While it is true that everyone who commits offences should be punished in a way, it is difficult to determine whether the treatment penalties of juvenile people should be as strict as the adult or can be different. It seems to me that although the young are more likely to commit crimes, they should be imposed a punishment the same as the adult.
On the one hand, there are some reasons why the strictness of the penalties should be the same. First, the type and effects of a crime are independent of the criminal’s age. For example, kidnapping, murder, and rape can be done by both young and adult offenders. Hence, the knock-on effects of a crime do not rely on the age of the offenders. Second, leaders of some crimes activities are adults who served long years for dangerous offences and due to some government limitations and policies they cannot directly commit an offence. Therefore, by leading naïve young people they can implement their goals. Thus, having a same plan to impose a punishment for all of them can be fair.
On the other hand, young people are more likely to break the law and many times they are caught because of some minor crimes. Hence, while they should be imposed by appropriate treatments, like sending back to school for rehabilitation, they should be warned, limiting their social activities and increasing the level of their next treatments.
In conclusion, people may have various view about the intensity of the young and the adult offender’s punishment. I believe that because the type of a crime and its effects do not rely on the age of criminals, both young and adult should be punished in a similar way.