A chronic juvenile offender is a young person having multiple criminal convictions that are spread over multiple criminal events (Baglivio, et al., 2014). The young offenders are either 11 years and younger having committed ten offences and have been arrested within twelve months or between 12 and 15 years with 15 offences and have been arrested over a duration of eighteen months. These offenders are also responsible for majority of the violent crimes (Fox, et al., 2015).
Thomas Jones cannot be classified as a chronic young offender since this is his first time to commit the offence. Henry Thompson is however a chronic juvenile offender. Being his first crime, Thomas can be set free with a warning. This is because as Nisar, et al., (2015) observes, peer influence is a contributor to indulgence in delinquency. As an example to encourage deterrent, his friend Henry must be taken to a juvenile assessment centre since his is a repeat offence. Applicable state laws in his jurisdictions must then be used to determine his fate. As an offender, Thompson’s acts would otherwise be deemed as crimes if he were an adult.
In Quincy Florida, the possession, sale and growing of marijuana is controlled by federal and state laws. It classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the region. This means that marijuana is considered to have a high risk for abuse and lacks a proven medical use. Its use, sale and cultivation are prohibited and punished by law in Florida under (Fl. Stat. Ann. § 893.13.) of Florida’s statutes. Various punishments including a prison sentence of up to 5 years are described in the law depending on severity of the crime. These measures are beneficial in deterring the possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana. However, with recent medical discoveries on the potential benefits of the drug as Hill, (2015) documents, the states laws on its use must be reconsidered and repealed.
References
Hill, K. P. (2015). Medical marijuana for treatment of chronic pain and other medical and psychiatric problems: a clinical review. Jama, 313(24), 2474-2483.
Baglivio, M. T., Jackowski, K., Greenwald, M. A., & Howell, J. C. (2014). Serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders. Criminology & Public Policy, 13(1), 83-116.
Fox, B. H., Perez, N., Cass, E., Baglivio, M. T., & Epps, N. (2015). Trauma changes everything: Examining the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and serious, violent and chronic juvenile offenders. Child abuse & neglect, 46, 163-173.
Nisar, M., Ullah, S., Ali, M., & Alam, S. (2015). Juvenile delinquency: The Influence of family, peer and economic factors on juvenile delinquents. Applied Science Reports, 9(1), 37-48.
Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. C. (2014). Juvenile delinquency: Theory, practice, and law. Cengage Learning.
Clinard, M. R., Quinney, R., & Wildeman, J. (2014). Criminal behavior systems: A typology. Routledge.
