Thursday, December 15, 2016

For parents everywhere: A primer on juvenile offenses

Juvenile delinquency changes a teenager’s life. Youth who play a part in illegal behavior are incarcerated, or penalized, and the punishment sticks with them. Social stigma, moreover, aggravates the scars of the experience and is also often an obstacle to moving on.

Legal systems have specific ways of ruling on punishment for juvenile delinquency. Juveniles have their own detention centers and courts. Although in the states of New York, New Hampshire, Texas, and North Carolina, the courts define “juvenile” as youth under 17 years of age, the rest of the United States considers 18 the age of majority. However, if the crime committed is of a heinous nature, courts can rule that juvenile perpetrators be tried as adults.

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Recent events show an increasing number of arrests of youth in their 20s. Counterintuitively, some criminal experts and scholars blame the justice system, youth behavior, for this trend. The criminal justice system in the United States has been leaning more and more towards zero-tolerance policies.

Listed crimes for minors can range from light offenses such as underage smoking and drinking, to theft, battery, and even more violent acts. It has been observed though that a majority of juvenile cases are categorized as non-violent. Some people, such as parents and teachers, have even suggested that juvenile crimes are a product of natural adolescent behavior. It has also been noted by authorities that teens commit offenses or felonies once or twice, but only during this period in their lives.

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However, studies observe that the offenses of some individuals who repeatedly break the law as minors tend to escalate into more heinous acts as these youth pass into adulthood.

Parents should ponder these ideas and findings in forming their disciplinary approaches for their adolescent children.

Michael J. Donohue is a lawyer from Allentown, Pennsylvania. He has handled various criminal cases, including juvenile offenses. For more on Atty. Donohue’s practice, visit this website.

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