Every coin has two sides, both positive as well as negative. Giving strict punishments can reduce the juvenile crime rate as it provides a lesson to the prospective criminals and instills the fear of punishment in their minds. While on the other side of the argument, juveniles require care and protection and should be given a second chance to lead their life as normal.
Every child is unique in its own manner and as there is no defined way of parenting and parenting methods should differ depending on the nature and behavior of the child, similarly, it is a debatable issue whether the juvenile crime rate can be reduced by way of introduction of strict punishment.
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The juveniles who are exposed to crime at such an early age either are manipulated into doing crimes or are subjected to violent environments or many times have themselves become the victims of harassment. In order to devise a strict regime of punishment, we need to understand the family and societal background from which the juvenile comes, the motive behind the crime, and whether the juvenile is mature enough to understand the implications of the crime. Strict punishments like the death sentence and life term imprisonment cannot be applied to all the cases and each case needs to be studied and investigated independently. According to me a reformative form of punishment is the best way of punishment any criminal would get. The reformative methods should be planned in such a way that the juveniles learn new skills, are able to become financially independent, and also lead a new life without the social stigma of their past. At the same time, it is very important to have strict punishment for heinous crimes so that justice is appropriately delivered to the victim and undue benefits of the provisions of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 are not being taken. To conclude, the main motive should be o preserve humanity and make this world a better living place and this can happen only when children of the world are given equal opportunities for love, care, and protection.
