Juvenile crime up by 34% in Mumbai, cops point finger at remand homes

The National Crime Records Bureau has said that juvenile crime in Mumbai rose by 34 per cent in 2012, with around two cases of juvenile crime being reported every day. According to a Times Of India report, data shows that there were 838 cases of juvenile crime reported in 2012, as opposed to 626 cases in 2011 and 578 in 2010. In Maharashtra, however, there was a marginal dip of 4.3 per cent in juvenile delinquency. In total, 2012 saw 23.87 lakh juvenile delinquency cases across the country. NCRB data reportedly shows that most juvenile delinquents were aged 16 years and 18 years, but an 18.6 per cent rise in cases was noticed in Mumbai in the 12-16 age group. While the minor accused in the Delhi gangrape case was aged 17 years at the time of the incident, one accused in the Shakti Mills rape case is also underage at 17 years. The Mumbai police has in turn pointed to remand homes and how poorly they are staffed and maintained as a possible cause for the upward trend. The Times of India report quotes retired police commissioner Julio Rebeiro as saying, “It is possible as there are no proper and committed rehabilitation measures there. The solution is obvious: Remand home officials must be graduates of TISS or Nirmala Niketan, conditioned to the welfare of inmates and their rehabilitation.” [caption id=“attachment_1094151” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The juvenile accused in the Delhi gangrape case being produced in court. PTI image[/caption] Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Himanshu Roy took it one step further, saying that many juveniles sent to remand homes “become big-time criminals as they learn new modus operandi from others there.” Since the sentencing of the under-age accused in the December 16, 2012, gangrape case in Delhi, reform homes have received renewed interest as well as censure since they seem an inadequate response to a violent crime, and also are very badly maintained. Danish Raza, writing for Firstpost, had pointed out the same in his editorial:

Social workers who have visited these homes describe the condition inside as “depressing,” “abysmal” and “useless”…“No routine is followed in these homes. “Inmates watch TV almost the whole day. Educational classes are imparted. Tailoring and cookery sessions are conducted. But attending these classes is at the discretion of the offender. There is no individual care plan or assessment.”

There have been other instances of the homes coming under fire. After the rape accused was sentenced to three years at the Place of Safety reformatory at Majnu ka Tila, a joint inspection team of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights delivered a report that pointed out the ‘deplorable state’ of the home. “The inspection was carried out after extensive vandalism early last month at the complex . They pointed out that the institution does not offer regular counselling, a mental health care plan or vocational training to the inmates,” says this report in the Times of India. Last August, juveniles at a reform home in Delhi pelted stones and set blankets on fire protesting against the poor facilities at the center. The officials immediately shifted them to an observation home in North West Delhi. Clearly there is a long way to be gone before remand homes can effectively carry out the function they are intended for.