Why Is Youth Crime Important To First Time Offenders?

It all starts when they’re young. Youth crime has been a serious issue in Australian society for decades, and still is ongoing today, due to the lack of discipline to young first time offenders.

The AIC (Australian Institute of Criminology) said offenders between the ages of 15-19 have committed the most crimes out of any other age group. The rate of crimes committed for people aged 15-19 was 3x that of all other offenders in 2013. The fact that teenagers were offending more than adults is disgraceful and is a serious issue. This extremely high rate of offenders aged 15-19 can be linked to the youth justice system and how it operates. It is far too forgiving and is too lenient to first time offenders. This leniency gives a sense of freedom

People that associate themselves with crime in their teenage years build a criminal record, making it difficult to find a job as most employers don't want someone that's been charged with assault or drug abuse working for them. This leads to their adulthood to plunge into an even darker underbelly, leading to more drug abuse and participation in more illegal acts. In recent years, the proportion of people using alcohol and other drugs in the older age groups has increased. A study done by the Australian institute of health and welfare show that people in their late 30's to early 40's used more illicit substances in 2016 than in 2013, increasing from a rate of 13.6% to 16.2%. This can be linked back to the increase of youth crime that started in the mid 1990's. People that were teens during the mid-1990's will be around 40 years of age, and due to their early lives of crime, can find themselves spiralling out of control and further into drug abuse and crime. As they find it difficult to find jobs, they turn to crime to make a living; stealing, drug dealing and

It starts at the young ages of 10-14. You commit your first crime. You go to court, knowing what you did was wrong, but you say you didn't. You get away with it. In your mind you think, “it was that easy, I don't even get in trouble.” You reach your teenage years and you feel invincible to the legal system as you played it when you were younger. You start to dabble in drugs and alcohol. You like it so you do it more. You start to get addicted. You get into trouble with the police. You need to rebel. Push back. You delve into the crime world. You’ve gotten yourself a criminal record but because you weren't taught any better, it’s just become a way of life for you. You struggle to find a job after you leave school. You're in and out of the workforce so you move to stealing and dealing. And just like that, your life is over. The only way you stay alive is by being a criminal. This could have all been prevented if first time offenders in the early years of life weren't given such leniency from the law. We shouldn't live in a society where people that aren't even adults commit the most amount of crimes out of all other age groups. I suggest that the youth justice system should be stricter on first time offenders, and to buckle down on illegal acts like underage drinking, burglary, assault and drug abuse. We need to make Australia safe, and it all starts with the