Delinquent teenagers aiding rise in street crime

Reasons ranging from easy availability of weapons to domestic conditions push young adults towards violent offences

LAHORE:

The upsurge in street crime has outpaced that of inflation and unemployment, especially in the provincial capital where police statistics show that most offenders are juvenile.

According to data available with The Express Tribune, in the past 5 years, the rate of snatching and other street crimes has risen alarmingly and most of the perpetrators are aged between 15 and 24. Apart from Lahore, in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, and Multan, minors are involved in snatching purses and mobile phones and stealing motorcycles and cars.

Even with the problem age-group identified, police and other law enforcement agencies have failed to come up with a workable, long-term, and consistent policy to keep minors away from crime.

Retired SSP Punjab Police, Rana Shahid, believes part of the reason why street crime has plagued Lahore like it has Karachi, is down to people not lodging FIRs against it thus giving criminals a free hand. “The other reason is that young boys think street crime is the easy way out of poverty.

They feel like snatching jewelry, mobile phones, and cash is a comparatively easier crime to commit than burglaries.” Other police sources blame the rise on the easy availability of illegal weapons with one source privy with the matter informing that it was incredibly easy to buy a 9mm pistol for a few thousand rupees illegally despite a crackdown against the sales. Whereas some state that the minors who are arrested often reveal that they get involved in street crime for the adrenaline rush it brings. Dr Hanan of the Government Psychiatric Hospital, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that the sense of adrenaline stems from minors trying to reenact what they see in violent movies and shows. When asked what other psychological aspects pushed minors towards crime, Dr Hanan stated: “Domestic tensions and harsh parental attitudes are also some of the reasons. Many young adults from poor families see crime as a viable outlet after constantly hearing taunts about unemployment and helplessness from their parents and relatives.”

Ayesha Chaudhry, a member of the Punjab Jail Reforms Committee and a member of the Punjab Assembly, when inquired about what the province was doing to rehabilitate delinquent teenagers to get them off the streets, said that jails were being improved in this regard. “Juvenile offenders are kept away from professional offenders in prisons.

We are also bringing in reforms through which prisons will not be allowed to become a crime training ground for juvenile offenders but make them useful persons for society after their release by teaching them technical skills during their imprisonment,” she informed The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2022.