Dubai: A chief prosecutor yesterday warned that 80 per cent of juvenile delinquency is caused by parents' negligence, family disintegration and improper nurturing.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, the Head of Family and Juvenile Prosecution, cautionary remarks came in light of two recent cases involving a quad bike accident and a robbery that surfaced at Dubai Public Prosecution (PP).
Brain injury
In the tragic quad bike accident, according to Rustom, prosecutors questioned a ten-year-old boy for driving his bike recklessly in a sandy area and accidentally knocking down a nine-year-old girl and causing her severe brain injury.
Meanwhile, the robbery case involves a ten-year-old girl and her nine-year-old brother, who were questioned for stealing two mobile phones from a shop.
"Case studies observed and investigated by social workers and researchers at the Family and Juveniles Prosecution's Social Care Unit have revealed that parents are responsible for 80 per cent of juveniles' delinquency. Family disintegration, lack of proper fostering and parents' negligence push juveniles to criminal behaviour and hence become wrongdoers," Rustom said.
"Parents should be vigilant, closely-observant and God-fearing when they bring up their children. Parents are eventually and evidentially responsible for their children's actions and that's why they are required to be more attentive," he added.
Rustom stressed that they constantly communicate with parents of delinquent juveniles and urge them to closely observe their children and their behaviour to avoid committing crimes.
"We continuously ask parents to be responsible and watch out [for] their kids meticulously… we caution them to do so to avoid any crimes being committed by children otherwise the consequences would be ultimately drastic and disastrous," said Rustom.
"The brother and his sister were immediately released after the shop owner waived his theft complaint against the kids. It is worth mentioning that the juvenile suspects [brother and sister] were caught red handed walking out of the shop with the stolen mobile phones."
"We dropped the case because of the children's adolescence and they had no criminal records. We are also very keen not to ruin their future. We contacted their parents and advised them to watch their children closely. Prosecutors also explained for the kids the damages caused by their actions."
"The parents have promised to watch out their children closely and be careful in raising them appropriately," said Rustom.
Caution
Regarding the quad bike accident, the chief prosecutor said parents have been cautioned not to allow their children to drive unlawfully.
"Leniency and compassion sometimes bring tragedies such as what happened in this case. The girl suffered severe bleeding in her head after the ten-year-old boy knocked her down in front of her parents," Rustom said.
