OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. How to address crime, how to punish offenders and how to earn justice for victims of crime is something that every nation of the world has to face. Canada is no exception.
1. The decision as to how to address crime can be more difficult when dealing with youthful offenders.
2. Understanding youthful offenders and the consequences that juvenile crime can have on these youths is immense.
B. Thesis: After reviewing the available information it becomes clear that juvenile crime among Canadian youths are incredibly likely to have serious impacts including loss of education, a problematic criminal record and inability to find gainful employment as adults.
II. Background
A. There are many different motivators that lead juveniles to commit crimes.
1. Biological theories.
a. These theories explain that there are physiological, chemical and hormonal imbalances can lead people, especially, youths to make a poor decision including criminal ones (Ardoin & Bartling, 2010).
2. Psychological theories.
a. These theories argue that there are certain psychological conditions and mental disorders that can lead some youths to make a poor decision, take dangerous risks and turn to criminal activities (Ardoin & Bartling, 2010).
3. Sociological/Criminological theories
a. These theories look at the environment and people in the lives of youths as a source of future criminal activity. For example, social learning theory argues that youths exposed to criminal lifestyles and have adult role models who expose them to criminal thinking they are most likely to emulate this behavior in their youth and begin a pattern that could last a lifetime. This can set offenders on a path to crime (Ardoin & Bartling, 2010).
B. Statistics of some juvenile offenders in Canada.
1. According to multiple studies anywhere between 5% and 15% of juvenile offenders that enter the justice system will become lifelong offenders. One of the studies conducted determined that nearly half of 955 adult inmates interviewed began their life of crime before the age of 16 (Yessine, 2011).
III. Discussion
A- There are a number of ways that juvenile crime can have dramatic consequences to adult lives.
1. Lost Education: Juveniles that begin down a path of crime may continue that crime throughout their youth. They may fall short of academic goals and if they find themselves in the juvenile justice system they may miss out on years of traditional education and socialization altogether. This means that they will be less educated and functional, which will set them off for failure in
