Is stricter punishment the answer to juvenile crime?

Case by case consideration based on the crime.

Strictness doens’t help. What helps is consistency in application of the law. That’s the main thing missing from our justice system, which is why it fails to act as much of a deterence.

I think you have to look at things on a case by case basis. I think the age of the suspect and the severity of the crime should determine how they are handled. There is certainly not much difference between an 18 and 17 year old, but there is a big difference with a 12 year old. Either way, the goal should be to protect society, and to attempt rehabilitation, no matter what the age.

Yes…you honestly think a 10 yr old should have the same punishment as a 50yr old? there has to be a line drawn somewhere.

why do we not let the kids vote or drink or drive cars??? cause they are not mature enough to make the right decisions. Hence, they are not convicted as adults.

They won’t learn like that.

They need adult punishment so they will know what is really bad and have a bad experience so they don’t do bad things again cause they wouldn’t want to have the same bad experience again.

Not talking about anything drastic of course.

I do agree that it someone as young as that shouldn’t be convicted, but I do think that 18 years old is a little to high.

I think that it should be lowered to 16. By the time you are 16 years old. You know right and wrong. You should know what the consequences are for rape/drug dealing/ and murder.

ally_xo, she was not talking about crimes committed AGAINST children. She is talking about crimes committed BY children.

I know what its like to be sexually assaulted unfortunately and I know I can speak for others too when I say the worst punishment possible is what they need

If you’re going to be punished the same at 16, then you should have the same rights… if you think 16 is old enough to be punished, then should it be old enough to allow them to drink or vote? there has to be a line drawn and they chose it to be 18… the psychological research shows that teens have immature prefrontal cortexes (the part that controls impulses), they arent treated the same because developmentally they arent as mature… also, a lot of states have different laws concerning violent crimes… premeditated murder is not going to be treated with a slap on the wrist…

I think that when looking at stricter punishment, you should look at the crime that was committed together with the age. I feel that by the time you are 16 you are an adult and that you should know the difference between right and wrong. So I believe that from that age and onward they should be treated as adults for all crimes committed. Also I feel that someone between the age of 13 - 18 should definitely know that very serious crimes such rape and murder is wrong and feel that they should also then be sentenced as adults.

A person who is young is not necessarily a hardened criminal, yet…there is far more chance of rehabing a youngster, than an adult…so yes…more leniency is called for…If they ever lowered the legal age for culpability, then we’d see the children accused of very serious crimes go down, too (just as we’ve seen in the last 20 years)…8 to 10 year olds being tried in adult courts…(hell, they tried to get that kid in Texas tried in an adult court at 8 years old)…

Leave it as it is, with migitgating circumstances applied…

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by the time most people hit 18 they have the maturity to think about the future with everything they do. dont get me wrong, there are 30 year olds that will do something and not think of the consequences. when you are under 18 you only care about right now, not about 10 years from now. im not saying all people under 18 are like that but most 16 year olds dont care what happens tomorrow they just live for today.

So you honestly think that if a person is not legally an adult - they should be able to get away with murder/selling drugs/rape and have a less harsh punishment?

I think at the very least the age at which children are tried as adults should be lowered. no, you can’t charge a 9 or 10 year old the same way you would an adult; they haven’t fully learned right from wrong. but at the same time, when you have a 15 or 16 year old that’s constantly stealing and vandalizing because they know they can’t get in too much trouble, yeah, they need to be punished more than them to be put on probation for a while.. some of the people that are getting off easy need a wakeup call.

No, I do think if you are going to convict a person as an adult you the person should have the same rights as an adult…like voting…drinking age…sentancing as an adult…and any thing else I missed…all the same age…I thing the best age would be 18 for all.

Questions

1. Offenders are considered juveniles in Illinois until they turn what age? A) 17 B) 21 C) 18

2. What is the youngest age when a juvenile can be transferred to adult criminal court in Illinois? A) 17 B) 13 C) 15

3. At what age can a juvenile be held in a juvenile detention center in Illinois? A) 15 B) 13 C) 10

4. A. Offenders are juveniles in Illinois until they turn 17. In some cases, however, offenders under the age of 17 who are accused of serious offenses may be transferred to adult criminal court.

5. B. For certain serious offenses, such as firstdegree murder committed during a sexual assault or kidnapping, juveniles who are 13 or older can be transferred to adult criminal court. For most other serious offenses, the juvenile must be at least 15 to be transferred to criminal court.

6. C. Only juveniles 10 years old or older can be held in juvenile detention centers.

I don’t think harsher punishments will solve it, but I’ve got to agree, I’m pretty appalled that 18 is the age where you’re legally deemed responsible. In New Zealand, charges can be pressed against anyone 16 years or over, and I think sometimes that’s too old.

I mean, there are some children who at 14 think they’re responsible enough to have sex, and want all the rights of an adult. If that’s the life they want, they should be able to face up to the responsibilities too.

Some people do make stupid mistakes when they’re young. I firmly believe if what you did was a one off, and you bust your gut for the next few years trying to learn from that mistake and reform, depending on the severity of the offense, you should have the chance to earn your slate wiped clean. It’d really need to be done on a case by case basis- something many governments refuse to put more funding into.