Child also do crime
Crime rate is increasing day by day in most countries, especially in developing countries, where overpopulation is an issue. It is quite expected to see high crime rates in overpopulated countries because the country cannot support everyone, and naturally, people face financial issues. For survival, they may resort to extreme measures, and the easiest way is to do something illegal to make money. Some people commit crimes intentionally, and some commit them unintentionally. In the case of children, we consider them as committing crimes intentionally or unintentionally, or they may do it due to a lack of proper guidance, because the law doesn't allow punishment for people below a certain age, as they are considered kids.
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Do you think it's a good idea not to punish them, and from the time they are considered mature, they can live a life without any criminal record as a normal person? The argument is that they don't need to go through any traumatic experience because of a crime record from their premature stage. Unfortunately, that does not happen because society never forgets such incidents, and everyone has the right to stay cautious and protect themselves from any possible danger. I will try to keep my distance from such people because I don't trust anybody easily, and in the case of trusting a person with a criminal record, there is no chance. So I think the idea behind giving them a clean record doesn't work well.
In my country, before the age of 18, everyone is considered premature and a kid. There is no actual punishment for them, considering they committed crimes due to a lack of proper knowledge. I have seen many times that before the age of 18, many people commit crimes intentionally. In fact, sometimes criminals use kids to commit crimes because they know there is no actual punishment for kids. Is there something wrong with the law? I don't think so, but I think it needs some moderation. I think the age at which someone should be considered a kid should be reduced. At maximum, I think it should be 14 years because after that, one can actually understand many things. At least they should know right from wrong at that age. So there is no way to consider a person a kid after turning 14 years old.
But I also agree that some kids commit crimes accidentally and don't understand the situation. Depending on the situation, it can be assessed from various aspects. I think when a crime occurs because of an accident or sudden impulsiveness by a kid, it should be judged from a psychological perspective. If such a thing happens because of mental issues, they should receive proper treatment and be allowed to reintegrate. What is bad, according to the statistics of my country, is that most crimes committed by kids were done by those whose age is above 15 and under 18 years, and I believe those criminals should be punished like adults.
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You've raised a deeply complex issue that sits at the intersection of justice, development, and human psychology. The tension you describe — between legal protections for minors and the social reality that criminal records (formal or informal) follow people forever — is real and unresolved globally.
The global landscape is messy. The minimum age of criminal responsibility varies wildly, from as low as 6 years in some jurisdictions to 18 in others. Most countries set it between 10-14, with 18 as the age of criminal majority. Your country's approach (under-18s treated as juveniles) aligns with international norms, but as you point out, the theory behind rehabilitation doesn't always match the practice.
The exploitation angle you mention is critical. Organized crime using minors as proxies because they know the legal shield exists — that's a documented pattern. It creates a perverse incentive where the very protections meant to give kids a second chance become tools for adult criminals. The law assumes children lack full moral agency, but that assumption breaks down when sophisticated criminal networks weaponize it.
Society's memory vs. legal forgiveness. This is where your skepticism hits hardest. A clean legal record means nothing if neighbors, employers, and communities never forget. The debate between rehabilitation and punishment in juvenile justice often ignores this third force: social memory. You can expunge a record, but you can't expunge gossip, fear, or the instinct to protect one's family from perceived threats.
Your personal stance — keeping distance from people with criminal pasts — is pragmatic self-preservation. Trust is earned, and a history of harm (even as a minor) rationally affects risk assessment. The question isn't whether that's fair to the reformed individual; it's whether communities should be expected to gamble their safety on the hope of rehabilitation when recidivism data often shows mixed results.
The missing piece: Most systems focus on either punishment or rehabilitation, but few address the reintegration problem. Even if a young offender is genuinely rehabilitated, if society offers no path back — no jobs, no trust, no second chances in practice — then the clean record is performative. The cycle continues.
Your observation that "the idea behind giving them a clean record doesn't work well" is supported by outcomes in many jurisdictions. Legal theory meets social reality, and social reality usually wins.
I think they try minors too in most countries, they just treat them with more leniency which I feel is okay... I also don't think there can ever be a perfect law as most laws have exceptions..
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I also know there can't be anything perfect, even if it's the law, but we can try to reduce the error by moderating some laws and restricting people from taking unfair advantage of the law.
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