCm_iyMePdg5ahFADzwBZc7ewEKq_HYQ2Uca96nzrtEtL-1_ng00Re_wRY1ZhmZA.
4. https://www.banglanews24.com/law/article/17656/Eve-teasing-woman-rights-and-our-Bangladesh.
5. https://www.thedailystar.net/city/high-court-hc-full-verdict-commuting-death-oishee-released-parents-killing-police-officer-1480135.
6. https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/rifat-murder-organised-crime-the-core-1767739.
7. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/10220920.
8. Naima Parven, Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice System in Bangladesh, The Lawyers and Jurists, published on January 2011, https://www.lawyersnjurists.com/article/juvenile-delinquency-and-juvenile-justice-system-in-bangladesh/.
9. https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/juvenile-delinquents-and-the-children-act-1350073.
10. McCloud, Harriet, ‘South Carolina judge tosses conviction of black teen executed in 1944’, published on December 17, 2014, available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-south-carolina-idUSKBN0JV25320141217 .