The problem of Juvenile delinquency is becoming more and more complicated and universal. Though juvenile population is reducing, the incidence of murder, attempt to murder, rape, kidnapping, assault, taking drugs and gambling etc by the juveniles is increasing. Juvenile Delinquency is a cause of concern for government, economy of the country, society and nation for large. As per National Crime Record Bureau (2016) a total of 41,385 juveniles were apprehended during 2015 in India. The incidence of crime per lakh population has increased from 1.6 in 2001 to 3.3 in 2015. In India, Maharashtra state ranks 3rd in incidence of crime based on percentage of share.
Developed countries are engaged in activities aimed at prevention of juvenile delinquency with questionable success. Not much has been done in India in this direction. While the Government and many organizations are involved in fight against crime, the Juvenile Justice board is still struggling to find an answer on how to control Juvenile Delinquency. Literature in the area of prevention of juvenile delinquency is very less but extremely necessary for the development of public policies and statements.
Juvenile delinquency is seen as a byproduct of personality disturbances or emotional conflicts within the individual, a byproduct of normal personalities exposed to a “disturbed” social environment or a deviant sub-culture and that a juvenile delinquent’s behavior runs against the law and that his norms, attitudes and values are in opposition to the dominant social order (1961). Keeping in view the role of psychological, social and philosophical factors in development of juvenile delinquency the study is positioned to develop and implement the intervention program as a step towards preventing juvenile delinquency.
Risk-focused prevention strategies embody the public health approach to analyzing delinquency and target risk factors (Hawkins, Catalamo and Associates, 1992). According to Farrington (2000) the basic idea behind the risk focused prevention is to identify and counteract risk factors and to identify and enhance protective factors.
The future, the development, the economy and the prosperity of a nation depends upon the citizens of tomorrow i.e., the children. Rise in juvenile delinquency is a sign of sick society and the society is the reflection of the citizens that constitute it. So, the present study would target the school going children, identify the risk and protective factors in them and implement prevention programs on “at risk” children in an effort to curb them at initial stages and build up a sensitive and responsible society.
