Crime rates are increasing among young people and kids in many countries in recent years. These increasing crime rates are linked to a lack of sanctions for the young by the justice system. That problem may be solved by strengthening the justice forum for younger crimes.
Many adolescents possess a feeling of freedom and being untouched by the justice system when they commit smaller crimes such as theft, drug consumption, scams, or others. The amount of crime has increased in recent years due to a lack of strength in justice for younger crime cases. The justice system considers younger crimes less important than adult ones because children are associated with an innocent picture and are less likely to commit crimes. Placing children or younger people in jail may also be seen as condemning children’s future lives, which is contested by the population. In fact, younger people may abuse the justice system to commit more crimes than adults, with less strict sanctions such as 1 month of jail or just a warrant. For example, a young drug consumer may be caught by police and be released directly after, with a phone call to their parents or school teacher.
To face that phenomenon, strengthening sanctions for younger people may be an excellent solution to educate and prevent younger people from committing crimes. This can be achieved by increasing the degree of sanctions after the justice process with longer prison periods and higher money bills to pay. As a result, after strengthening sanctions, younger people may be discouraged from committing more crimes caused by the fear of going to jail or because they can’t afford the money bills. For example, the Japanese prison system is strict and tough with everyone; even younger people are prevented from committing more crimes after being released.
In conclusion, younger people tend to commit more crimes caused by weaker justice sanctions and the innocent picture of them. One solution to solve that problem will be to strengthen sanctions for younger people as for adults.