Legal Resource Center, a child rights advocacy group, has blamed the dwindling family and parental care and guidance for the increasing juvenile delinquency in the country.
In an interview with Citi News, Clarke Noyoru, a project coordinator at the Legal Resource Center said the increasing rate of delinquency paints a gloomy picture for the future of the country.
“In terms of children in contact with the law, you will realize that now children between 16 and 18 years are committing defilement, rape, stealing and increasingly you will notice that a number of these cases go through the court system, the courts look at them and decide in terms of even probation which is like the formal system where children who are in conflict with the law appear before the judge and the judge determines that the person should be on probation, the numbers at that side are also increasing”.
He cited the family institution as key to tackling this challenge.
“We have to start by looking at the family system and how to train children properly. There is no nation without delinquent behavior and bad conduct, but the bottom line is that we need to start by asking ourselves what are we not doing right. As a society; as parents, are we doing the right things?”
Mr. Noyoru also called on the government to strengthen state agencies like the Social Welfare Department, Domestic Violence Support Unit (DOVVSU) and correctional centers.
He said the government needs to “resource the state agencies because you go to the ministries and agencies and you realize a number of them are in a dilapidated state, the department of social welfare plays a very important role but they are not financially and humanly resourced” he lamented.
“The correctional centers in the country too needs to be resourced else it becomes difficult for them to operate and carry out their mandate. Going forward, we need to prioritize our interest for justice for children and the earlier we do that the better for us all in future”.
–
By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
