Juvenile delinquency rate up 10 % in 2000

The Division of Youth Services Juvenile Corrections Unit concluded year 2000 with a notable 10 percent increase in delinquency rate, surpassing juvenile delinquency cases logged the previous year.

In 1999 the agency recorded some 429 juvenile delinquency cases, up 6 percent from the year before.

In May 2000, the youth services particularly saw the highest incidents of illegal possession of controlled substances among minors with a total of 56 intakes.

“Around this time, some students are usually burned out from school although we have yet to conduct an actual research and do a survey to get to the reasons behind this, ” said JCU Supervisor Sylvio Ada.

DYS recorded the second highest juvenile intakes in December 2000 totaling to 51, majority of which were minors apprehended for consuming liquor.

Social workers also attribute last month’s delinquency growth as opposed to November’s 15 recorded offenses, to traditional holiday celebrations where it is customary for most gatherings to serve alcoholic beverages.

Mr. Ada further attributed the year-end delinquency increase to the Department of Public Safety’s stepped up enforcement of curfew for minors.

“Last year, DPS strictly enforced curfew laws and while they were at it, the officers came across minors consuming liquor, engaging in truancy, and others,” he said.

While the rise in juvenile delinquency cases may have a negative connotation in society, DYS interprets the latest findings as a “positive” piece of data.

“There are two ways to look at it, on the negative aspect it went up and we should not be lenient about this. But on the brighter side, they are being caught and hopefully they will be prevented from engaging in more serious juvenile activities,” said Mr. Ada.

The DYS supervisor underscored that crime prevention in the CNMI has reached a point where prevention measures only begin making an impact on mischievous youths after they get arrested.

“Prevention does not always mean before they get arrested, it also means after they have been arrested,” he explained.

In the year ahead, DYS disclosed it is far-fetched to expect less minors consuming alcohol or using illegal substances as this is a phase some youths typically go through as a result of curiosity, peer pressure, and other factors.

“This is an experimental type of activity they engage in. It’s hard to predict what the succeeding months will bring as times do change,” said Mr. Ada.

DYS has vowed to continue intensifying its various prevention programs to guide the Commonwealth youths toward a positive future.