You should spend around 40 minutes on this task.

Young people who commit crimes should be treated in the same way as adults who commit crimes. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Why?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.

MODEL ANSWER:

Constitutional variances are common between adult and juvenile justice acts and their existence as such is often questioned. To my mind, having a uniform penal code for both adults and children is nearly impractical, but it can be situational at times.

The pivotal factor which has to be considered before such a move is to answer whether children can withstand such punishments which are awarded to adults for their illegal activities. Childhood is a period in which most physiological and psychological developments occur and these punitive measures, which are often severe in nature, can retard these. The result is a non-productive citizen, who might exhibit an anti-social behavior.

The second reason for my opposition is that these sentences affect the children’s future adversely. To be precise, this is the age in which they shape their future and any negative incidents at this period can prove detrimental for their future. For examples, most juvenile delinquents are poor performers at their studies. Eventually, they are more likely to transform themselves to habitual criminals later in their life.

Another problem which I like to highlight against making the laws equal is the social negligence and rejection these children are expected to face after their corrective measures. Many such children find it difficult to re-integrate themselves into the society. This results in the development of a hostile mentality in their minds against the society, which would make them more serious criminals.

I admit that in cases such as felonies such as intentional murders and habitual re-offending, juvenile laws have to be more stringent so that the number of such instances can be curtailed.

To sum up, though there are instances in which juvenile’s punishments can be made as equal to adults’, I think there are stronger challenges to make it a reality.

Word count: 298