Criminal Law For Juveniles

When juveniles get into trouble, it's a bit different than when adults deal with criminal law enforcement officers. For one thing, they're younger and so are not held as fully responsible as their adult counterparts. A juvenile is under the age of eighteen years of age and is often referred to as a delinquent. Many of these youths may have emotional or mental problems such as a chemical imbalance, mood disorder or have been exposed to so much stress during childhood that they are classified as PTSD. PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Their behaviors may also be considered impulsive or incorrigible. Sometimes the crimes are related to drugs or alcohol use or addiction. Crimes that youths may be involved in include:

Drug and alcohol related:

o Selling
o Imbibing
o Driving under the influence of
o Possession
- Violence to living beings or property:
o Vandalism
o Robbery
o Assault
o Murder
o Auto theft
o Weapons charges
- Prostitution
- Underage violations:
o Skipping school
o Runaways
o Disobeying parents or guardians
o Curfew
o Drinking alcohol underage

There are many reasons why teenagers get into trouble. Many spring from families with chaotic home lives while others suffer from specific risks and difficulties. Some reasons include:

- Risk factors: Some kids have poor impulse control so do things without thinking. This creates a higher potential for making poor choices, hanging out with the wrong crowd, drug use, shoplifting and much more. If a teen does poorly in school, he or she will be more likely to get into trouble due to low self esteem and higher dropout rates.

- Family problems: Many behavioral problems with adolescents stem from their families. Parents may be absent, may have their own drug and alcohol addictions, may neglect or abuse their kids or the household may be under strain from an array of conflicts including financial problems, marital discord and much more. Many of these familial difficulties can result in poor attachments and lack of bonding between moms, dads and kids. This creates many problems.

There are ways to prevent juvenile crime from occurring in the first place, however. An ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure and adolescent criminal offenses are no different. Some preventative steps to take include:

- Parent education
- Family counseling
- Drug and alcohol treatment for kids and parents
- Tutoring and help in school
- Higher quality day care centers
- Financial counseling
- Support groups
- Birth control education and services

Although young offenders commit an array of crimes, the most common ones tend to be curfew violations, truancy, shoplifting, getting into fights, abusing drugs and not obeying parents or other authorities. When kids get into trouble, it's important that they be represented by a lawyer who specializes in defending juveniles. The criminal law books aren't the same for adults and kids and it's helpful to find an attorney who understands adolescents. Hopefully, after being involved with the court system, the kids who get into trouble can receive the help they need to get back on track.