Punishments for Teenagers The number of serious crimes committed by teenagers is a controversial issue in Canada, leading the debate surrounding the Youth Criminal Justice Act in Canada and whether or not teenagers who commit serious crimes should be treated the same as adults who commit the same crime. Many argue that the teenagers know enough to commit the crime so they should know that it is wrong and should be treated as an adult. However, there are many reasons why teenagers should be treated differently than adults, such as their maturity level, biological and environmental factors, and lack of support along with the success of rehabilitation in youth. Teenagers should be treated different than adults what it comes to serious crime. “The most recent research on the adolescent brain, which indicates the juvenile brain is still maturing in the teen years and reasoning and judgement are developing well into the early to mid twenties”(Ritter), supports the argument that teenagers should not be treated the same as adults because of the lack of maturity. A teenagers reasoning and judgement are not fully developed it leaves them open to …show more content…
Some individuals with a mental illness do not get the proper treatment and that could possibly lead to the committing of crimes. “Research over the past few decades on normal child development and on development of delinquent behavior has shown that individual, social, and community conditions as well as their interactions influence behavior”(Read ‘Juvenile Crime…). If a child is subjected to abuse and lives in an area where poverty is high, these environmental situations can influence the immature mind of a teenager leading to risky behavior. These factors should be taken into consideration and teens should be punished differently because of