Juvenile offenders are those who commit crimes before reaching adulthood, with the age of division varying by region. Contributing factors can include abuse, neglect, poverty, and mental illness. Rehabilitation is often favored over incarceration, but serious crimes can result in adult charges and penalties. Preventing delinquency and rehabilitating offenders is important, with social programs potentially playing a role.
A juvenile offender is a person who commits a crime before having yet reached the legal age of adulthood. The age that divides juvenile offenders from adult offenders can vary from region to region. Typically, juvenile offenders are tried in different courts and subject to different penalties than adult offenders, but in some circumstances, crimes that are serious or committed shortly before reaching adulthood may result in the offender being charged as an adult.
There are many theories as to why children commit crimes. According to legal statistics, a juvenile offender is more likely to develop when the child has been physically or verbally abused or neglected. Other contributing causes can be poverty and connection with local gangs. However, many juvenile offenders also come from stable families with adequate incomes, leading some to believe that genetics may also be a factor.
Some experts suggest that undiagnosed or poorly managed mental illness may be a factor in youth crime. For this reason, courts often order a psychological evaluation on the offender to determine whether a mental disability could interfere with the child’s ability to tell right from wrong. Judges may also order or recommend therapy and counseling for both the offender and their family as part of a sentence.
Crimes committed by a juvenile offender can range from tire shoplifting to murder. Often, in crime cases, courts focus on rehabilitation rather than incarceration, recognizing the need for the offender to better understand legal and ethical behavior. Children who successfully complete justice programs, such as therapy or community service, may have their criminal records expunged when they reach adulthood.
For serious crimes, such as murder, rape or sexual assault, the penalties for a juvenile offender can be quite severe. In some areas, it is legal to try teenagers as adults for certain crimes, leading to prison sentences that can include life in prison. In these cases, the threat to society posed by the offender is so great that rehabilitation is judged extremely unlikely.
Preventing juvenile delinquency and properly rehabilitating juvenile offenders is a major concern for many societies. Studies have shown that repeat adult offenders often have a history of juvenile delinquency; proper treatment and attention can be vital to preventing a juvenile offender’s future crimes. While there is no cure for all juvenile offenders, some experts suggest that certain social programs can help prevent crime. Drug and gang prevention programs, supervising after-school activities, and even instilling an early love of education can help prevent children from becoming criminals.
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