Teenage Offenders Should Be Treated In The Same As Adult Criminals | Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample

Teenage offenders should be treated in the same way as adult criminals. Do you agree?

Here is a band 8 IELTS essay on this topic submitted by one of our students. Need help with writing? Get your writing samples corrected by me.

Band 8 IELTS essay sample

Some people advocate that criminals ought to be punished using the same yardstick irrespective of their age. Though I understand the rationale behind this argument, in my opinion, the implementation of this idea may have adverse consequences. Therefore, adolescent crimes should be dealt with more sensitivity.

If teenagers received the same punishment as adults, at least some of them would think twice before committing a crime. In a sense, this will reduce the juvenile crime rate. However, we must not overlook the fact that most crimes are not premeditated. They are committed on the spur of the moment. The teenage brain and highly volatile and immature and it may fail to fully comprehend the consequences of an action. As a result, teenagers commit many crimes that they will eventually regret when they become adults. By giving them the same punishment that an adult would get, the society is depriving them of an opportunity to repent their action and reform themselves.

Nevertheless, there is no justification for the crime. However, teenagers must be punished with an alternative mindset as punishing them like adults could cause an irreparable damage to the personality, behavior and attitude towards life. They may completely lose hope and purpose, especially since they are yet to start life and this may turn them into rebels. Therefore, juvenile punishments should be of shorter durations and less severity. This should be followed by mandatory long term intensive rehabilitation and counseling programs. Furthermore, programs comprising of vocational courses should be essentially introduced to guide them. They can later utilize this to earn their living as well. In addition, they should be compulsorily enrolled into supervised community service programs so that they can learn values such as empathy.

To conclude, I emphasize that there is no excuse for any crime. All defaulters must be punished with no exception. However, a sensitive issue such as teenage crime needs to be dealt with in a mature way. Equating them with adult offenders is definitely not the answer. Like it is well said, finish the crime and not the criminals.

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