Key Informant Interview

Key Informant Interview-1

Md. Nazrul Islam, Officer in Charge of Sutrapur thana Police Station, expresses his concern about juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. He was asked about the causes of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. He opines that carelessness of guardians or other family members, persuasion of adult criminals, availability and spread of drugs are the main causes of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. He also adds the availability of technology as one of the core reasons of the increase of juvenile delinquency recently.

An interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the interviewee. Interviews are a standard part of journalism and media reporting, but are also employed in many other situations, including qualitative research.

He was asked about the recent trends of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh with special reference to Cyber Crime, Pornography and Sexual Harassment, he has opined that juvenile’s addiction to drug has tremendously increased in recent past, and the very particular issues like cyber crime pornography and sexual harassment are also factor of great concern. He identifies lack of parental consciousness as the main reason of cyber crime. He says that in the age of high science and available technology it’s a common scene to have a computer for children in an affluent family. The parents who are both engaged in jobs they can not take care of their children properly. So they can not check how their children are using the computer. He says that though cyber crime is a rising concern, it is yet to spread in a great extent in our country. He has expressed special concern regarding pornography and children’s involvement with it. In this regard, he has made internet responsible for such crime. In regard of sexual harassment, he says that surrounding environment, lack of parental control instigates juveniles to commit such crime. Besides he says that parents of the victim in the case of sexual harassment often tend to avoid making complain because of their social status. So most of the time, the offenders remain out of law that inspires them doing the same thing frequently. And he does think that there should be separate law to handle such cases.

When asked about arresting children on a mere suspicion and keeping them in jail, he says that he does not support anyone of this. He has said that children are very vulnerable. So they should not be arrested on a mere suspicion and they have to be taken in a custody they should be taken in a safe custody instead of keeping in jail.

When asked about the number of probation officer that is now one in each district, he said that the number should be increased and it can be one in each thana.

He was asked about the complexity of the law determining the age of a child. He answers that the complexity should be solved and to him 16 years could be an appropriate determination to define a child.

When asked about the number of Juvenile Development Centers in Bangladesh and facilities available there, he says that the number of Juvenile Development centers is not enough. He has opined that there should be at least one juvenile development center in each division. He has also suggested for increasing the facilities that are currently available in the Juvenile Development Centers of Bangladesh.

He was asked regarding whether the existing Children Laws in Bangladesh are properly implemented, he says, “The relevant laws are not still properly implemented that is one of the core reasons of the increasing juvenile delinquency in our country. Moreover, lack of public awareness, especially in the rural areas it is much acute, is mainly responsible for lack of proper implementation of the existing Children Laws”. The existing juvenile justice system is not enough to handle with the trends of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh, he also reveals. According to him, the number of juvenile court should be increased. The communication between the Development centers and the local thana should be more frequent.

Professor Ali Akkas is a teacher of Department of Law in JagannathUniversity. He identifies juvenile delinquency as one of the most concerning problems of Bangladesh especially in the recent past. He opines that to make solution of such problems, it needs to hit on the root of the problems that is to identify the causes of the problem and then make effort to solve them. He does think that family conflict, family environment, poverty etc. are the core causes of children’s coming in contact with criminal activities.

In regard of recent trends of juvenile delinquency, he has identified cyber crime as an emerging concern for the juveniles of our country. He mentions the lack of parental care and the economic disequilibrium as the causes of such crime. He says, “Often parents do not take proper care of their children regarding what they are doing with their computer”. He also discusses with some other types of criminal activities to which children have recently been much involved, such as- pornography and sexual harassment. He includes adult criminals’ persuasion and the availability of modern technology as the core causes of children’s involvement with pornography, and lack of proper education as the core cause of sexual harassment. When asked about whether any special law is needed in this regard, he says, “I think special law is not the solution. Existing law should be implemented properly.”

In regard of arresting children on a mere suspicion keeping them in jail, he says that he does not support the arrest of children on a mere suspicion and keeping them in jail. He opines that children can be taken into a safe custody instead of jail for correction if they are proved as involved with the criminal activity.

He was asked about whether the number of probation officer should be increased which now 1 is in each district. He opines that the increase of the number of probation is not badly needed, instead he emphasizes on maintaining the proper duties by the present officers.

He mentions the complexity of existing laws determining the age of a child as a big problem in this sector. He claims that the complexity should be solved to handle juvenile delinquency properly. He opines that 16 years can be a suitable one to determine as the maximum years of a child.

He thinks that the present numbers of Juvenile Development Centers should be increased. According to him, population of our country is increasing in a very high rate, with that the rate of juvenile delinquents are also increasing in an alarming rate. So it’s not possible for the three juvenile development centers to deal with such a huge quantity of juvenile delinquents. Besides, he also suggests for increasing the facilities of the present juvenile development centers of Bangladesh.

When asked about the present juvenile justice system in Bangladesh and its effectiveness, he says that present juvenile justice system is absolutely effective to handle the juvenile delinquency of Bangladesh. But the problem is that the existing laws are not properly implemented. Yet, he thinks that there are inadequateness in the present system. In this regard he suggests for establishing juvenile court in each district. But still he emphasizes on the proper implementation on the existing laws.

Nurunnahar is the teacher of Law department in JagannathUniversity. Juvenile delinquency is very sensitive issue for any society, and it’s not exception to our society. She expresses her concerns regarding increasing number of children’s coming in contact with the criminal activities. When questioned about her opinion regarding the core causes of juvenile delinquency, she mentions surrounding environment, lack of parental control, poverty action movie, migration, broken family, social transition as the core reasons of juvenile delinquency in our society.

In regard of the recent trends of juvenile delinquency in our society, she says that with the advancement of society, there are emerging different new sort of crimes, and many vulnerable juveniles are very keen to be attached with those criminal activities. She says lack of parental control, availability of modern technology especially mobile and computer, peers’ influence etc. are instigating juveniles to be engaged with different types of criminal activities, such as- Cyber Crime, Pornography, Sexual Harassment etc. To solve such problems, she thinks there is no need of any separate special law, rather she emphasizes on the proper implementation of the existing laws.

She does not support the arrest of children on a mere suspicion and keeping them in jail. She says, “Children are the most vulnerable segment of our society. If they are treated on a mere suspicion that may create a huge negative impact on their socialization, and it’s not positive for our society”. She says more,” A child should never be kept in a jail; instead he/she can be in another suitable place like safe shelter home”.

While talking about the number of probation officer that is now 1 in each district, she says that the number is not sufficient to handle the present condition of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. Therefore, the number of Probation officer in each district should be increased.

To avoid the complexity of the existing laws determining the age of a child, she says that the problem should be fixed, and she opines that the maximum age of a child should be determined as 18 years.

She was asked for giving her opinion regarding the number of only three development centers in Bangladesh and also about the facilities that are currently available there. She says the number of juvenile Development centers must be increased to cope with the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. In regard of the facilities that are currently available there, she says, the education level should be till class 8 (now class 5), skill of the instructors or relevant case workers should be increased.

She was asked about the proper implementation and effectiveness of the existing juvenile justice system in Bangladesh. In this regard she says that, the existing laws are not properly implemented. More often adults and children are mixing-up in regard of treatment. She does think that the present juvenile justice system is more or less sufficient to handle the nature of juvenile delinquency in our country but the fact is badly needed is the proper implementation of the existing laws.

Md. Masuduzzamn is a magistrate. He says that children are the future of our nation. So, their involvement with criminal activities must be a concerning factor for us. When asked about the causes of juvenile delinquency in our society, he mentions some socio-economic factors that work behind children’s involvement in crime. According to him, social unrest, uneven distribution of wealth, unemployment, family conflict etc. are the core causes of juvenile delinquency in our society.

In regard of the recent trends of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh,, he says that due to the availability of technology and lack of parental care we have been noticing some new sort of criminal activities among the juveniles, such as- Cyber Crime, Pornography, Sexual Harassment etc. he adds more, “Due to inadequate control of parents and effective role of states, these recent trends of juvenile delinquency in our country has been epidemic”. In this regard he thinks that special law is needed to handle this cime when children are involved in these activities. He says, “Special law is needed as the children should be delicately dealt with”.

He was asked for his opinion regarding children’s arrest on mere suspicion and keeping them in jail. He says that a child should never be arrested until the relevant authority is sure regarding the child’s involvement with the criminal activity. In this regard, he says, “It is not just to arrest a child on a mere suspicion. Because, once a child gets arrested on suspicion the child become stigmatized in the eyes of society”. He also opines that children should be keeping in a safe shelter home like the Correctional home in our country instead of keeping in jail or anything else.

He does not think that the number of probation officer needs to be increased; rather their supervision needs to be more frequent.

In regard of the complexity of the existing laws regarding determining the age of a child, he expresses his concern. He says, “Several age limits according to different laws creates ambiguity in dealing with children’s criminal activity”. He opines that 18 years should be the age limit to define a child.

When asked about whether the 3 juvenile Development centers and their facilities are enough to handle the trends of juvenile delinquency, he says that the number of juvenile development centers must be increased and the facilities that are currently available there should be made up-to-date.

He does think that the existing juvenile justice system is more or less enough to handle the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. But for this proper implementation of the existing laws is badly needed. He thinks that the existing laws are not exactly implemented that is a main reason for the increase of juvenile delinquency in our society. In this regard he says, “It is an issue of effective implementation of the existing system. If the measuring of the supervision can be expedited, the capacity will be enhanced.”

Mukta Mondal is a Magistrate. She thinks that juvenile delinquency is an alarming problem in our country. She argues that a single factor is not responsible for juvenile delinquency in our society. She identifies it as a multifaceted problem.According to her, socio-economic structure and some social values are the core factors that lead children to criminal activities. Besides these, poverty, lack of parental care, involvement of other family members in criminal activities, frustration etc. are the root causes of juvenile delinquency in perspective of our society.

In regard of recent trends of juvenile delinquency, she expresses a special concern. She argues that children of this age are becoming involved with different sort of new criminal activities, many of which are not specially included in the existing laws. She says that cyber crime is a very recent perspective in the aspect of our country. Though it’s yet to be in epidemic form in our country, she thinks it’s a rising concern for us. Besides children’s involvement in pornography has also been a major issue in the field of juvenile delinquency, she adds more. According to her, lack of parental control and availability of technology arte the reasons for cyber crime, and the adults’ persuasion and the availability of technology especially mobile and computer are the reasons of children’s involvement in pornography. Sexual harassment is another type to which she feels special concern regarding youths’ involvement. She makes the lack of moral education and again the lack of parental care as the reason for such criminal activities committed by the youths. And she does think that there should be special and separated law for the children to handle these criminal activities.

When asked about the arrest of children on a mere suspicion and keeping them in jail, she says that children should not be arrested on a mere suspicion and should not be kept in jail. She says, “Without being sure children should not be arrested on suspicion. It may create a serious disruption on mind of the pertinent children”. She also opines that children should be kept in a safe shelter home.

In regard of the present number of probation officer that is 1 in each district, she says the number of juvenile delinquents is increasing day by day. So the number of probation officer in each district should be increased to get a good output in this sector.

According to her, the complexity of the existing laws regarding the age limit to define a child should be made clear. She opines that less than 16 years any person should be regarded as a child.

She was asked whether the 3 Juvenile Development Centers and the facilities currently available there are enough. In this regard, she says that the number of Juvenile development centers must be increased since the number of juvenile delinquents is increasing. And the facilities that are currently available there must be enhanced for the better socialization of the children staying there.

In regard of the implementation and the effectiveness of the existing juvenile justice system in Bangladesh, she says that proper implementation of the existing justice system for the children are badly needed to cope with the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. Yet, she does think that the present system is not enough to handle all the situations especially the recent one. In this regard, she suggests the relevant authority for thinking with the recent trends of juvenile delinquency more deeply and taking more appropriate measures to control those.

Md Jiyaul Haque is a senior lawyer at Dhaka Judge Court. He argues that children’s involvement with criminal activities is absolutely a frightening and alarming factor for any society. This problem has become a great threat to us since last few years. When asked about the causes of juvenile delinquency in our country, he replies that breaking of family bondage, poverty, frustration etc. are the main causes of juvenile delinquency in our country.

In regard of recent trends of juvenile delinquency, he says that juveniles of cities are now much deviant than those of the rural areas. In regard of cyber crime, he says that this sort of crime in our country is very new but certainly a threatening one. To him, the main problem to handle this crime is that maximum guilty individuals remain out of touch. Besides the weakness of law regarding this is another reason of the increase of this crime especially by the youths. Then he argues that availability of modern technology to all and the bad interests of the children are responsible for children’s involvement in criminal activities like pornography. According to him, the juveniles, who are engaged in sexual harassment, lack parental control and moral education. He thinks that to handle such recent trends of juvenile delinquency there must be needed separated and special law for the children.

He was asked to give his opinion regarding the arrest of children on a mere suspicion and keeping them in jail. In this regard, he says that children should not be labeled as a criminal until they are proven as that with proper evident. So, until getting the proper evidence, a child should not be arrested on a mere suspicion. He has also opposed keeping children in jail. He suggests for keeping the deviant children on a separated safe place that can be suitable for making them corrected.

While talking about the number of probation officer that is now 1 in each district, he says that the number is not enough to handle the present situation of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. Therefore, the number of Probation officer in each district should be increased.

He was asked about the complexity of the law determining the age of a child. He opines that the complexity should be solved, and to him, 16 years could be an appropriate determination to define a child.

He was asked for giving his opinion regarding the number of only three development centers in Bangladesh and also about the facilities that are currently available there. He says the number of juvenile Development centers must be increased to cope with the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. And the facilities should be made more child-friendly in the juvenile development centers.

In regard of the existing juvenile justice system, he opines that the existing system should be modified to cope with the recent sort of juvenile delinquency. But till then, he emphasizes on the proper implementation of the existing laws. He argues that it is the lack of proper implementation of the existing justice stem that are causing the increase in juvenile delinquency in our country.

Md. Delowar hossain is a lawyer. He was asked about the causes of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. He argues that carelessness of guardians or other family members, family conflict, loe level of education are the main causes of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. He also adds the availability of technology as one of the core reasons of the increase of juvenile delinquency recently.

In regard of recent trends of juvenile delinquency, he identifies cyber crime as an emerging concern for the juveniles of our country though it’s a new one in this sector, he adds more. He mentions the lack of parental care and lack of their (parents’) education, family’s pressure to earn etc. as the causes of such crime. He also discusses with some other types of criminal activities to which children have recently been much involved, such as- pornography and sexual harassment. He adds adult criminals’ persuasion and the availability of modern technology as the core causes of children’s involvement with pornography, and lack of proper education as the core cause of sexual harassment. When asked about whether any special law is needed in this regard, he says, “Special law is a must to handle such cases of children.”

When asked about the arrest of children on a mere suspicion and keeping them in jail, he says that children should not be arrested on a mere suspicion and should not be kept in jail. He says, “Without being sure children should not be arrested on suspicion. It may lead even an innocent child to criminal activity”. He also opines that children should be kept in a safe shelter home instead of jail.

In regard of the present number of probation officer that is 1 in each district, he says the number of juvenile delinquents is increasing day by day. So the number of probation officer in each district should be increased to get a satisfactory result in this sector.

In regard of the complexity of the existing laws regarding determining the age of a child, he expresses his concern. He says, that various age limits according to different laws creates vagueness in dealing with children’s criminal activity. He opines that 18 years should be the age limit to define a child.

When asked about whether the 3 juvenile Development centers and their facilities are enough to deal with the trends of juvenile delinquency, he says that the number of juvenile development centers must be increased and the facilities that are currently available there should be made up-to-date.

He does think that the existing juvenile justice system is not completely sufficient to handle the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. Yet proper implementation of the existing system can reduce the trends, he adds more. He thinks that the existing laws are not exactly implemented that is a main reason for the increase of juvenile delinquency in our society. Besides he suggests for finding the obsolete and conflicting laws in the current system and making them up to date.

Md. Atikul hasan a social worker. He expresses his concerns regarding increasing number of children’s coming in contact with the criminal activities. When questioned about his opinion regarding the core causes of juvenile delinquency, he mentions surrounding environment, lack of parental control, unfulfilled basic needs lack of opportunity of work etc. as the core reasons of juvenile delinquency in our society.

He says, juvenile delinquency is a great problem to our society but it has been much acute very recently. In regard of cyber crime, he says that this sort of crime in our country is very new but certainly a threatening one. To him, the main problem to handle this crime is that maximum criminals remain out of touch. Besides the weakness of law regarding this is another reason of the increase of this crime. Then he argues that availability of modern technology to all and the bad interests of the children are responsible for children’s involvement in criminal activities like pornography. According to him, the juveniles, who are engaged in sexual harassment, lack parental control and moral education. He thinks that to handle such recent trends of juvenile delinquency there must be needed separated and special law for the children.

He was asked about the complexity of the law determining the age of a child. He answers that the complexity should be solved and to him 18 years could be an appropriate determination to define a child.

In regard of the implementation and the effectiveness of the existing juvenile justice system in Bangladesh, he says that proper implementation of the existing justice system for the children is badly needed to cope with the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. Yet, she does think that the present system is not enough to handle all the situations especially the recent one. In this regard, she suggests the relevant authority for thinking with the recent trends of juvenile delinquency more deeply and taking more appropriate measures to control those.

Kotwali Police…. He was asked about the causes of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. He opines that carelessness of guardians or other family members, low level of education, poverty, frustration, unfulfilled basic needs etc. are the main causes of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. He also adds the availability of technology as one of the core reasons of the increase of juvenile delinquency recently.

In regard of recent trends of juvenile delinquency, he identifies cyber crime as an emerging concern for the juveniles of our country. He mentions the lack of parental care and the economic disequilibrium as the causes of such crime. He says that parents of this age do not take proper care of their children regarding what they are doing with their computer due to their business. He also discusses with some other types of criminal activities to which children have recently been much involved, such as- pornography and sexual harassment. He includes adult criminals’ persuasion and the availability of modern technology as the core causes of children’s involvement with pornography, and lack of proper education as the core cause of sexual harassment.

He was asked to give his opinion regarding the arrest of children on a mere suspicion and keeping them in jail. In this regard, he says that children should not be given the label ofa criminal until they are proven as that with proper evident. So, until getting the proper evidence, a child should not be arrested on a mere suspicion. He has also opposed keeping children in jail. He suggests for keeping the deviant children on a separated safe place that can be suitable for making them corrected.

While talking about the number of probation officer that is now 1 in each district, he says that the number is not sufficient to handle the present condition of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. Therefore, the number of Probation officer in each district should be increased.

To avoid the complexity of the existing laws determining the age of a child, he says that the problem should be fixed, and she opines that the maximum age of a child should be determined as 18 years.

He was asked for giving his opinion regarding the number of only three development centers in Bangladesh and also about the facilities that are currently available there. He says the number of juvenile Development centers must be increased to cope with the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. In regard of the facilities that are currently available there, he says, the education level should be till class 8 (now class 5), skill of the instructors or relevant case workers should be increased.

He was asked regarding whether the existing Children Laws in Bangladesh are properly implemented, he says that the existing laws are not still properly implemented that is one of the main reasons of the increasing juvenile delinquency in our country. He thinks that the existing juvenile justice system is not enough to handle with the trends of juvenile delinquency in Bangladesh. According to him, the number of juvenile court should be increased. The communication between the Development centers and the local thana should be more frequent.

Dr. Fatema Rezina is Associate Professor in the department of Sociology in DhakaUniversity. She thinks juvenile delinquency is one of the most serious problems in Bangladesh. For this she makes the socio-economic condition of our society responsible. When asked about the causes of juvenile delinquency, she mentions some other social problems, such as- separation of parents, divorce, family conflict, impact of media, lack of parental care etc. which create another huge social problem that is juvenile delinquency.

She says that juvenile delinquency has become much acute in the recent past in our society. When asked about the recent trends of juvenile delinquency with special reference to cyber crime, pornography and sexual harassment, she says these are, in most part, the result of less parental control and the availability of technology. She also makes the persuasion of adult and lack of proper education for the propaganda of such criminal activities among the children. She does think that there must be separated sepecial law to deal with such problems of children.

She says that she does not support the arrest of children on a mere suspicion and keeping them into jail. According to her, children should be treated like the adults. So a child should be taken as conflicting with law when his guiltiness becomes proven. She adds more that since children are much vulnerable, so they should not be kept in jail with the adult criminals. They must be kept in a separated safe custody.

She was asked about whether the number of probation officer should be increased which now 1 is in each district. She opines that the increase of the number of probation is badly needed. Moreover, she emphasizes on maintaining the proper duties by the present officers.

She was asked for giving her opinion regarding the number of only three development centers in Bangladesh and also about the facilities that are currently available there. She says the number of juvenile Development centers must be increased to cope with the trends of juvenile delinquency in our country. She also suggest for increasing the current facilities of juvenile development centers.