Improving juvenile prison system
Friday, 20 July 2007
MANY children of our country are deprived of their very basic rights. They are supposed to have a better childhood, amid happiness. Instead, they are in many cases found to lead a life with an ordeal having inadequate food, shelter, health facilities, etc., in our country. They suffer under such conditions due to the poverty of their parents. It causes us also pain when we see that many under-aged children are to live with criminals in prisons. The juvenile correction centres also cannot do the things that are needed for the correction of juveniles who are said to have nature for doing wrongs.
It is well known our prison system is yet to be developed as correction centres particularly for the underaged prisoners. The system still remains as a punitive centre, without having the required facilities for bringing about any change in the behavioural pattern of the criminals. So when we put our children behind the bar, they are treated just like the adult ones as criminals. In the present socio-economic context, many children and juveniles break law or may have some crime-prone nature. The circumstances under which they show propensity to engage themselves at times in some criminal activities do need to be changed.
Available reports say that about four hundred kids are confined to the jail. There is a need to set these children and juveniles free and send them to the places like correction centres or to their guardians for undergoing a change in their behavioural pattern. At the same time, the prison system for juveniles should be redesigned so that our children can become better future citizens.
Shahidul Haq
Tongi, Dhaka
It is well known our prison system is yet to be developed as correction centres particularly for the underaged prisoners. The system still remains as a punitive centre, without having the required facilities for bringing about any change in the behavioural pattern of the criminals. So when we put our children behind the bar, they are treated just like the adult ones as criminals. In the present socio-economic context, many children and juveniles break law or may have some crime-prone nature. The circumstances under which they show propensity to engage themselves at times in some criminal activities do need to be changed.
Available reports say that about four hundred kids are confined to the jail. There is a need to set these children and juveniles free and send them to the places like correction centres or to their guardians for undergoing a change in their behavioural pattern. At the same time, the prison system for juveniles should be redesigned so that our children can become better future citizens.
Shahidul Haq
Tongi, Dhaka