In response to the increasing number of youth and minor boys in Trichy who are getting caught up in the habit of consuming ganja, liquor, banned gutka and drugs and later committing a crime.
The City police have drafted a plan to rehabilitate such offenders and prevent them from committing crimes in the future.
The youth crime rate has increased to 40%, and almost 56% of crimes are committed by young people between 16 to 25 years old. The traceable behaviour and reasons are far from obvious, but to a large extent, these worrying figures result from Easy Money and Unemployment.
Youth unemployment is the primary cause of increased crime rates. According to a study, 60 per cent of young criminals are unemployed. Another reason for high teen crime rates is the deteriorating of family values and conditions.
Increase in crime rate
As Trichy witnessed robberies and murders in the past two months, police launched an operation by booking and arresting rowdies and anti-social elements. Police arrested 137 people in 2020, while 283 were jailed in 2021.
Several were booked under the Goondas Act, including ganja peddlers and gutka vendors. The City Police reported 115 ganja peddling cases in 2020, while the number jumped to 201 in 2021.
The use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs is a common problem across all groups. Youth and minor boys are more vulnerable since they are more likely to pick up bad habits and get involved in crimes,” said police commissioner Trichy G Karthikeyan.
“From 2022, the police department plans to provide vocational training to addicted youths and minors. Counselling programmes are already underway in schools to raise awareness of the ill-effects of addiction,” the CoP said.
Social worker M Padmavathy and founding trustee of the Community Renovation and Organization Advancement Trust (COROAT), expressed concern about slum boys and youths ruining their lives.
The reason for this was that they dropped out of school. She added that such children drop out of school for several social and economic reasons.
As they work for their livelihood, they learn bad habits. “They do not have enough money to buy the drugs, so they look for other sources of income to buy drugs. She said that “the easiest thing for them to do is to commit crimes, such as robbery.”
COROAT blames the school education system as well as the society for this. It would be helpful if school teachers could prevent school dropouts by sorting out the issues in their personal lives so that they wouldn’t look for jobs and ruin their lives.
It is also the responsibility of society to change the track of such minors and young people,” Padmavathy said.
District psychiatrist of district mental health programme Dr P T Krishnamoorthy said they consume alcohol for euphoric effect. “Youths and minors won’t have enough money to buy these stuff. Under the euphoric effect, they consider themselves as powerful and commit crimes for money,” said the psychiatrist adding that they can get a new lease of life if they come for treatment.
Poverty, parental neglect, low self-esteem, alcohol and drug abuse are some of the factors that contribute to crime.
Key components of the most effective juvenile delinquency prevention programs include:
- Education
- Recreation
- Community Involvement
- Prenatal and Infancy Home Visitation by Nurses
- Parent-Child Interaction Training Program
- Bullying Prevention Program
Edited By- Subbuthai Padma
Established By- Saloni Agarwal
