Peer-reviewed article
Juvenile Delinquency as A Non-Traditional Security Threat: A Growing Concern for Bangladesh
Rasel Abedin, Habiba Akter, Kazi Nishat Aunjum, Ibrahim Hridoy ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This qualitative study looks at why children in Bangladesh become involved in delinquency and how this affects community safety. It draws on 100 in-depth interviews with parents, guardians and rehabilitated juvenile offenders, and 20 key informant interviews with professionals in juvenile justice, law enforcement, child protection and social welfare. Fieldwork took place in Dhaka and Gazipur. The study finds that causes are interconnected and not separate, and that delinquency leads to fear, social isolation and lost trust in the community. It calls for a combined approach covering prevention, rehabilitation, reintegration and child-sensitive justice.
Key points
- Factors linked to delinquency include family, economic difficulties, school involvement, peer and gang pressure, drug exposure and negative digital content.
- These factors are interrelated and do not act independently.
- Delinquency is linked to fear, restricted mobility and social isolation in communities.
- It places a strain on public institutions and reduces community trust.
- The study calls for comprehensive prevention, rehabilitation, reintegration and child-sensitive justice responses.
Limitations
This is a qualitative exploratory study in two locations (Dhaka and Gazipur), so its findings cannot be generalised to all of Bangladesh or measured as cause and effect. The abstract gives no detail on how participants were selected, and it does not test any intervention.
Abstract
Juvenile delinquency is a growing issue of public safety in Bangladesh, so far addressed as a criminal justice, or child-welfare issue. Much less is known about its influence on the security of people and their communities in their daily lives. This study is an attempt to highlight the factors which are responsible for Juvenile delinquency and the impact of Juvenile delinquency in wider frame of non-traditional security. The study focuses on a qualitative exploratory approach with two part groups of 100 in-depth interviews with parents, guardians and rehabilitated juvenile offenders and 20 key informant interviews with professional from the juvenile justice, law enforcement, child protection and social welfare sectors in Dhaka and Gazipur. The findings show that factors that contribute to delinquency do not exist independently, but are interrelated, such as the family, economic difficulties, school involvement, peer and gang pressure, and exposure to drugs and negative digital content. The vulnerabilities are a source of fear, restricted mobility, social isolation and a strain on public institutions, which creates a loss of community trust. They refer to the need for a comprehensive prevention, rehabilitation, reintegration and child-sensitive justice response to the study.