Thursday 26 / December / 2024
Muscat: This year may end with more juvenile crimes having been committed than in 2015.
During the first six months of 2016, the Ministry of Social Development reported 216 juvenile crimes, more than half the crimes reported for the entire year of 2015. In both the first and second quarters, North Batinah had the highest number of juvenile offences resulting in the arrests of 71 minors. Based on the available data, Muscat, at 32, was next in the league table of juvenile crime followed by Dakhalia at 23.
The lowest rate was in South Batinah, with only eight incidents, while both Musandam and Al-Wusta had no reports of minors being arrested.
Interestingly, the incident rate also declined between the two quarters, as from January to March only 130 reports were filed, while from April to June, juvenile incidents dropped to only 86.
Out of the 216 reports, only eight of the juveniles were non-Omanis.
Earlier this year, the Times of Oman reported a 20 per cent increase in juvenile crimes in 2015. A total of 506 juvenile cases were registered with the ministry in 2015, while there were 423 cases the year before. Further, current data for the first six month of this year suggests another increase will be seen, if the rate of delinquency continues. While the number of juvenile crimes stood at 880 in 2010, in 2011 and 2012 it dropped to 688, and in 2013 there were just 457 incidents of juvenile crime. In 2014, the total stood at 423.
The Ministry of Social Development stated in its quarterly report that juvenile delinquency is a negative social occurrence that societies are suffering from. This stems directly from changes in the economy, society and culture.
