By Nayak Paudel
Kathmandu, Jan. 24:Number of children involved in crimes has increased over the years. At the same time, the number of children falling prey to various crimes has also increased. Police data of the past few years show this picture.
The Juvenile Act 2075 (2018) defines children as persons who have not completed the age of 18 years.

A total of 1,516 children have become victims of several crimes by January 12 of the current fiscal year 2021/22, according to the data of Nepal Police.
The data further show that 3,164 and 2,668 children were victimised in 2020/21 and 2019/20 respectively.

“Children are mostly become the victims of sexual abuse and their relatives are found to be the main perpetrators in such crimes. Thus, the society should always be helpful to the victims,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bishnu Kumar KC.
Likewise, during the last fiscal year 2020/21, a total of 1,249 cases of crimes committed by children were recorded from across the country, according to Nepal Police.
In 2020/21, juveniles were found involved in 351 cases of rape, 46 of attempted rape, 34 of child marriages, 30 of polygamy, 190 of thefts, 136 of drug related cases, 34 of murders and 44 of attempted murder.

The cases were higher in 2020/21 compared to the earlier fiscal years. A total of 637 cases and 987 cases of crimes involving children were recorded in 2019/20 and 2018/19 respectively.
“Access to several issues through the internet with lack of proper care from seniors has led many children to commit the crime knowingly and unknowingly in the recent years,” said SSP KC.
KC, who is also the spokesperson for Nepal Police, urged the parents to have a good relation with their children, teach them good behaviours and keep them on the right path.

Mental health experts also argued that children should receive proper care because they commit crimes based on what they know and in what situation they are.
“Children know from what they have learned, therefore, proper guidance and teaching from parents, school and society is required,” said Dr. Basudev Karki, a consultant psychiatrist at the Lalitpur-based Nepal Mental Hospital.

A few juveniles were also found to be involved in the crimes like abuse on witchcraft and child sexual abuse.
Talking to The Rising Nepal, Dr. Karki said that the children should enjoy their rights without any obstacles because poor living condition can lead a child to go off the track.
Meanwhile, the government authorities informed that the cases related to children were always of high priority.

Under the law, children are sentenced to shorter jail terms and are sent to juvenile correction homes instead of sending them to prison. They receive proper care there.
“Juvenile criminals receive different care from the government. They are kept in juvenile correction homes and provided counselling for behaviour change and education among others,” said SSP KC.
Currently, only eight juvenile correction homes are operating across the country.

A Juvenile Justice Coordination Committee has also been formed with a belief that the children should be dealt out of the formal justice system because the conventional justice system is inadequate and ineffective to deal with the issues of children.

It is better to prevent children from committing crimes and becoming victims as well. If a child commits a crime or becomes a victim of a crime, s/he should be treated well and help them return to the society and continue their normal life unhindered, said Dr. Karki.

Dr. Karki added, “There is more that needs to be done in protecting children from crimes. We have some provisions and laws related to the well-being of children, but they need effective implementation.”