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Juvenile Crime in the USA vs. England
During the medieval ages, the church was responsible for passing out judgment on all the wrong doers. The punishment was harsh and it did not discriminate whether the offender was an adult or a child. It was common to find a six-year-old on death row for breaking into a shop to steal bread. It was not until the 18th Century that Western civilizations decided to look at the juvenile crime issue from a different perspective. Of course, there were those who were opposed to a separate justice system for children claiming that such a move would only serve to breed future criminals. In the USA, the debate still rages on regarding whether children who commit capital offences such as murder, should face the law as an adult offender would. The issue regarding when a person is able to comprehend the consequence of his crime, is still subject to debate. This essay compares juvenile crime in the USA and England.
Age of criminal responsibility
In England, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years (gov.uk, 2016). Prior to that, the English justice system stipulated that the age of criminal responsibilitybebetween 10 and 13 years. Even then, the prosecution still had to prove to the court that indeed the offender knew the difference between right and wrong. It was always an uphill task to prove that a young offender was capable of telling right from wrong. Because of the high number of young offenders who exploited the loophole of proving that the accused knew right from wrong, the English Legal system decided to set the age criminal responsibility at 10. The prosecution no longer needs to prove to the court that the offender can tell between right and wrong, as long as he is 10 years and above.
The age of criminal responsibility in the USA varies according to state. The state with the lowest age of criminal responsibility is Carolina. However, it is important to note that only 15 states in the United States have set the age of criminal responsibility. The rest of the states depend on common law to determine the age at which young offenders are held liable for their crimes. This age is usually 7 years. According to the USA federal law, the age of criminal responsibility is 7 years, making the USA among the countries with the lowest age of criminal responsibility.
Number of Arrests
In 2015, 10.8% of all the arrests in the UK comprised young people of between the ages of 10 and 17 years. Ever since the period between 2006 and 2007, the number of juvenile arrests has gone down by 20%. In the history of the British youth justice system, the period of 2006/2006 marked the peak in the arrests of juveniles. The proven offences by young people in 2015 were 90,769, down from 96,896 in 2014. Overall, offences by young people have been going down annually ever since they hit the peak in 2006. The results point out to a working Youth Justice System in England.
In the USA, the proportion of juveniles that were arrested in 2015 was 19%. According to the US department of justice, the number of arrests has been going down considerably after they hit their peak in 1994 (Justice.gov, 2016). Juvenile arrests in the USA involve serious crimes such as murder, robbery and rape. Sixty four percent of all the juveniles arrested were found to be in a gang with adults. This revelation shows the impact of older siblings and friends on the behavior of juveniles.
Factors contributing to Juvenile crime
The mass incarceration of juveniles in the USA is partly to blame on the system. Juveniles have been incarcerated for petty offences such as shoplifting and being in possession of drugs. The relaxed gun laws in the USA are also attributable. A teenager in the USA is more likely to have access to a gun than his counterpart in England. With the hovering influence of violent crime, coupled with poor judgment, these teenagers find themselves engaging in violent crime using the guns.
The primary factor leading to juvenile arrests in England is drug. Most of the young people are usually arrested when they attend parties that are laden with drugs. The prevalence of violent crime among young people aged between 10 and 17 years is comparatively law because of the strict gun laws in England.
Improvements
Research has shown that most of convicted juveniles go back to engaging in crime shortly after the end of their probation. Some do not wait for their probation to end before they indulge in another crime. Maybe it time we concentrated on restorative justice in the juvenile justice system (Strang, 2002). The high return rate to incarceration is proof enough that the system does not rehabilitate the youngsters; instead, it appears as though it hardens them to be hardcore criminals when they become of legal age. Restorative justice will make the juveniles to realize what they did was wrong, and therefore seek amends with their victims.
References
Gov.uk, (2016). Youth justice statistics 2013/2014. Retrieved from <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/399380/youth-justice-stats-exec-summary-2.pdf> accessed June 7, 2016.
Justice.gov, (2016). Juvenile crime facts. Retrieved from < https://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-102-juvenile-crime-facts> accessed June 7, 2016.
Strang, H. (2002). Repair or revenge: Victims and restorative justice. Clarendon Press.