Youth Offenders: Gold Chain Snatchers

Abstract

Youth offenders are finding chain snatching lucrative them ever before because of quick returns. Now even the time of the day does not matter to offenders, when it comes to chain snatching. A single stolen gold chain could fetch anywhere between Rs. 5,000 to 50,000. Chain snatchers have fixed ‘agents' in the market who buy the stolen gold from them for a good sum. This paper addresses the different techniques and reasons for chain snatching. The study involved 325 cases of chain snatching which were reported in print media in five years. The data was analysed by using content analysis method. The result shows that the mainly motorbike riders youth were the offenders of chain snatching. Preventive measures and effective solutions to social problems are easy to find where the root causes of such problems are established.