One of the most alarming facts of present developement is increasing number of teenagers or young people committing crimes. Among the main causes of juvenile crime seem to belong: boredom and a lack of leisure facilities, parental neglect and a lack of the sense of right and wrong.
However, there is the large number of youngsters who have also been the victims of crime or the threat of crime. They have been stopped by male drivers they did not know, they have been followed by a stranger or they have even been assaulted in the street. In fact, youngsters are the most common victims of violent crime.
Young offenders are treated by special law, e.g. the children under 10 cannot be guilty of a criminal offence. A child over 10 is capable of criminal offence, but can only be convinced in court if he/she knows the difference between right and wrong. Between 14 and 16, a child is legally defined as a “young person” and presumed to know the difference between right and wrong.
The set of punishments also varies according to the age of young offenders and the gravity of a crime. They can be given an “absolute discharge” for trivial crimes – which means they are not punished. They can be made to pay compensation, they can be put under the supervision of a social worker or probation officer or they can be ordered to do community service. For grave crimes they can be put in secure community homes. They are mainly dealt with by Youth Courts except in cases of really serious crimes which are heard in adult Crown Courts.
In these days, there are more and more violent crimes committed by young people and in many countries the limit of age has been depressed. The question of it is very ticklish and we will see what our politicians will do against the increasing number of crime and how the low will punish those transgressors.
absolute discharge = úplné zpoštění
assault = přepadení, útok (na člověka)
boredom = nuda
burglary = vloupání (do bytů)
commit = spáchat
community service = veřejně prospěšné práce
convinced = odsouzený
court = soud
crime = zločin
Crown Court = trestní soud s porotou
deal with = jednat s, zacházet s
depresse = sbížit
extent = rozsah
forgery = falšování (dokumentů)
grave = vážný, távažný
gravity = důležitost
juvenile = mladistvý
kidnapping = únos
lack of = chbějící, nedostatek (čeho)
legally defined = dle zákona definován
leisure facilities = prostředky k vyuřití volného času
minor offences = menší přestupky
mugging = přepadení člověka (a okradení)
murder = vražda (úmyslná)
offence = útok, přestupek
offender = provinilec, delikvent, viník
parental neglect = zanedbání rodičema
pay compensation = zaplatit náhradu
presumed = pokládaný, předpokládaný
probation officer = kurátor
punishment = trest, potrestání
robbery = vykrádání (bank)
secure community home = polepšovna, “pasťák”
set of = soubor, sada
shoplifting = krádeže v obchodech (když jsou otevřeny)
sorts of = druhy (čeho)
speeding = rychlá jízda
stranger = cizinec, cizí osoba
threat of crime = vyhrožování zločinem
ticklish = choulostivý, ožehavý
transgressor = hříšník, viník, provinilec
under the supervision = pod dozorem
victim = oběť
violent crime = násilný trestný čin
youngster = mladík
Youth Court = soud pro mladistvé
