The first meeting of the Juvenile Police Division was held Sunday in the presence of representatives from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Iran Office, secretary of the National Body on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the head of Tehran Correction and Rehabilitation Center.
“The initiative was launched by the Tehran Law Enforcement Forces after extensive research and planning, to deal with young delinquents, and youngsters who are victims of child abuse in a more effective manner,” said Mozaffar Alvandi, secretary of the NBCRC.
Hosted by the Prevention Police Department of the Law Enforcement Forces, the meeting aimed to bring together all state bodies in areas related to children to report on the activities and progress of the division, facilitate cooperation among pertinent bodies, and assign responsibilities.
“The Juvenile Police Division was formed last year under Article 31 in the latest revision to the Criminal Code of Procedure and officially began operating in December 2015,” said Deputy Chief Police Bahram Nejadebrahim, Mehr News Agency reported.
Curbing juvenile delinquency and segregating it from adult crime, preventing misdemeanors during the teen years, and tackling social ills among the youth are the main objectives of the new police force.
Experts in Various Fields
The department’s team includes experts in the fields of sociology, psychology, and counseling. The entire specialized force has undergone training to acquire skills needed to handle children and adolescents. Women police are also included to give “a more supportive feeling to young offenders.”
A higher proportion of youth in their early 20s globally are being arrested for various offenses in recent years compared to the past. Most legal systems across the world prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as establishing juvenile detention centers and courts.
The average age of prisoners in Iran has declined to 30 years from 36 in the last decade.
Head of Iran’s Prisons Organization, Asghar Jahangir, says most of the cyber criminals fit in the 16-17 age groups.
“At the moment the Juvenile Police is operating at every police station in the metropolis, and its jurisdiction will expand once the executive bylaw on Article 31 of the Criminal Code of Procedure is approved,” said Juvenile Police Chief Yazdan Fallahzadeh.
The force will work in cooperation with the judiciary and pursue each case under the auspices of the Law Enforcement Forces.
