By Zainab Al Nasseri — MUSCAT: March 5 - The number of offender juveniles decreased to 455 in 2016 compared to 506 registered in 2015, of which 21 were expats, according to the Juveniles Affairs Department at the Ministry of Social Development. Rise in the awareness level of parents is a main cause for this drop, yet the ministry called for more efforts to build a successful family and raising their children through a more harmonious atmosphere. North Al Batinah took the lead with 132 juvenile cases, of which 131 males and 6 females, followed successively by Muscat with 68 cases, Al Dakhiliyah with 53, Al Sharqiyah South with 47, Al Sharqiyah North with 38, Al Dhahirah with 34, Al Batinah South with 26, Dhofar with 34, Al Buraimi with 12, and Musandam with 6 cases.
Figures showed that the most common offence was robbery, rated at 133 cases, followed by simple abuse 86 cases, traffic tickets 46 cases, sexual harassment 32 cases, immoral offense 22 cases, indignity 18 cases, delinquent juveniles 17 cases, IT crimes 14 cases, sabotage 14 cases, breach of domicile 12 cases and begging 9 cases. The ages of the juveniles ranged between 9 to 18 years. Cases involving females were limited, according to MOSD.
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