Juvenile crimes drop 33% in Abu Dhabi

BETTER AWARENESS IN SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC PARKS SHOW RESULTS

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has registered a decline of 33 per cent in juvenile crimes in the emirate last year compared to 2016, an official said yesterday.

In 2017, the court received 1,051 juvenile cases, including 120 cases of teenagers’ assault compared to 1,402 cases, including 166 related to assault, in 2016. These cases include violations of road and traffic rules, robbery, assault and causing injury.

The assault cases of youngsters also dropped by 38 per cent last year.

The decline reflects the efforts of judicial department awareness campaigns in schools and public parks, to reduce the number of crimes among youth. The drive to stop violence among adolescents has been ongoing since 2015.

Addressing the media, Atiqa Awadh Al Kusairi, Director of Family and Children’s Prosecution in Al Ain, said: “One of the major reasons for juvenile crime is the adverse impact of technologies like mobile phones, which promote violence and abuse in the form of violent games, movies and videos. This leads youngsters to violate rules and disrespect society.”

Al Kusairi made a note of assaults on people, particularly in juvenile cases. Such violent behaviour among adolescents develops due to reasons like peer pressure, being raised in environments filled with hatred and bigotry, poor knowledge of religion and code of conduct. She also held parents responsible for their children’s violent behaviour, saying that they fail to closely monitor their children.

To reduce violence among