Juvenile Crime

Fezzik:

^Oh please. You're saying a thirteen year old kid understands the value of a human life? Or even of a dollar, for that matter? I'm not saying juveniles who commit crime should be let off easy, but re-education and rehabilitation is much more important and useful for them than just punishment.

Ok, a lot of 13 year olds are probably fairly naive. But by that age, I'm pretty sure they know the difference between right and wrong. They know that hurting someone is bad. They may not fully understand the value of life (maybe because at that age, people don't tend to think about death a lot) but they do understand that taking someone else's life is a bad thing.

Then again, with all these movies and video games these days, it seems to promote murder. Grand Theft Auto anyone? Driving around to kill people and then you can pick up prostitutes, steal cars and go home to 'please' your gf! >_<

But really, I'm pretty sure a 13 year old would know what they are doing.

at ten, they are still a kid, and they shouldn't really know about 'sucking off', so it shouldn't be an issue, but as he obviously does know, he should be taught that it is wrong. Obviously, he can't be done for sexual assault, because he probably didn't know that it was wrong. I mean my 9 year old brother doesn't understand that you can't walk around naked, but an adult should. I think that violent crimes, should be punished by community service, and in the case of murder, jail sentence, no matter how old the child is. Obviously, if it was an accident, like fighting with a little sister, and they fall out of the tree house, that wasn't intentional, and therefore a jail sentence isn't right, but if a 6 year old, or a 14 year old, or a 97 year old pulls a gun and kills their cousin, they should be punished. A kid isn't going to learn unless they're taught, and punished if they ignore that teaching.

I think that people need to realize that video games are video games, and what happens in them stays in them. Kids need to know that you don't have 2 lives, and can't get power ups if you jump on the guys head. If people are taught right and wrong, then you don't get a situation where kids are killing eat other over 'some beef'. Computer games arn't entirly to blame (as a local graffitti artist says, if they are 'I would be running around in a yellow suit, trying to eat the blue ghosts'), it is the lack of education that guns kill, and killing is wrong.

Quite a relevant Topic for me at this time, due to the circumstances of my 16 yr old Son at this time. Before going into that though, I would just like to say that the fact is that Teenagers are NOT Adults, and I do not believe they should be subject to the same consequences as Adults. Their brains and bodies are still moving towards adulthood, and finding more constructive sentences for Teenagers is, IMHO, very crucial. After they get to adulthood, the chances of Rehabilitation would be much lower than whilst they are still in their teens.

Now, to my Son. He is 16 yrs of age, has been verbally, emotionally, mentally and physically abused by his father for 15 of those years. He witnessed the same kind of abuse being inflicted on his Mother, but not his siblings (3). His mother was unavailable to him, through fear, depression, powerlessness, and exhaustion. When he was 15, he was diagnosed as suffering from Depression, and just over six months ago was almost successful in taking his own life. He got some alcohol, pills, and rope and went into a bushy area up from a walking track, where no one could see him, and proceeded to drink, take the pills, then hang himself. If it had not been for a runner with his dog going along the walking track sometime later, and the runners dog indicating to his master that his attention was needed in the bush, my Son would be dead. This was no suicide attempt, this was suicide interrupted.

At the beginning of March, by Son was arrested for two counts of Aggravated Robbery, and two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Robbery. He had not been in trouble with the Law before, was under Psychiatric Care, had been attending a Services Academy (pre-army thing for teenagers) and doing well at the Academy. But the Depression kept sucking him under, and in his own words (not that it excuses anything he has done at all), he felt alive when he committed the crimes, instead of feeling numb and dead inside.

Even though he is 16, and at that age would normally be dealt with in the Youth Court here in New Zealand, his case has been transferred to The District Court, which is for Adult Offenders, due to the serious nature of the offending.

Now, I am faced with a battle ~ a battle to keep my 16 year old, bi-sexual Son, from being sentenced to an Adult Prison. For I know, without the slightest doubt, that such a sentence would be a Death Sentence for him, whether that be physical death, or death of his future. He would be raped and abused even more than he already has been in that kind of prison environment, and he would not receive the Mental Health Care that he requires. Although it may not seem so, he is an intelligent young man, and there is hope for him.

So, given the above, do you think he should be sentenced to Adult Prison, or do you think his age and circumstances should be taken into account, in the hopes that rehabilitation would be more successful?

This is a very strong topic for me. I find it sick how society treats its juvenile delinquents and offenders. It's just sick.

Juveniles are not adults, and should not be treated as adults. They do not commit crimes, no matter the severity, for the same reasons adults do. They are not nonredeemable, and deserve rehabilitation. That is a very simple, basic logic that society has hence forgotten. Juvenile crime is a scary thing, and though it should not be taken lightly, it should be handled with sensitivity.

The logic for locking kids up with adults is so they will be scared out of re offending, or depending on the crime, will never get out. This is a stupid logic with no support to it. Kids who are put in adult prisons for adult time are exposed to hardened criminals, drugs, and are deprived of any sort of help. And the worst part? he re offend rate for those locked up in adult prisons have a higher re offend and suicide rate, in addition to there being a higher chance they will be sexually assaulted. (Something very personal for me)

Kids are not evil, and they do not deserve this.

I personally don't agree with jail, even for adult offenders, for the same reasons you don't agree with it for children. To me, there isn't a definite age where you become mature, and necessarily understand the consequences of your actions.

Scarred.In.Hate:

hey do not commit crimes, no matter the severity, for the same reasons adults do.

Well, it really depends on the age of the juvenile. A seven-year-old, for example, is not going to make the same psychological machinations when committing a crime as an adult would, but a sixteen-year-old (who, in my (Australian) state is seen to be a juvenile) is more likely to think like an adult.

Scarred.In.Hate:

The logic for locking kids up with adults is so they will be scared out of re offending, or depending on the crime, will never get out. This is a stupid logic with no support to it. Kids who are put in adult prisons for adult time are exposed to hardened criminals, drugs, and are deprived of any sort of help.

I don't know where you come from, but where I come from they do not lock children an adults up together. Juveniles are kept separate from adult prisoners. And how, exactly, do you know that all juveniles in prison are exposed to the same thing?

Scarred.In.Hate:

Kids are not evil, and they do not deserve this.

I disagree. I think there are some kids out there who can indeed be quite cruel and evil. What about those two ten-year-old boys who slaughtered two-year-old James Bulger? I don't believe it was an accident; I believe there were some definite psychopathic problems going on there.

people don't become madure at the same time... and yes.. people have many different things on their minds... so, If they decide wich t-shirt is better, they can say which things are bad.. kill...

Though they do not put kids in the same cell as adults, or the "general population", until age 15 (Which is still so young, especially since brain development doesn't stop until 21 or higher), that still doesn't keep them safe from the horrid influences you get there. They're still going to get exposed, and that just breeds the next generation of the more hard core criminals.

And, yes, obviously some kids are just fucked up in the head and have no chance of getting better. But there are others that do have the possibility, and they should be put in a place where rehabilitation and counseling is the goal. And really, you can't predict if a kid can be changed until they have gone through the programs provided in detention. When they're too old to stay in juvenile court, reevaluate them and take it from there - release or re sentence as an adult.

I don't care what the crime is, every kid deserves a chance. Please look into my side of this issue, http://www.kidsincourt.net and http://www.kidsincourt.com being good places to start.

Tikva:

Quite a relevant Topic for me at this time, due to the circumstances of my 16 yr old Son at this time. Before going into that though, I would just like to say that the fact is that Teenagers are NOT Adults, and I do not believe they should be subject to the same consequences as Adults. Their brains and bodies are still moving towards adulthood, and finding more constructive sentences for Teenagers is, IMHO, very crucial. After they get to adulthood, the chances of Rehabilitation would be much lower than whilst they are still in their teens.

agreed. but if your a kid you still understand right and wrong, we can understand that even when we're two. now I do think that you should be punished, but I think more community service should be forced apun underae offenders. It would help out the community and it would serve as a decant punishment, like say robbery, 100 service hours at a soup kitchen or park cleanup. and if the individual decides not to, then they are faced with more consicuensess and things such as driving and stuff is striped by law. Or maybe be forced to live in Juvie till thier hours are funished. But a 13 year old who took life understands what they did.

but i'm sorry about your son

This is a very tricky subject. I believe that it all depends on the particular minor in question, in every case.

Yes, the vast majority of teens and pre-teens have a pretty accurate scale on what's right and what's wrong. But, I think their environment and upbringing can sway that considerably. So, like I said, it really all depends.

I agree with what Battery Acid has said. Your environment and up bringing shape how your mind sees right and wrong.

And on the point that violent video games make kids more likely to commit crimes, there have been several studies that prove that kids who play violent video games are not more likely to commit real life crimes. That is a myth.

Where I live (USA; Midwest) the punishment for more serious crimes is more harsh and often does not include the opportunity for rehabilitation or mental health care, while the punishments for lesser crimes are way to lenient.

I think that kids do things crimewise just to get attention from someone else, or they do it as a form of rebellion.

As someone who was abused as a child, that is no excuse. I'm now 30 and I have never committed a crime, nor have I ever tried to blame anything in my life on my abuse, despite years of physical, mental, verbal, and sexual abuse during my pre-teen and teen years. I see and hear about other adult survivors of abuse committing crimes, or teen survivors of abuse committing crimes, and blaming it on the abuse. I find it ridiculous and anyone who does not make those people own up to their mistakes simply enables them to go out and break the laws again.

People are responsible for not only their actions, but also their reactions to the circumstances around them. You can choose to let your abuser control you and try to blame your actions on them; or you can choose to move on and control yourself.

The only thing I've ever done regarding my abuse was get my tattoo, which is a reminder that I'm a survivor and able to take on anything life throws at me. I've never been in legal trouble more than a speeding ticket 3 years ago, and work with children because I want to see them go through life without what I had to deal with.

A person who commits a crime, for whatever reason, at any age, does it willfully and with meaning. A person who commits a crime and tries to blame it on an incident that occurred years ago is looking for a scapegoat or a crutch. Teen and adult survivors of abuse and/or incest are perfectly capable of overcoming those events and becoming a productive member of society; I should know.

Do I feel that juveniles should get the same sentence as an adult? That depends not only on the crime but also the frequency of the offense. If a child makes a bad choice and is out with friends during a drug deal, or any other crime for that matter, they should receive the appropriate punishment and/or rehabilitation for their part in the crime committed. If they never commit another crime, then their lesson was learned and their record can be expunged. If, by 17, that same child has gone on to have other drug charges, or moved on to battery, rape, burglary, or even homicide, then they have shown that they are not capable of being rehabilitated and need to be removed from society to prevent any other innocents from harm.

The biggest thing I see with juveniles is the "my friend made me do it" defense. Children are not taught to take responsibility for their actions; instead, they look for the nearest scapegoat. And how can they when from young childhood their parents teach them to think that way? If they get in trouble, the person in charge of the child at the time was being unfair and didn't listen to their side of the story. If a child fails a test or receives a poor grade, it is because the teacher doesn't like them and is grading them unfairly. Their parents look for anyone else to pin the child's failures on -- it's never the child's fault for their actions nor the parents' fault for not teaching them to accept responsibility.

As a 13 year old, I believe that we can control our own actions, and that by the age of 13, you have learned to have responsibility for what you have done. If a 13-year-old murders someone, they should take responsibility for it. I'm not saying that they should get the same sentence as an adult would, but they definitely should not get just community service. And in the case of homicide, the record should not be sealed when they reach adulthood.

If a teenager is caught with pot, or drinking alcohol, that should not ruin the rest of their lives, and that record should be sealed.

I agree with what Pyschochip said. Many teenagers never learn to take responsibility for their actions, and do blame their friends, or anyone who can conceivably be blamed. Although, peer pressure is sometimes hard to resist, they still did the crime, not their friends. They should be punished for their part.

Earlier you were talking about young children, around the age of 6 or younger, who have been charged with serious crimes. A 6-year-old does not understand that if you kill someone, they are not coming back. I'm not sure if a 6-year-old even understands the concept of killing someone.

The 10 year old forcing his younger playmate to "suck him off" is obscene. Even if he did not understand what exactly he was doing, he should be taught. If he is not taught that this kind of behavior is not appropriate, he may grow up to commit much more serious crimes.

xxWolvenPrincessxx:

I think that kids do things crimewise just to get attention from someone else, or they do it as a form of rebellion.

I don't think that that is true.

Bob.:

I don't think that that is true.

Why?

To Zanarkand:

Bob.:

I don't think that that is true.

Why?

Because most teenagers with have a good enough head on their shoulders to figure out that getting attention by commiting crimes is a really stupid idea.

Bob.:

Because most teenagers with have a good enough head on their shoulders to figure out that getting attention by committing crimes is a really stupid idea.

If they had a good head on there shoulders they wouldn't be committing crimes anyway, That ship has sailed.

To Zanarkand:

If they had a good head on there shoulders they wouldn't be committing crimes anyway, That ship has sailed.

True, but I really don't think that they'd be commiting crimes for attention. I mean, probably a small percentage would, but not the majority.