Criminalization is a social phenomenon, which has shaped and continues to be shaped by the society. Emergence of a society divided on the basis of class, caste and education has made crime an acceptable way of getting pelf and power by a growing number of individuals.
This has made our democratic and constitutionally bound society, into an increasingly crime-prone zone. Nefarious activities like rape, robbery kidnapping, and dacoity have become means to make quick money, display of power or revolt against the system.
Worse still are the crimes committed without fear of conviction under the auspices of money and power, merely for the sake of experience, or perhaps, as an impulsive action.
There is a new genre of crime with the focus shifting from the poor to the rich, from the common man to people with power, from grown-ups to the young and from the oppressed to those possessing apparently everything in life. Equally frightening is the change in the earlier notion that crime never pays.
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However, money and corruption are two factors, which breed crime. Today’s society characterized by the ‘money could buy anything’ attitude has washed away the ethical or moral value system. Values, which have gradually diluted through the generations, are now irrelevant. While old values have become obsolete, new values have not even been shaped.
The National Crime Records Bureau in one of its-reports has stated that people under the age group of 16-25 have been responsible for 56 per cent of crimes committed in the country.
What then is the solution? The solution lies in changing the fabric of the society and the government. The government needs to step up the battle against Criminalization. More money needs to be poured into education and towards creating more opportunities for the poor and the young. And most of all, education and responsibility need to be drilled into the new generation by the parent.
Tlje young and in fact everyone need to discover all over again values like kindness, respect for another and tolerance. These may repetitive, even mundane in today’s context. But these are the only ingredients of peace and survival.