The juvenile courts were created to handle crimes committed by young people below 18 years. The rationale behind them was that the society recognized that the cognitive development of young people below 18 years was not as developed as that of adults. The juvenile court system would thus prevent recidivism among children (Curt and Anne, 2016). However, juveniles of below 14 years have been involved in both minor and severe heinous crimes, posing a divide as to whether juveniles under 14 years be tried as adults for the crimes committed. Depending on the nature of the crime committed, there is the need to adopt a “tough on crime” approach, which includes trial as adults for serious crimes committed by juveniles. In April 2016, Angela Wrightson, a 39-year-old British citizen, was murdered by two teenage girls aged 14 and 13 (Nasra, 2016). The teen girls then posted their brutal act on social media. Despite the fact that young teens to the age of 14 years commit crime due to influence and peer pressure, they need to be tried as adults as a “tough on crime” approach to discourage crime among juveniles. Juveniles that commit heinous crimes like rape and murder need not be treated with preference as children below 18 years for the gravity of the crimes require a tough approach to discourage its recurrence. That is, if the nature of the crime committed is for adults, then the juvenile should be tried as an adult. For example, sex is not for children; thus a juvenile who commits rape should be tried as an adult, and similar it is unrealistic for a child below 14 years to kill another hence the murder is an adult crime in nature and juveniles who commit murder should not be treated with preference because of their age but be tried as adults.
Reference
Curt R. and Anne M. (2016). Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach . Pearson Higher Education. https://libgen.lc/ads.php?md5=EB1395784DFA528D85749FA6FA2F04DC
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Nasra B. (2016). Debate: Should courts treat juveniles like adults? The newtimes. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/199167
