It is a very shocking situation that the number of youngsters involved in crime is increasing day by day. In this essay, I intend to discuss the reasons for this phenomenon and suggest some solutions.
A number of factors are responsible for juvenile delinquency. Media is one powerful influence. Many times, vulgarity and violence are shown on TV. Children are vulnerable and accept it as natural and try to copy what is shown. For example, in Virginia USA, a student killed 30 students just after watching a TV program. Another cause of crime among youth is the changing family structure. Nuclear families are the norm of the day. Earlier, there were joint families in which grandparents used to teach moral values to children. They kept an eye on the friend circle of their grandchildren. Nowadays, both parents are working and children are left unattended at home. They may fall into bad company and resort to drugs under peer pressure. For drugs they desperately need money, which turns them towards crime.
Furthermore, increasing poverty and competition are causing hopelessness and frustration among the youth. They are over ambitious and want to earn quick money. They have a lot of energy and if that energy is not harnessed in the right direction, they can go astray. Consumerist society is also a big factor to put them on the path of crime. When they see new things in the market, they want them by hook or by crook. Parents cannot satisfy all their whims and so they start doing petty crime, which turns to major crime very soon.
The solutions are not simple. The issue has to be dealt with on a war footing. Some censorship of TV channels is needed. Parents should ration the TV viewing hours of children. Parents should watch TV with children so that they know what their children are being exposed to. We should also encourage joint families. Parents should be good role models. Good family atmosphere should be provided to children. Friend circle of the children should be monitored. We should also educate children about the harms of consumerism. Schools should also provide good education. Finally, government should try and reduce unemployment and poverty, which are the root causes.
Summing up, crime among teens is a big problem and youth alone cannot be blamed for that. We should look into the causes and take relevant steps to fight this problem.