The term juvenile delinquency refers to the age group of criminals who are not adults. The overwhelming majority of legal systems in the world have special rules and regulations to deal with this group. The few exceptions are in the Middle East and in a few African countries, where kids are often tried as adults.
Some of the measures taken by most states to deal with juvenile delinquents include special detention centers and different sentences for the same crimes. The theory here is that the mind is not really developed until a person reaches at least 18, and so it is not fair to owe the rest of your life to jail time if you made a terrible decision when you were 11 years old.There are numerous theories on the causes of crime, and many of these can also be applied to the underage spectrum.
