A person should not be disadvantaged due to him/her partaking in minor acts of criminality when young. Some people like to live on the edge when young and take part in all types of risky activities. It is common knowledge that a person who has lived deep in sin can become the greatest saint because he has plunged so deep into the negative that the pendulum swings back and all his goodness is revealed.
Minor instances of criminal behaviour when young may be just a phase that this person goes through. As people mature and grow older their thinking patterns start to change and sometimes people thing of all the times that they were wrong and try to put it right. A person who has proved him/herself later in life can surely in trusted and this will help in securing employment even though he/ she may have had a criminal record when very young.
Minor instances of theft and petty misconduct can be put right from a young age. It is important for the community and the parents to step in and sometimes dish out hard love to help the person learn the consequences of their actions, and this will help him/her later in life when he/she becomes more responsible and hopefully a model citizen.
Some people change completely as they grow older. An irresponsible teenager may grow up to become a very responsible adult and a model citizen. This can help with being a role model for other young people who are involved in minor incidents of crime from a young age to change. This type of person needs to prove him/herself though as many people may still not trust him/her. This person needs to apologise to his/her community for whatever it is that he/she has done and show everyone that he/she has changed from a delinquent to a patriot and model citizen. Voluntary activities and community work can also change irresponsible teenagers to people who take an interest in the community and change their petty crime ways to being more productive to the economy.
It can never be held against a person who has changed for being mischievous when they were younger. The only time it can be helped against them is when this person refuses to change and carries on in the same old way. The teenager may have also had problems at home which could have caused the minor criminal incidents. This is where the department of social welfare needs to step in to see that the child’s basic needs are taken care of an that he/she works through the problems so they he/she can function as a normal member of society in the long run.
