Of all juvenile crimes, 64% by 16-18 yr olds

NCRB Data Shows Rapes Committed By Juveniles Have Jumped By An Alarming 188%. Even as the nation pushes and the government debates lowering the age limit in juvenile crimes in the light of the Delhi gang rape, NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data shows that most juvenile crimes are committed by those in the age group of 16-18 years. 

    
Notably, the minor accused in the Delhi gang rape, who was allegedly the most brutal among the six accused, is 17 and a half years old. 
    
The NCRB data also shows that rapes committed by juveniles have jumped by 188%. The only categories of crimes involving juveniles for which growth figures are higher are theft and robbery, which recorded a growth rate of around 200% and abduction of women which recorded an exponential rise of 660%. 
    
In 2011, the rise in rape by juveniles (34%) over 2010 was again among the highest. Other growth figures that were higher than this included dowry deaths (63.5%) and abduction of women (53.5%) — both crimes against women. 

According to NCRB data for 2011, 64% of all juvenile criminals fall in the age group of 16-18. In 2011, 33,887 juveniles were arrested for 25,178 instances of crime. Of these, 1,211 juveniles fell in the 7-12 years age group, 11,019 fell in the 12-16 years age group while 21,657 fell in the 16-18 years age group. In Delhi itself, of the 925 boys arrested for juvenile crimes in 2011, 567 were in the 16-18 years age group. 
    
Again, while the debate on the issue of revisiting the age limit in juvenile crimes has focused on the Juvenile Justice Act being a reformatory tool, the NCRB data is not very encouraging, especially in case of Delhi. Close to 22% of all juvenile criminals in Delhi were repeat offenders in contrast to the national average of 11.5%. Sources say even this data gives a very conservative figure as only those convicted earlier are called repeat offenders. Also, those who have turned adults and continued in crime are not included. 
    
Even the argument that broken families and children without parents lead to more juveniles taking to crime falls flat if the NCRB data is any indication. It shows that in 2011, only 5.7% of all juveniles arrested were found to be homeless. The rest either stayed with their parents (81.3%) or relatives. 
    
However, socio-economic conditions have been a factor. A large chunk of the offenders come from extremely poor families, making for close to 57% of all juvenile criminals. Lack of education is another big factor with over 55% juvenile criminals being illiterate or limited to primary education. Across the country, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat accounted for close to 70% of all juvenile crimes registered in 2011. MP led the pack in rape cases with 271 cases, followed by UP (146) and Maharshtra (125). Delhi recorded 47 cases of rapes by juveniles. All together make for over 50% of all rape cases by juveniles.