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Prison Industrial Complex

Majority of the juvenile offenses occur because the brain section which oversees impulse

control and judgment in adolescents is still developing. Adolescent brain immaturity may be

responsible for juvenile criminal behavior. In Florida for instance, a considerable number of

juveniles between the ages of ten and eighteen are arrested and charged with crimes. The goal for

this paper is to look into the psychology and rain anatomy of young people which leads to

criminal behaviour and eventually incarceration.

According to research by Lindsey & Ferry, the young individuals who break the law might

do so for various reasons compared to adults. According to News from ABC it indicates that the

manner in which the brain of a juvenile matures and develops leaves adolescents vulnerable to

making risky decisions and even violating the law (Lindsey & Ferry). Juveniles at most times

experience strong emotional responses to their external surroundings. They as well show poor

impulse control since the part of the brain that regulates decision making and judgment continues

developing even after teenage years.

Teenagers are likely to portray behaviors such as vulnerability to stress and peer pressure,

violence and aggressive tendencies, affinity to overlook the lingering consequences of their

behaviour and inclination towards taking risks. These behaviors can also make juveniles

vulnerable to providing false confessions. The Innocence Project indicates that teenagers can be

manipulated more compared to adults (Lindsey & Ferry). They might focus on the direct short-
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term benefits of providing a false confession while ignoring longer ramifications. Thereby even

the juveniles who have never committed crimes may fare poorly in the criminal justice system as

a result of their presently developing brain.

Research done on standard childhood development and progression of criminal behavior

illustrates that social, individual and community state influence juvenile behavior (Bridges 532).

It is a fact in psychology that behavior including criminal and antisocial behavior is a result of a

complex interplay of specific genetic and biological factors and environmental elements which

begin from fetal stage continuing throughout the whole life. Childhood experiences differ among

adolescents. The home environment, parents, schools and friends act as a vast interplay into the

development of a child. Every juvenile felony is a product of an intricacy of foundations some of

whose roots go back in the past before the performance of a crime and others are further

connected and immediate to the criminal behavior (Bridges 534). For instance, an unhappy, poor

homestead and irregular household income can cause a teenager to be absent from school to

make additional cash, it can also lead them to steal, or another could join a drug gang or begin

gambling (Bridges 532). The aspects that work to modify the behavior of a child in a particular

path instead of another can be unclear, and therefore, more investigation would bring light to the

specific factors that lead to the differences.

There are traumatic experiences from childhood that lead to criminal behavior. Intensely

traumatic experiences in childhood can have a more profound impact on adult life. The

experiences can shape a person’s lie choices and personality significantly. Research has been

done into the link between juvenile abuse and felonious behavior, and it suggests that the degree

of childhood abuse is high among adult serial killers (Davies). Notably, not all maltreated

youngsters turn out to be criminals and not all criminals have gone through juvenile abuse.
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Social factors and biological factors contribute to the making of a criminal (Bridges 534).

Individual traumas can influence behavioral choices. For instance, serial killer Henry Lee Lucas

who murdered hundreds of people was a victim of psychological and physical abuse (Davies).

Environment and genetics work in conjunction to promote criminal behavior. However,

teenagers with genetically motivated violent demeanour do not essentially turn into delinquents.

Nevertheless, heredities in conjunction with physical elements such as brutal juvenile

backgrounds work to mould an individual. According to research by Aamodt & Mitchell, results

indicated that a high number of serial murderers were ill-treated when young in comparison to

the general population (Davies). According to Davies, the kind of mistreatment a juvenile

receives whether psychological, sexual, or physical may possibly effect a criminal’s behavior

and selection of a victim.

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Works Cited

Aamodt, & Mitchell. The incidence of child abuse in serial killers. Police criminal psychology,

2005; 20(1): 40-47.

Bridges, B. Factors Contributing To Juvenile Delinquency. Journal of Criminal Law and

Criminology, 531-538.

Davies, Nicola. From Abused Child to Serial Killer: Investigating Nature Vs. Nurture in

Methods of Murder. Haymarket Media, 2018.

Lindsey, & Ferry. Adolescent brain immaturity may be responsible for many juvenile crimes.

Orland Style Magazine, 2018.

www.criminaldefenselawyersinorlando.com/Articles/Adolescents-brain-immaturity-may-

be-responsible-for-many-juvenile-crimes.shtml. Accessed November 17, 2018.