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Crime Affects Record Number Of Children In Turkey
A record number of minors have been accused of crimes or otherwise caught up in criminal activity in Turkey over the past year and a half, a recent report has revealed.
According to the report by the Lifelong Learning and Development Association, or HEGEM, 1.124 million minors were affected by crime during the period studied.
“We have failed to protect these [minors]; the families, the schools and other institutions failed to do their duty,” HEGEM Chairman Adem Solak said at a recent press conference in the Black Sea province of Trabzon.
The figure of 1.124 million was very high, even considering that there are 25 million minors in Turkey, as many as in six neighboring countries, Solak said.
The report also included a crime map of the country that showed the 10 Turkish provinces where the number of minors affected by crime is highest: Eskisehir, Izmir, Manisa, Balikesir, Aydin, Kayseri, Isparta, Erzincan, Usak and Edirne.
Prepared by 10 researchers over a period of two years in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces, the report provides for the first time comparative data for each province about the number of minors who committed crimes or became victims of crime, Solak said.
The section of the report dealing with how children are affected by crime reflects data on minors between the ages of 12 and 18 who lives in cities, the HEGEM chairman added.
Solak also said the research was based on seven main factors, including the number of court cases opened against minors; the rate of minors accused and suspected in crimes in relation to their total population; the number of accused minors compared to adults; the overall number of cases compared to the total population of minors; the rate of unsolved murder cases; and the rate of minor crime victims compared to the overall minor population.
Existing legislation protects minors who commit crimes
Noting an increase in the number of repeat offenders among minors, Solak attributed the change to the lack of sufficient rehabilitation services in the country and added that the law on protecting children that came into force in 2005 called for minors who have committed crimes to be sent to rehabilitation centers rather than prisons.
“As rehabilitation centers [offer insufficient services], the law has turned into one that protects minors who commit crimes, thus turning them into crime machines,” the HEGEM chairman said.
Solak also said criminality had been exported from already worrisome regions to those that had typically not seen much crime in the past.
“As minors are not sent to jail for their crimes, they move to other cities, exporting criminality,” he said, calling for the relevant ministries to undertake thorough research on the issue.
Solak also called for an end to the prejudice that crime is primarily a problem in the eastern parts of the country, noting that the majority of minors affected by crime live in western provinces.
“The family structure suffers from crucial problems,” he said, adding that as parents demonstrate violence at home, children escape to Internet cafes, where they virtually kill people while playing online games.
“The relevant ministries must take joint action to solve the problems of children,” Solak said.
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