Juvenile Crimes And Crime Rates

Adult decisions should have adult consequence many minors don’t think about their actions and how it affects others around them. According to

In the article “Kids are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes” Marjie Lundstrom states “Hey they’re only kids, that is until they foul up. Until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager we are to call them adults.” If teens seem to commit the same crimes as adults, they shouldn’t get less time. A child should be tried as an adult because a crime is a crime no matter who commits it. … Teens that

communities. These programs proving job opportunities kept me out of trouble growing up in the streets of Chicago, and mentors from these after school matter program saved my life on numerous occasion. These youth programs give children a sense of hope by showing them that there are people who care about them, but most youth in these communities are typically in unstable homes. The number of school days in a year is essentially equal to the number of non-school days in a year. “Despite this split, most (63%) violent crimes committed by juveniles occur on school days. Nearly one-fifth (19%) of juvenile violent crimes occur in the 4 hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school days. A smaller proportion of juvenile violent crime (15%) occurs during

Over 1/3 of the 11,000 index crime arrests were juveniles under the age of 16.

While some individuals feel that exposure to an adult sanction will have a negative effect on the health of juveniles, the major crimes committed by these minors are the same as those committed by their surrounding adult inmates. The threat of adult incarceration will also repel juveniles from committing serious crimes. According to Professor Morgan Reynolds from Texas A&M University, “Between 1980 and 1993 juvenile crime rose alarmingly, and as the states toughened their approach during the 1990s, it declined just as steeply” (2005). In addition, incarceration lowers the chances of reoffending (Schneider cited by Reynolds, 2005). Enforcing laws that discourage juveniles from executing major crimes are effective in reducing crime rates and implementing public safety. Also, those that have already committed severe crimes are less likely to reoffend after exposure to adult sanction. Like Christopher Simmons, juveniles are aware of the crimes they are committing, and may even be proud of their actions. Regardless of the motive, teens committing major offenses should be placed in adult sanctions because their actions are no different than adult offenders. The intimidation of adult detention is successful in both deterring juvenile crime, and appropriately holds minors accountable for their severe offenses.

Considering the behaviors of an adolescent in the same manner as that of an adult is unfair. Juvenile brains are still developing, which means that they perform differently than adult brains (AACAP). Adolescents are more likely to act on impulse, get involved in fights, and engage in risky or dangerous behavior. They are less likely to think before they act or consider the consequences of their actions (AACAP). Weighing this scientific fact, it is unfair to assume that a juvenile committed a delinquent act with the same forethought of an adult. The mental development of a juvenile makes it difficult to prove that they established the mens rea equal to that of an adult guilty of the same offense.

Other people argue that Juveniles may not have the mental capacity to know that this is wrong. This is, in fact, wrong in most cases. A child no matter what the age should know that killing or performing other atrocious acts on others is wrong.There are some exceptions such as mental illness and adverse effects from medications. According to https://flowpsychology.com/10-pros-and-cons-of-juveniles-being-tried-as-adults/, “because teenagers have full control over their thoughts and actions. If they do not have the moral compass instilled in them by that time, then they are very likely to commit more crimes.” This implies that, should teenagers not be tried as adults, they may never learn their lesson.Even if they don’t from harsher punishments; at least they will

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

In today’s criminal justice system in the United States, there is a lot of dispute between what the qualifications are for juvenile and adult crimes. Some believe that the only difference is age. Others say it is the severity of the crime. It’s obvious that when adults commit crimes, whether they are a misdemeanor offense or a felony, they pay for it. The confliction comes when a juvenile commits a crime. What exactly determines if they are tried as an adult or a juvenile? Does it vary by state-to-state? Are there federal laws that govern that debate? There have been cases where children have been tried in a court of law as an adult. So what exactly is the clear cut reason why juveniles are tired sometimes as adults, and other times as juveniles?

Some juvenile delinquents are being treated like adults and being sent to adult prisons instead of juvenile prisons. In an article called “ADULT PRISONS: No Place for Kids,” by Steven J. Smith, Smith presents an argument against treating juveniles like adults. His argument states that minors shouldn’t be trialed and placed into adult prisons because instead of being rehabilitated, they typically come out worse because of the daily exposure to already hardened criminals. Smith provides reasons why juveniles are convicted as adults, the drawbacks of placing adolescents in prisons with adults, and an alternative punishment for juvenile criminals.

If a juvenile, over fourteen has the ability and willingness to commit a violent crime they should be tried and punished as an adult. A fourteen year old knows right from wrong. He (or she) is able to tell whether they are committing a crime. If a juvenile is mature enough to commit an adult crime, they should be treated as an adult, and punished justly according to the adult law. The difference in age in two people should not determine their punishment if they have committed the same crime under the same or similar pretenses.

In my own opinion, I consider juveniles as immature because they lack the ability to recognize the long term impact of their actions as they have decreased levels of responsibility. Therefore, the justice system should not charge juveniles in adult legal system and sentence them as adults.Trying juveniles as adults exposes the young offenders to state penitentiaries up to life in prison without parole and even sentenced to death. This raises a question on how truly effective treating juveniles as adults are to the young offenders. As the crimes committed by juveniles increase, there has been an outcry from the public and affected to prosecute juveniles accused of serious crimes as adults. It is true that juveniles do

After the sound of a gunshot, a desperate scream, the juveniles that were children yesterday instantly become killers, murderers, and criminals. In America, juveniles who commit adult crimes are tried every day in juvenile courts, where the juveniles are leniently given shortened sentences, and fail to learn from their mistakes. The criminals turn into our next door neighbors, our friends, and live their lives in harmony, leaving the victims and the victims’ families to suffer in pain and sorrow. Young people who commit violent crimes should be sentenced as adults because of the heinous crimes they committed, the unfairness to the victim’s family, and their potential danger to the society once they return.

Imagine two innocent young children; one girl, age seven and the other, a boy, age nine. The two are playing video games inside on a snowy, frigid day. After, the young girl’s father, Richard Ratti, ended the festivities a seven year old, Jessica Ratti went outside to ride a snow mobile with her best friend. The nine year old boy, identified as Cameron Kocher, enraged at his parents for not allowing him to participate stormed home, unlocked his father’s gun cabinet, and stalked to a window where he delivered the shots that ended Jessica Ratti’s life. Cameron, who showed no remorse for his previous wrong-doings, was interchanged from juvenile and adult court, at least once. However, the judge denied the transfer of his case into the juvenile

Although juvenile crimes happen all year around the rates are extremely high during school breaks. As Richmond states in the article, “high point of juvenile crime comes during the Easter, Christmas, spring, and summer vacation periods from school” (Richmond, 2001). These are times when students have more free time to rome the streets because they are not being supervised. When the students return to school after breaks there is a decrease in crimes being committed. A lot of parents have a hard time supervising their kids during the summer because they work full time jobs. Another issue is that some parents cannot afford to send their children to summer recreations so crimes are higher. As is states in the article, “Many students are not able