Beyond punishment: Giving children in conflict with law a second chance

Last week, as I walked into a protection home to meet children in conflict with the law, I expected to speak to them about drugs, discipline and the choices that can shape their future. I carried with me the familiar concerns of a police officer: the dangers of substance abuse, peer pressure, crime and the challenges of returning to a normal life after coming into conflict with the law. But within minutes of meeting them, the conversation began to change the way I was looking at the issue. Some were quiet and hesitant; others looked at me with curiosity. Yet beneath those different expressions, I could see something common: they were children before they were anything else: children with fears, insecurities, aspirations and dreams. It made me reflect on a question that extends well beyond policing or juvenile justice: when these children eventually walk out of a protection home, what do we want them to become?

Do we want them to carry the burden and stigma of their past indefinitely, or do we want them to return as confident, skilled, self-reliant and responsible citizens? For me, the answer is clear. A mistake made by a child cannot be allowed to become the child’s entire identity. This does not mean ignoring accountability. Children must understand that actions have consequences and that the law has to take its course. But accountability and abandonment are not the same. A humane justice system must protect society while preserving the possibility of reform and redemption.

This becomes particularly important when we consider substance abuse among young people. Addiction rarely begins by announcing itself as an addiction. It may start with curiosity, peer pressure, loneliness, emotional distress or the simple desire to belong. A friend says, “Try it once.” What appears to be an experiment can gradually become a habit and eventually a dependency. That is perhaps the most insidious nature of drugs: they often enter a young person’s life disguised as a friend, before revealing themselves as an enemy. By the time their consequences become visible, they may already have damaged education, health, family relationships, finances and judgement. In some cases, dependency can also become a pathway to theft, violence, trafficking and other forms of crime.

The fight against drugs, therefore, cannot be left to the police and the criminal justice system. Prevention must begin much earlier: in families, schools and communities. Telling children simply to “stay away from drugs” is not enough. They need the confidence to refuse, the resilience to withstand peer pressure and the awareness to seek help when they are vulnerable. We must teach them that courage does not mean doing what everyone else is doing. Sometimes, real courage lies in standing apart from the crowd and saying, “No, I will not do this.”

For those who have already experimented with drugs or are struggling with dependency, our message must be equally clear: their lives are not over. They do not need to hide in shame; they need support. Counselling, medical assistance, psychological care, family engagement and a positive environment can help a young person regain control. Asking for help should never be seen as weakness. It is often the first act of responsibility towards oneself and one’s future.

This is why our approach towards children in conflict with the law must extend beyond punishment to reform, rehabilitation and reintegration. A protection home should not merely be a place where a child waits for a prescribed period to end. It should become a bridge between a difficult past and a more hopeful future. Education must be at its centre. Children whose schooling has been interrupted should be helped to resume it wherever possible, while vocational and technical training should be available to those who need alternative pathways. Computer skills, electrical work, mechanics, agriculture, tailoring, culinary skills, handicrafts and other employable abilities can provide young people with economic independence. Skill is not merely a means of earning a livelihood; it is also a means of restoring dignity and self-worth.

Rehabilitation, however, cannot be reduced to classrooms and employment. Many children carry anger, loneliness, insecurity, rejection or emotional distress. Counselling and life-skills education must therefore accompany formal learning. Sports, yoga, meditation, music and creative activities can develop discipline, confidence and emotional balance. Anger management deserves particular attention because some offences are not the result of carefully planned criminal intent but of a few uncontrolled moments. Young people should learn to pause before reacting, step away from confrontation and ask themselves a simple question: “Will what I am about to do make my future better or worse?” Sometimes, a few seconds of restraint can prevent years of regret.

The influence of peers is equally significant. A positive friend can lift a young person, while a destructive group can pull him or her back into the circumstances from which rehabilitation sought to provide an escape. When children return to society, they therefore need continued support to build healthy relationships, find positive mentors and reconnect with their families and communities. Society, too, has a responsibility. If we repeatedly remind a young person of his past, we make it harder for him to build a future. Accountability is essential, but stigma should not become permanent. Trust may take time to rebuild, but the opportunity to rebuild it must remain open.

There is also a powerful possibility within this process. A young person who has experienced addiction, violence or criminal influence can eventually become one of the strongest voices against those very dangers. Someone who has known darkness can sometimes guide another towards light with an authenticity that no textbook can provide. A rehabilitated child can therefore become not merely a beneficiary of the system but, in time, an agent of prevention.

Additionally, this has a direct connection with nation-building. India is often described as a young nation and its youth as a demographic dividend. But a young population becomes a dividend only when it is educated, healthy, skilled, purposeful and given meaningful opportunities. Every child kept away from drugs, reconnected with education, equipped with skills and restored to a dignified life represents more than an individual success. It is an investment in the country’s social stability and future.

Whenever a child comes into conflict with law, we naturally ask, “What did the child do?” We must also ask, “What circumstances brought the child here?” More importantly, we should ask, “What can we do to ensure that the child does not return to those circumstances?” And ultimately: “How can we help this child become a responsible and productive citizen?” The answer requires the combined commitment of the police, juvenile justice institutions, families, schools, counsellors, civil society and the community.

For policing, this calls for a broader understanding of success. Modern policing cannot be confined to responding to offences after they occur. Prevention, community trust and protection of vulnerable children must form an integral part of our mission. Our success should not be measured only by cases registered or offenders apprehended. It should also be measured by how many young lives we help redirect-away from drugs and violence, towards education, skills, dignity and opportunity.

When a child leaves a protection home, he or she should not leave merely with a certificate or a date of release. The child should leave with a plan for education or livelihood, the ability to make healthier choices, supportive relationships and, above all, faith in his or her own future. We must tell these children something that society sometimes forgets to tell them: your past may explain where you came from, but it does not have the right to decide where you will go. A mistake can be a chapter in your life without becoming the title of the entire book.

It is easy to label a child by an offence; it is harder to help that child become a responsible citizen. But a compassionate and democratic society must be willing to choose the harder path. Rehabilitation is not charity. It is an investment in public safety, social justice and nation-building. When a young person chooses dreams over drugs, discipline over anger, skills over dependency and responsibility over crime, society gains far more than a reformed individual. It gains a citizen.

Perhaps the most meaningful measure of rehabilitation is when a child who once needed protection grows into a young person capable of protecting another child from the very dangers he once faced. That is more than rehabilitation. That is transformation. And that is how a second chance given to one child can become an investment in the future of an entire society-and of the nation.

A child in conflict with the law is more than the offence on a case file. Rehabilitation must go beyond punishment to education, skills, counselling and dignity, so that a difficult past does not become a child’s permanent identity

Author’s Profile:

Dr Kumar Ashish, IPS, DIG, Koshi Range, Saharsa, Bihar is known for pioneering people-centric policing initiatives such as AAWAZ DO, Nasha-Mukt Koshi Abhiyan, E-Bharosa, Coffee with SP, Thana Diwas and Rail Police Paathshala, with a focus on women’s safety, digital policing, community engagement, drug abuse, youth empowerment and social justice; Views presented are personal.