47% rise in juvenile crimes between 2010 and 2014: Government

NEW DELHI: Juvenile crimes shot up by over 47 per cent beteen 2010 and 2014, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

"As per data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau, the incidents of juvenile crime have constantly increased only during the last five (2010-2014) years," Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said in a written reply to a question.

She said police and public order are state subjects and as such the primary responsibility of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crime lies with the state government or union territory administration.

According to government, 2010 had seen 22,740 case of juvenile crimes while the number of such cases rose successively over the years and in 2014, a total of 33,526 such crimes were committed.

The minister also said, "The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has come into effect from January 15. One of the major provisions of the Act is to address the issue of heinous offences being committed by children in the age group of 16-18 years."