Youth crime presents a significant challenge for modern legal systems, raising complex questions about justice, responsibility, and fairness. While young offenders are still developing emotionally, psychologically, and socially, their actions can nevertheless cause serious harm to individuals and communities. This creates an ongoing tension within youth justice systems: whether the law should prioritise punishment to uphold accountability, or rehabilitation to encourage reform and prevent future offending. This article explores both approaches, evaluating their strengths and limitations in order to assess which better promotes fairness and long-term justice.

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Supporters of punishment argue that young offenders must be held accountable for their actions in order to maintain respect for the law and uphold social order. From this perspective, punishment serves an important deterrent function, discouraging both the individual offender and others from engaging in criminal behaviour. It also plays a symbolic role, reassuring victims and wider society that wrongdoing is taken seriously and that justice is being done. In cases involving serious or violent crimes, many believe punishment is necessary to protect the public and reinforce clear moral boundaries. Critics of rehabilitative approaches argue that excessive leniency risks minimising the harm caused and may send the message that youth crime carries few consequences. However, opponents of punishment point out that deterrence is often less effective for young people, who may lack the maturity to fully consider long-term consequences, raising doubts about how far punishment alone truly delivers justice.

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In contrast, rehabilitation is widely viewed as a more constructive and forward-looking response to youth crime. Advocates argue that young people are particularly capable of change, and that criminal behaviour is often influenced by external factors such as poverty, unstable family environments, peer pressure, or limited access to support and education. This viewpoint is reflected in the television series Adolescence, which illustrates how young offenders are shaped by their surroundings and how purely punitive responses may fail to address the underlying causes of their behaviour. Rehabilitation focuses on education, counselling, and support, aiming to reduce reoffending by addressing these root causes rather than simply responding to the offence itself. While critics argue that rehabilitation may appear too lenient, evidence suggests that rehabilitative approaches are more effective at reducing reoffending, with a study by the Australian Institute of Criminology finding that rehabilitation-focused approaches reduced reoffending by up to 40%. This demonstrates that prioritising rehabilitation not only benefits offenders but also enhances public safety by addressing the root causes of criminal behaviour. From this perspective, rehabilitation aligns more closely with the principles of fairness and proportionality in modern law. 

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In conclusion, both punishment and rehabilitation play important roles in youth justice, but they serve different purposes. Punishment may promote accountability and public confidence in the legal system, particularly in serious cases, while rehabilitation offers a more effective and humane approach for addressing the causes of youth offending. A fair legal system should prioritise rehabilitation while reserving punishment for the most serious offences, ensuring that justice is not only enforced but also transformative. By focusing on reform rather than retribution, modern law is better equipped to achieve lasting justice for young offenders and society as a whole.