Crime and delinquency are the forms of non-conformity of human behavior. Criminals are the product of society and are caused by the disorganization of the social structure. Keeping in view the law and order system, it is important that the crimes must be brought to light – they should be reported to the relevant authorities or institutions so that they should be identified as crimes. Thus reporting of crime to a specialized government agency is of great importance in today’s societies.
Even after reporting if the court of law does not find sufficient proof against the defaulter then he is not a criminal. If an individual is given punishment which may be in the form of a warning or a fine or imprisonment, then the individual becomes a criminal. Further, the extent of punishment is based upon the rigidity of the code of morality and the mores which have been violated. From Afghanistan’s point of view, for example, if the religious values are very much adversely affected, the intensity of the punishment will be greater. There is no clear cut dividing line between crime and non-conformity and every non-conformity is not a crime.
In our country the reporting of crime is not so efficient due to various socio-cultural and security reasons. For instance, the delinquent children and deviant women are mostly ignored and their crimes are not reported to the police. Moreover, when women are even the victims in certain sorts of crimes, such crimes are also not reported because women are thought to be the honor of the families and their names are not revealed to the police or in such cases.
In the same way, due to homogeneity of the rural society, having an informal social control, most of the cases are decided by the village elders and are not reported to the police. There is no proper record of these crimes. Influential persons also hush up minor criminal cases. Due to these reasons, the true presentation of the crime statistics is not possible. Crime is one of the major social problems of the country which needs attention of the government and the social actors.
The increase of crime in a society enhances the economic, social and psychological sufferings of the masses. For instance, the murder of the head of the family brings myriads of problems and difficulties for the wife, children and other dependents. The increasing rate of crime in the country disorganizes and disintegrates the whole society and affects all social institutions adversely.
There are different causes of crimes within our society but poverty and illiteracy are the most dominant ones. When the economic position of an individual is not sound and satisfactory he develops hatred against the other prosperous members of society. This state of economic instability and psychological frustration lead an individual to commit grave type of crimes, which cannot be expected under normal circumstances.
Mass illiteracy and ignorance of the people is a major cause for a large number of crimes. Most of the illiterate and ignorant persons commit major crimes without realizing the social, economic and psychological implications upon themselves and their families.
Keeping in view the negative and devastating impacts of crimes in our society, it is really vital to follow a comprehensive strategy to control the situation. The education of masses would decrease the nature and rate of crime in the country. Education inculcates respect for law among the people and promotes among them a sense of understanding of the environment in a better way. An educated person proves to be a better citizen in comparison to an illiterate and an ignorant person. Adult education centers should also be encouraged side by side with the educational program for the coming generations on a country level. Normally, an educated person thinks about the after effects before he intend to commit a crime.
Moreover, every efforts should be made to improve the living standard of the masses, as improvement in the living standard would bring about better housing and sanitation facilities for the masses. Good and enough food and clothing with better environment of the family are correlated with a higher living standard which will lead to a better and healthy socialization of an individual. Frustration due to poverty and economic insecurity would be no more a dominating factor among the masses, which may help in decreasing the rate of crime in the country. The number of cottage industries should also be increased to keep the villagers busy in slack seasons and also to enable them to raise their living standards.
Though the total prevention of the crimes is something impossible, there should be efforts to adopt preventive measures on the one hand, strive to amend the criminals on the other by providing them better chances for their readjustment in society as normal and useful member. It is not a matter of more police, more courts and jails which can decrease the rate of crime, but the creation of healthy brotherhood, better social environment and healthy society, culture and personality that can be remedy in the long run.