Many theorists have argued what they believe are the factorsthat cause crime. But, few have articulated that criminal activityis simply a natural part of the life course (within somesocieties). In fact, while most theories articulate why crime mightbegin, none adequately describe why it stops. That is, untilnow.
Given the basic premises of developmental theories, if youbelieve it to be true that crime is something that is likely tooccur during one's youth, until turning points and life experiencesmake one change their negative course of action, what are yourthoughts about the following:
1) Given that most people are going to age out of crime anyway,does it truly make sense to have harsh penalties for those underage 22-25? Is it possible that the very act of incarcerationprevents the natural aging out process?? Does it take them awayfrom the job market and from learning self-regulating skills thatothers aged 18-22/25 learn naturally?
2) Given that adolescence is being extended to cover \"youth\"aged 18-23, do you think that the \"natural\" aging out process islikely to take place much later than historically it might have? Orwill laws that apply to adults vs youth continue to pressure 18+ tobehave more positively - esp in light of the fact that manyjuveniles are treated like adults already?
3) Lastly, did you personally ever experience a turning point or\"ah ha\" moment where you started to mature or otherwise decide tostop your crime committing ways? What prompted this??
