Daily Times

“Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it.” – Nearly a century and three quarters and this quote by English historian Henry Thomas Buckle still holds true. While the criminal can’t be completely absolved of the act; functional societies examine and rectify the causes which can lead to crime. In modern era, special emphasis has been given towards Juvenile Justice i.e. dealing with crimes committed by young people. Age of Criminal Responsibility is a much complex phenomenon than it is usually believed. Overlooking the crimes by young offenders weakens the rule of law. However, treating all criminals with same scorn regardless of their age and level of crime, respect for law worsens as well.

Pakistan is among the countries struggling to maintain this balance. According to official data (November 2021), Pakistan has a total prison population of more than 88,687, of which 1,430 are children (under 18 years of age and comprising both males and females). The fault in our bars i.e. flaws of Pakistan’s juvenile justice system are pretty much out in the open. The entire process from arrest to imprisonment has so many loopholes that it is a forgiven conclusion that either the offender will waste his peak years in confinement or return to the life of crime after release.

Before chalking out the steps to improve Pakistan’s juvenile justice system, all stakeholders must realize that majority of the youth in Pakistan is facing harsh financial environment. When people don’t have finances for healthcare, nutrition and shelter, crime will increase. And when there’s a rise in crime, people of all ages will get involved one way or another.

Majority of the recommendations require increased budgetary allocation to be implemented. Increasing the use of modern scientific tools, e.g. DNA and bone density tests of age determination; strengthening Juvenile Courts and Juvenile Rehabilitation Centers; strengthening Probation and Parole system; increasing the prison capacity to creating separate barracks; training of personnel and prisoners; all this requires careful planning and release of resources.

However, there are many steps which require will rather than resources. Parliament needs to pass the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill and the implement subsequent procedures otherwise the juvenile in-conflict with the law will continue to face supersession of their rights. Provincial and Federal Governments should ensure that up-to-date (monthly basis) statistics of male and female juveniles in imprisonment and probation are available on websites of relevant departments.

Quality of training programs should be focus rather than quantity. For police, prison, and judiciary personnel, modern techniques and activity based learning must be conducted to make the learning measurable and reproducible. For prisoners, the vocational training should be impart entrepreneurial skills to increase chances of income generation. Focusing on generic industrial skills often fails because prisoners find it difficult to get employed due to their jail record.

Civil Society and Media must be engaged wherever the law has asked for their strengths to prison departments, policies and judiciary to improve the investigative, rehabilitative and reintegration environment for juvenile offenders. However ethical standards must be adhered at all levels and we must not forget that lapse at any stage in a juvenile offenders’ case will eventually fall back on the society and it is the society which will suffer.

The writer is Program Manager, Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, SPARC, Islamabad.