In some countries, the number of crimes by teenagers is growing. Some people think that regardless of age, teenagers who commit major crimes should receive adult punishment. Do you agree or disagree?
Nowadays, the crime rate among youngsters is increasing at a rapid speed, which is becoming the reason for worldwide arguments. While some people believe that teens who commit major crimes should get an equal punishment system as adult criminals, others think that punishments given to teenagers should remain light. I have two views on this topic and in this essay, I will introduce my point and provide examples.
On one hand, giving light punishments to minors can lead to high chances of re-offending. Therefore, to give young criminals a good lesson and make them take responsibility for the crimes they committed, they should receive an equal punishment as others. To illustrate, If a teen stabs someone and gets away easily with it, he will learn nothing from it. Furthermore, they won’t take any punishments seriously enough, which will certainly have bad consequences in the future.
On the other hand, teenagers can get a bad effect from other inmates. While being captured in a cell with other dangerous criminals such as rapists, murderers, and terrorists, youngsters may learn from their experience and even worse try to imitate them. For example, If a teen lives with an adult who is a serial killer, he will be interested in committing the same crime, but with advice from an experienced killer.
In conclusion, there are some pros and cons of punishing teenagers in an adult way. The nature of the offense should determine whether a person is sentenced to prison or ordered to perform unpaid community service.