Superintendent David Eklu of Community Policing Unit, has called on parents and teachers to educate children about the negative effects of crime.
He said armed robbery and other crimes were committed by children who were not reprimanded when they committed crimes such as stealing pens,
pencils, books and other items from their friends.
Supt. Eklu was addressing a forum for selected children drawn from Junior High Schools (JHS) in the Chorkor Community in Accra on Friday.
It was organised by the management of Young Elites Organisation (YEO), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), to educate young children on the dangers in the use of illicit drugs and crime prevention.
The NGO has plans to establish rehabilitation centres to counsel, monitor, educate and train cured lunatics and reformed criminals.
Supt. Eklu warned children to avoid accepting gifts from people they did not know and report anyone who subjected them to indecent assault.
Mr. Emmanuel Armah, Executive Director of YEO, said the lifestyles of the youth currently were questionable and a threat to society.
He blamed parents for failing to fulfil their responsibilities to their children.
Mr. Armah observed that most parents feed and clothed their children but denied them moral training "either because they are too busy with their profession or they themselves lacked it".
He noted that some school children had to toil to fend for themselves, a situation that forced most of them into the streets and resort to crimes and other forms of violence.
"Society is becoming polluted with cruelty and other forms of criminal acts and misapplication of drugs," he said.
Mr. Armah told the children not to take the law into their own hands but report offenders to the law enforcement agencies.
Mr. Kwesi Asante, Deputy Director of Ablekuma South Sub-Metropolitan Schools advised the children to refrain from being used as drug couriers.
Mrs. Stellar Lamptey, Community Psychiatric Nurse advised the children from illicit drugs and depended on their natural ability in the pursuit of academic laurels.