Juvenile offenders

Excuese, excuses, escuses. Juvenile offenders run rampant on today's streets. Society does nothing about this growing problem except to offer excuses. Youth offenders commit crimes from vandalism to murder and getting away with it. Being slapped on the wrist or sent to a juvenile detention home for the weekend is the only punishment being given. These children learn that there are no serious consequences for their criminal actions.

Little Johnny has stolen another car. Johnny comes from a home with a non-driving single parent. This is the only way he could learn to drive. society's idea of a reasonable punishment for this is to suspend his driving permit until he is twenty-one. This is a slap on the wrist. Young Debbie caught shoplifting make-up. Debbie hails from a home where her mother spends her money on drugs. This is Debbies's excuse for stealing. After all, if she does not have make up like the ohter girls at school, she will be an outcast and have no self-esteem. Punishment for this crime is ten hours community service. This is a slap on the wrist.

Seventeen year old Shawn murders a man just to prove his manhood. Shawn's excuses: he lives in a low-income housing complex and is the only child of a single parent. Shawn is sentenced to sixty-two years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in six years. This is a slap on the wrist. Murder was not Shawn's first offense. He has been charged with several other crimes ranging from grand larceny and marijuanna possession to assault. These earlier crimes were stepping stones to murder.

If this juvenile offender had been incarcerated at the time of his first offense, this murder would not have taken place. Society does not want to admit that children commit crimes, often violent crimes. Adult offenders would have been incarcerated for years if they had committed the same crimes. However, society claims that sending juvenile offenders to adult prison is a harsh and cruel punishment. Had Shawn been incarcerated in an adult prison when he was convicted of grand larceny, the prospect of going back would have deterred him from committing more crimes.

Society's alternatve to adult prison facilities are juvenile detention centers. Juvenile detention centers do not work. These centers are filled with youths who are depending on their peers. Peer pressure is a great influence on juveniles, especially juvenile offenders. Had Shawn been ordered to serve his time ina juvenile detention center he would have been looked up to by the other inmates. After all, he murdered someone and is spending his time in juvenile detention until he is eightteen--only eight months away. Then he will be free to roam the streets again. Shawn now has the ability to teach Johnny and Debbie how to commit mor serious crimes. A juvenile given the choice between a juvenile detention center and an adult prison is going to choose the

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