Parental neglect is one of the factors that is pushing many children to break the law in Mzuzu, police have said.
Child protection officer for Mzuzu police station Charles Chiwake made the statement during a meeting conducted at St John of God in Mzuzu city.
Chiwake said from January this year they have arrested 63 children who were found to have been in conflict with the law.
“Most of these children are from Masasu, Ching’ambo and Salisbury line,” he said.
The child protection officer said the arrested children were involved in various cases such as theft and assault.
He added that of the 63 arrested children, 13 are on police bail, 9 will appear before court while 41 of them have already had judgements on their cases delivered.
He attributed the situation to parental neglect which he said forces the children to be on the streets and to engage in unbecoming behaviour.
Different stakeholders at the meeting came to note that such meetings are important as far as the role of parents in reducing cases of neglecting children is concerned.
