Juvenile Crime as one of the major issues in modern world Essay

The phrase If you are old enough to do the crime, you are old enough to do the time is what todays society basically lives by. There are so many crimes going on in todays world and one of the major issues is juvenile offenses, should they be tried as adults in criminal courts and should juveniles receive life sentence without parole. In the article  Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice written by Laurence Steinberg states that  It has redefined juvenile offenses by treating most of them as delinquent acts to be adjudicated within a separate juvenile justice system that is theoretically designed to recognize the special needs and immature status of young people and emphasize rehabilitation over punishment. I do personally agree that juveniles should be responsible for their actions that they commit and be held responsible for the crimes, but to sentence these kids because that is what they technically are to life sentence without parole by the justice system is barbaric. Adolescence in todays society are less mature and more childish, all they want to do is prove themselves to their peers because of the negative peer pressure they are faced. These young adolescence are most likely going through a stage of immaturity and not developed with wisdom thus far. Nearly all of these juveniles are way immature to truly comprehend what their actions have caused and how it impacted themselves. For instance an adult is someone who is considered to be a matured 18 years of age by the law but some people do not have the common sense to be an adult. So when the juvenile kids are send to an adult jail, they are placed in a cell with an adult cell mate where frequently things take a bad turn. These adult cell mates will take advantage of these juveniles where they will be forced to do things they are not supposed too, therefore the juveniles get into more trouble and get punished roughly. How are these adolescence supposed to develop fully if they are placed with cell mates are older and not on the same age group as the teen. These juveniles need treatment and guidance rather than punishment without giving them a second chance. By sending juveniles to rehabilitation center where they would be grouped and interact with adolescence their age and who are in similar positions and the main focus would be to improve these teens. Parole is the second most prevalent rehabilitation program to juveniles. Conditional release from prison with an offender serving the remainder of the sentence in the community under a supervision of a parole officer is giving juveniles the chance to be reintroduced in the community, and a second chance to improve their life.

References

Steinberg, L. (2009). Annual review of clinical psychology. "Adolescent development and juvenile justice Vol 5, 45948.

Steinberg, L, Chung, H, Little, M. (2004). Sage Journals. Reentry of Young Offenders from the Justice System A Developmental Perspective. Vol 2, 2138.