The Neuroscience of the Age–Crime Curve: Implications for Juvenile Justice Policy and Practice

Adolescence presents a time of immense levels of hormonal and physical changes in a child's life, especially affecting their neurological processing. Thus, it is unsurprising that many of these changes correspond with heightened propensity for crime and antisocial behavior. In this chapter, we present the dual-processing system and explain adolescent risk-taking as an interaction between heightened reward-sensitivity (mediated through the ventral striatum) and low ability to exercise self-control (explained by late development of the prefrontal cortex). We then consider the social policy implications, reflecting particularly on the assumptions inherent in different juvenile justice paradigms as well as debates about the minimum age of criminal responsibility, and make connections to critical scholarship advanced from different disciplinary bases. We conclude by considering how neuroscientific research is being considered within juvenile justice policymaking and the potential benefits and challenges thus presented.