Young Offenders

The term young offenders commonly describes a category of children and young people who are referred to as being in conflict with the criminal justice system for being accused of committing or have been convicted and sentenced following the commission of a criminal offense. Conducting a closer examination of characteristics of young offenders, and how they are perceived and portrayed in literature, is particularly relevant to childhood studies, as questions can be raised about the moral values and cultural representations of a society when young people do not abide by its rules. Importantly, the concept of young offenders should be understood as dynamic and variable in time and space, rather than a construct that remains static. Historically the notion was first described through social constructions, ...