Who is to be blamed for Juvenile Delinq
Who is to be blamed for Juvenile Delinquency? suggests juvenile delinquency refers to crimes committed by children and youth. There is an ongoing discussion as to who should be held responsible for such crimes in scholarly publications , case law and the media (Brank et al, 2006; Brown et al, 2009). The responsibility for juvenile delinquency is usually associated with the delinquent (Economist, 1993), parents (Brank et al, 2006), the educational institutions (Brown et al, 2009) as well as the society, media and culture (Doi, 1998; Jones, 2008). According to the Economist (1993) Britain's most notorious juvenile offender and child-murderer was Mary Bell, who was found guilty of strangling two boys, one aged three and another one aged four, while the offender was only 11 years of age herself. Who shall be held responsible for such crimes? Who could be seen as accountable for such occurrences? This essay will look at those stakeholders in the situation that could be at least partly blamed for such occurrences. with the person committing the crime. This theory suggests that the responsibility for crimes in general should be with the individual offender (Home Office, 2010). According to the said source the rational choice perspective “assumes that offenders seek to benefit in some way from their offending behavior. Rational choice theory therefore portrays offenders as active decision makers who undertake a cost-benefit analysis of presenting crime opportunities” (Home Office, 2010, p. 1). However, the major concern here is whether According to the Rationale choice theory, the responsibility for juvenile delinquency lies or not the young delinquents can appreciate the gravity of their actions at their young age (Economist, 1993). In fact, different countries treat juvenile offenders differently in terms of establishing the age at which the responsibility for the crime should be with the individual offender. For instance, the minimum age of criminal