Youth crimes are on the rise. This is something that is being said since a long time, but unfortunately, the resolve, attitude and efforts required to combat this problem are scarce, if there at all. It needs to be taken as a national and social dilemma, not just something that happens to a random teen from a random family. There is a realistic chance of your own kid getting sucking into this problem, be it as a perpetrator or a victim. If you do not want this to happen with your kid or any other kid, then you must join hands with other parents, law enforcement agencies, and school administration for juvenile crime prevention.

Role of Parents

In many cases, it is due to the family issues that teens become criminals. This is what a large number of studies conducted on juvenile delinquency conclude. When teens do not get the love and care from the family, then they naturally start showing aggressive behavior, which eventually leads them to commit serious crimes. As head of the family, you must spend quality time with teens on a regular basis in order to make them feel that you care for them. If you are a single parent, then you have an extra responsibility on your shoulders, as teens may not take death or divorce of your partner well. Make your presence felt in their life and make sure they do not get worked up over anything, whether it is a family issue or something else. Being a parent, it is also your responsibility to keep an eye on your kid’s friends as a bad company is a major factor in juvenile delinquency.

Here are a few other guidelines for you to follow.

• Try to fulfill the financial needs of your teen
• Go for family holidays once in a while
• Keep in touch with the school administration of teen
• Monitor teen’s online activities
• Keep teen away from drugs and alcohol
• Make sure the teen is mentally healthy
• Do not be too strict or lenient
• Teach high moral values to your teen

Role of Educational Institutions

Bullies and victim of bullying both have a high chance of becoming criminals. Unfortunately, bullying has become more prevalent in schools over the years. Educational institutions should develop a strict policy against bullying to purge this problem, and provide help to the victims immediately. In addition, teachers must make sure that students do not humiliate each other on the basis of color, race, and gender, social status etc., as these things can make teens violent and tempt them to towards committing crimes in a bid to seek vengeance.

Role of Society

Juvenile delinquency is not a family issue; it is a national and social issue, so the whole society should play its role in combating this problem. There are a lot of things you and I can do to make our society safer and friendlier for kids. One way of doing that is to help the needy families living in your neighborhood, or at least help them in getting any allowance or support from the Government. Another way is to join hands with other people living in your locality to create a community for providing financial assistance to needy teens. Try to identity all the factors that can directly or indirectly motivate a teen to commit crime, and address that factor to remove it, or confront the potential delinquent before the crime is actually committed.