KIDS AND CRIME

January 2000
		Should juveniles who commit serious crimes be treated as adults? Cabrini College criminal justice professor Linda Collier and Northeastern University criminal justice professor James Fox respond to your questions.

Forum introduction Should parents be liable for their children's behavior? Can children in detention be rehabilitated by the age of 21? Should children be given special rehabilitation? Does putting kids in adult prison essentially mean throwing them away? If kids can commit adult crimes, shouldn't they get adult punishment?   Jan. 14, 2000: The youngest person ever convicted of murder receives his sentence. Dec. 16, 1999: A new study examines violence in America. Browse Online NewsHour coverage of youth, the law and education.

Stacy from Tulsa, OK asks: Don’t you think that if kids can do the crime they should be able to do the time? I have a 3-year old and I would feel the same way towards him if he committed a crime. It is the parents’ fault to a point but you can't have mommy and daddy wiping your nose forever. You must at a certain point in life take responsibility for your own actions and if you choose to mess up at such a young age, then so be it.   Linda Collier responds: Yes I do believe that we should hold kids more accountable for their actions. Kids are smarter now, and have less controls to contain their aberrant behavior. The family, churches, the community, and schools all need to strengthen their resolve not to let kids get involved in delinquent acts. But if the truth be told, these days kids are just plain scared. Criminologist Alfred Blumstein and others have argued, that the large sudden increase in gun killings was tied to the development of crack markets in the inner city where fierce turf wars were waged and juveniles were actively recruited by the organizers of the markets. As more guns came onto the streets, more juveniles began to carry them for self-defense and the number of deaths spiraled. Parents can't stop what they don't understand. So to prevent juvenile delinquency, we as parents, friends and as a society have to know our children and be able to direct them in the way they should go.   James Fox responds: Yes, they should do the time...but less time than adults do. Since their capacity for reasoning is less (due to social and even neurological immaturity) than that of adults, they should receive shorter penalties than adults. Of course, there are some cases (such as the two boys in Jonesboro who slaughtered five classmates) where juvenile sentences just don't begin to address the extent of harm. If the juvenile system needs to be made more punitive, then so be it. But let's not dismantle it.