Nature and Extent of Youth Offending

In this assignment, the nature, extent and consequences of youth crime is being analyzed in the light of a given case. The relationship between youth and crime is one of the most sensitive and critical relations in the study of criminology of all times and of all the countries worldwide.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
NATURE AND EXTENT OF YOUTH OFFENDING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Analysis of CW’s offending:
In this assignment, the nature, extent and consequences of youth crime is being analyzed
in the light of a given case. A youth offender is a person within the age limit of 10 to 17 at the
time of committing the offence, who has been accused of or charged with committing criminal
offence in and around the states and territories of Australia.
The relationship between youth and crime is one of the most sensitive and critical
relations in the study of criminology of all times and of all the countries worldwide (France,
Botrell and Derrick 2012). Such relation shows that the tendency to commit crime increases in
early period of adolescence, around 14 years of age, shoots up to the maximum during late
adolescence and slowly declines in early adulthood. Though this subject is very controversial and
debating, the topic is very serious and cannot be ignored. This age is very sensitive and more
susceptible to crimes. Due to the delicate nature of this age group, if they commit any offences
they are dealt under juvenile criminal law. For juveniles between ages 12 to 15, maximum
sentence is one year during which they are sent to school and given extra lessons on social skills
and anger management.
In this particular case, it is seen that CW at the age of 14 was sentence to a suspended
order. According to the age crime curve, this particular age shows the beginning of the tendency
to commit crimes. At this age after being sentenced to suspended order, he must be sent to school
and correctional measures must be adopted so as to modify its character and thinking process.
However, it was not done to CW and hence he again found possessing cannabis and again
arrested. But according to the age crime curve, the tendency to commit crimes slowly declines in

2SOCIOLOGY
early adulthood. Hence it can be expected that in case of CW, it will happen too. The
government must take responsibility to help CW to come out of this tendency.
A close perusal of the analysis made above, it can be held that the mentality, thought
process, nature and characteristics of the youth offenders vary a lot from that of adult offenders
(Australian Institute of Criminology, 2019). The way the adult offenders are treated and punished
must not be followed in case of the juveniles (Richards 2011). The juvenile offenders belong to
the delicate age group that cannot be ignored at any cost. The juveniles have to be taken care of
and nurtured properly because of their tender age. They need to be handled in judicial
proceedings not in the traditional manner as their age is very sensible. The lack of maturity in the
juveniles is the main point of this difference. The juveniles are not matured and experienced like
the adults. At the young age they get easily motivated and carried away by any instigation easily.
Moreover, the upbringing of them forms a very crucial stage in their development and character
molding. In the present case, CW was homeless and he did not get proper guidance and
upbringing and hence he was carried away by the social evils of drinking and drug addiction and
become prone to commit crimes.
Another factor that can be discussed while analyzing the case of CW is the Ecological
Systems Theory formulated by American Psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner where he
emphasized on the importance of analyzing a child in relation to multiple environments in order
to understand hi development (Bronfenbrenner 2018). This theory explains how the inherent
qualities of a child and his surrounding interact to influence his growth and development. In this
theory, Bronfenbrenner emphasized on the importance of analyzing a child in relation to
surrounding environmental factors in order to understand his character.

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In the given case, it is seen that CW was homeless and he did not get any government
assistance. Moreover he was deprived of the love and affection of any close person, not even his
mother. These factors contribute a lot in shaping a child’s character and behavior. Due to such
loneliness, a child can either become introvert and independent or can become vulnerable,
destructive and youth offenders. These external factors can have either positive or negative
impact on the child’s mind and character. In the case of CW, such factors made negative impact
on him. The external factors play a crucial role in the upbringing of the young age people, the
misappropriation of which can affect their character and future life also, for example in this case,
it had negative impact on CW.

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References:
Australian Institute of Criminology. (2019). What makes juvenile offenders different from adult
offenders?. [online] Available at: https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi409 [Accessed 10
Apr. 2019]
Bronfenbrenner, U., 2018. Urie Bronfenbrenner: Learning Context. Learning Theories for Early
Years Practice, p.66
France, A, Botrell, D and Derrick, A 2012, 'A Theory of the Political Ecology of Youth and
Crime', in A Political Ecology of Youth Crime, Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 18 - 34
Richards, K 2011, ‘What makes juvenile offenders different from adult offenders? Trends and
Issues in Criminal Justice, No. 409, Australian institute of Criminology, Canberra