HYDERABAD: Right from heinous crimes such as murder, sexual assaults to thefts, juveniles who are accused of all sorts of crime are admitted in Government Observation Home for Boys at Saidabad. Staff there regularly witness aggressive behaviour of juveniles that include breaking into fits of rage & punching walls & fellow inmates, throwing plates etc.
In order to understand these inmates who are fighting various conflicts in life, dedicated counsellors are necessary, but no such mental health professionals have been employed in the Home. The counsellors can help understand if their aggressive behaviour is related to their background, and can help them assimilate in mainstream society. Though probationary officers with educational background in psychology are appointed, they are assigned many other tasks which does not allow them to focus on the psychological aspect of juveniles. The juveniles are counselled when they are produced before Juvenile Justice Board, and when experts are invited occasionally.
Experts said that without analysing the factors which influenced the minors to commit crime, bringing back a juvenile to normal life will be a tough task. Director of Institute of Behavioral Sciences in Gujarat Forensic Science Institute, Prof SPK Jena, said that if an untrained person counsels the juveniles, the person’s early life experiences might influence their counselling and they might be fixated on their problems while working. “A clinical psychologist or forensic psychologist should counsel. The juveniles have to talk to somebody,” Prof Jena said.