By Our Reporter
Shillong: The rise of major and petty crimes in the city is attributed to influx, population growth and increase in the number of street children, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Vivek Syiem observed.
Syiem stated that in East Khasi Hills alone, between 2007-2011, petty crimes increased by almost 2 percent every year.
“The reasons behind the rise in petty crimes committed by delinquents is due to hunger and insecurity aspects”, the additional SP (Crime) said.
Syiem was addressing the one-day seminar for designated juvenile protection officers and others conducted by the Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority at Yojana Bhavan here in the main Secretariat on Saturday.
Pointing out the increase of child beggars in the main hub of the city, Khyndai Lad where a child is being used for begging and collecting scrap, Syiem said nothing has been done to ensure the safety and security of these children
Stressing on the importance of support systems in the city, Syiem said there were instances where a delinquent comes out of the observation home and becomes a hardened criminal. Highlighting the lack of attention on the part of the authorities in dealing with this problem, Syiem said in East Khasi Hills, a probation officer would only act on a complaint but no post enquiry is conducted in this regard to ensure proper care and support.
“Till now, there is no segregation of records. The lack of infrastructure, linkage between the child officers and the society, awareness and human resource is another problem in this State”, he said. Syiem pointed to the need for a proper roadmap in dealing with this problem stating that the best solution is synergy and communication between the child welfare officers and the community which could help inculcate tie right values, which he said is lacking in the state.
Stating that police have a big role to play in Juvenile Justice System, Syiem said. “The primary concern in dealing with a juvenile is not asking the question ‘What’ and ‘How’ but ‘Why’ with special attention to their background, their constraints and circumstances.”
Meanwhile, Centre Co-Ordinator, Childline Ibalarilin Synrem spoke at length on the need to establish linkages in juvenile justice system and to study the circumstances in which children come in conflict with the law in order to prevent juvenile delinquency. She emphasised the role of NGOs in reducing vulnerabilities faced by children.