Crime Among Children Or Juvenile Crime

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

ABSTRACT

Crime among children or "juvenile crime" is one of the most serious social problems in Viet Nam nowadays. Especially in recent years, juvenile crime had an extensive quantity and a various form, which caused by children themselves and their community. This paper, based on secondary research, discusses three questions of what the situation of juvenile crime in Viet Nam is, what the reasons of it are and what the solutions for this problem are. The findings of the research indicate that as juvenile crime is really dangerous for our society as well as for young generation, there should be some effective way to prevent it immediately. All in all, the paper draws the conclusion that family, school, and society should cooperate to create a healthy environment to educate children to behave in a right way.

Introduction

Hundreds of stories claim that crime in teenagers is soaring, committing worse violence at younger ages. The story "Younger and Twice as Violent," claimed that juvenile crime was blasting all over the world: "Younger kids than 18 are now fitting into that demographic who are committing more and more crime". (Vosk & Berry 2009)

Today, the growing of crime among children in developing countries, including Vietnam, is one of the hottest issues and needs to be concerned more in our society. According to Nguyen (2010), the Deputy Director of the Hanoi Public Security, the juvenile crime has risen dramatically in recently years with younger ages, on more dangerous and larger scales comparing to earlier years, which causes serious consequences. He also predicted that with this trend, there will be more than 200,000 young people having criminal records within five to ten years later. This trend signs a generation that ignores life and does not respect for the authority (Cooper 2007).

Such unreasonable fact is really a wake-up call for all of us to concern much more about this problem and to have a suitable solution to prevent this. Therefore, this paper will reflect the current status of juvenile crime in Viet Nam, analyze the causes of this situation and then take some measures to help children as well as their family lead a healthy life.

Discussion of findings

The situation on juvenile crime in Viet Nam recent years

An alarming number of young offenders are increasing and rejuvenating really becomes a concerned problem with an average of 10,000 criminal offenses caused by more than 15,000 children across the country every year (Nguyen 2010b). According to BBC Vietnamese, there were nearly 7,000 criminal cases caused by under-14-year-old children, which accounts for up to 70% of under-18-year-old juvenile crime in that year. This figure is a warning about the situation of young children committing crimes. The preliminary review of the General Police Department Crime Prevention (Ministry of Public Security) also reported that in the first six months of 2011, the Department has handled more than 22,000 criminal offenses, of which more than 75% are teenagers.

The worrisome is that comparing to the previous years, criminals are rejuvenating and the offenses as well as the nature and extent are also becoming more and more serious. For example, the massacre in Bac Giang gold shop in April 2011 still gives the public opinion shock and indignation as stated in Dan Tri 2011. The culprit is Le Van Luyen, who is under 18 years old, killed 3 people terribly. After nine months later, people were really blindsided by another same massacre of another young culprit named Nguyen Van Duong in Ha Noi (An Ninh Thu Do 2012). Clearly, if in earlier years, juvenile crime is usually only the theft , disturbing public order, causing small injury willfully , now the nature and level of crime is increasingly aggressive, dangerous, causing very serious consequences, such as murder, robbery, participating in organized criminal groups as adults.

The reasons of increasing juvenile crime

So far, there are many theories developed to explain the main reasons of juvenile crime. Sutherland, who is said to have set the foundation for modern criminology in the United States and over the world, developed the theory of "group differences" to explain the causes of crime. He regarded criminal behavior in children as a repeat of other’s behavior through contact with different groups in society, especially their relatives (1939). On the opposite side, Frued argued that crime is the result of the resurgence of human’s instincts without adequate prevents from intellect and conscience. He downplayed the environmental factors and education, but enhanced the biological regulation of behavior.

However, the most reasonable reasons, in the case of Vietnamese are the family, social context and teenagers’ psychology as mentioned in the Introductory of criminology (Duong 2009). First of all, family is one of the most basic causes contributing to juvenile crime, especially family background. Parents are irresponsible in educating their children or too pampered them or expect too much on children can make them commit crime. Statistics from the Security Institutions, 30% of young offenders have parents addicted to drugs and gambling; 21% of them live in illegal business families; 8% of them have siblings having criminal records, and 75% of them live without caring and management from parents (2010). Children who lack of parental care are likely to be drawn into crime because the negative factors in families can badly affect to the children’s personality. According to Tran (2007), in reformatories - Ministry of Public Security there are 60 to 70% of children committing crime are not educated carefully in family; in Thanh Xuan prison - Ministry of Public Security, 57% of young prisoners are verbally abused by parents. It can be seen that children in these cases can definitely suffer from depression and abandon, then they are easy to addict to online games, video games, and social evils to find a strange feeling, new virtual funs and they can commit crime by chance. Second, society developed rapidly along with the development of social evils is also the main reason of increasing crime in teenagers. There are a lot of new business which brings great benefit to investors and the Government, such as the restaurants, hotels, massage and sauna, internet shops, beer clubs, discos, bars not controlled strictly. Phap luat xa hoi newspaper informed a surprising number that an investor can gain a trillion dong per month from a 70-seat-restaurant at the center of Ho Chi Minh City. The development of information technologies can also be a typical example. Everyday, secondary students spend at least four hours in online game shops near their schools because the unhealthy games with bloody violence, strong agitation are widespread (Trinh 2012). Therefore, children who do not have enough money to play games can rob or even murder to have money. Last but not least, psychology in mature stage also leads to juvenile crime. Most children in their mature stage are psychologically unstable, impulsive, and like to be independent to specify themselves. This leads to improper attitudes and bad behaviors of children. Research of Judicial Academy on adolescents experiencing school failure, disruptive behavior, psychological disorders which accounts for 10-12% shows the collaboration skills, impulse control, emotional restraint, problems solving and especially communication skills in these children is very poor (2012). 

Solutions to prevent juvenile crime

All people in our society are responsible for taking actions to prevent juvenile crime (Nguyen 2010a). There have been opposite opinions about how to prevent this. Some National Assembly Deputies suggested increasing punishment and lowering youth aged 18 to 16. However, Vu (2012) protested that taking the punishment to prevent crime is against with human civilization and that increasing punishment to limit offenders is a negative measure. She added all we should do is how to make them not guilty, and it is really the inability of society to let them be guilty and then sentence. Truong (2012) also concluded that in terms of international legal as well as moral and evaluation of criminal origins, we should find out other solutions rather than increase punishment, including the management of family, society and education.

To prevent this thoroughly, the Department of Criminology and Criminal Investigation of Viet Nam (2012) suggested the below solutions base on the causes of the crime. First, in family, parents should pay more attention and caring to their children, especially when they discover the strange behaviors of children. Dang (2012)-director of the Center for examination and treatment and health advice Hanoi said the nature of the adolescents need empathy. Before the age of 10, children believe in parents as their idols to emulate. Many children do not guilty because of the attraction of the very large family with children. More important, when children have committed crime, the most efficient way is to open hearts and welcome them to come back to the community to help them have balance and confidence instead of yelling at them or punishing. Second, about responsible of society, Government should provide vocational guidance and training to create jobs for young workers, especially those in remote, rural areas, self-employment, training and arranging work for the unemployed so that have stable jobs to stabilize their lives. Hilary (2009) concluded that the decrease in unemployment can help decrease the rate of crime up to 25%. Also, Government should monitor strictly sensitive business such as cafes, pubs, internets to make sure that students do not violate the law, cases of violence, depraved cultural products when using these services. In addition, Thich (2011) advised that we should encourage the lecture on Buddhism, causes-effects, thereby helping people to intellectual growth, proper awareness of their acts to do good deeds instead of evils. Finally, schools should strengthen the management and education, encourage their students to participate in community social activities, welfare activities, philanthropies, volunteers to have better relationships with teachers, friends, relatives and family; besides, they can improve life skills and healthy development, limit the violations of law.

Briefly, school, family as well as the whole society should pay more attention to the propagation of legal education, lifestyle education, life skills and social ethics for students with love, sharing and encouragement.

Conclusion

The above analysis has shown that crime among children in Viet Nam is really a serious problem. An unexpected surge in juvenile crime in Viet Nam with larger scoops and severe effects caused the moral degradation in young generations, which results in terrible consequences for the children themselves and for the whole society. However, it is reasonable that this situation can be better if we understand clearly about its causes to have suitable solutions. Particularly, school, family and society should coordination in educating children so that they can be aware of and avoid the temptations of the complex life outside.

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