Violent Juvenile Offenders
Abstract
Juvenile crimes are often treated liberally as compared to the crimes committed by adults. This is based on the presumption that juveniles are not mentally as developed as the adults to fully understand the consequences of their actions. Problem however arises when juveniles indulge in violent crimes. Though it is rare juveniles sometimes commit violent crimes like rape, murder or the like.
The reasons for juveniles indulging in violent crimes could be internal (temperament, perceptions etc. of the juvenile) or external (peers, social circumstances etc.). More often than not juvenile offenders turn violent owing to a complex mix of both the factors. (Hoge, n.d.)
The question then arises with respect to how violent juvenile offenders must be treated in the court of law. Must leniency be administered keeping in mind their age or must they be tried like adults, keeping in mind the nature of crime committed by them?
Some jurisdictions provide for trying juveniles like adults, if they have committed a violent crime. This has caused a lot of debate among human rights activists and legislators with the former alleging that the trying juveniles on the same pedestal as adults violate the basic rights of the juveniles.
In the contemporaneous society, given the rising instances of violent juvenile crimes there needs to be a strict law in place that lays down not only the means of reducing violent juvenile crimes but also the method of trying and rehabilitating the violent juvenile offenders.
References
Hoge Robert. (n.d.). Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders. Retrieved from
http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/RS_No78/No78_10VE_Hoge2.pdf
