Teenagers Should Be Punished For Their Crimes Essay

Crime is defined as an act that violates the constitution such as theft, assault, drugs/alcohol offense, curfew violations, and murder. Despite being punishable by law, many people still commit these crimes including teenagers. Teenagers should be punished for their crimes because they have the capability of recognizing their responsibility as a good citizen in the society. They are old enough to know the consequences of every action they make. According to The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), teenagers are more likely to commit crimes compared to adults. Numbers of crimes were being recorded by the OJJDP that are typically committed by teenagers and in the year 2000, statistics show that 2,369,4000 juvenile

One reason is their inexperience and youth. A lot of times being young and having a lack of experience can lead teenagers into dangerous and often criminal situations, such as joining gangs, taking or dealing drugs and drinking. A teen 's discretion isn 't as fully developed as that of an adult. Also, many teenagers lack positive role models in their lives. If a teenager is part of a family that is either setting a bad example (by engaging in criminal activity themselves) or entirely absent, they have no one to show them the correct path in life. Many teenagers simply aren 't aware of the consequences of crime. Teenagers also often don 't understand laws and law enforcement practices in their area. Peer pressure is also another reason why teens could fall into a life of crime. Peer pressure is stronger than many realize, and has led to fatal overdoses, unwanted pregnancies, car accidents, violent crime and dangerous accidents. Peer pressure is very prevalent in the teenage years, and drug use is one of its most frequent results. If a teenager witnesses his friends either selling or taking drugs, they may want to participate in that behavior as well, because they perceive it as "cool" and don 't want to be labelled an