Juvenile crime is a seemingly intractable problem.
To tackle it, social commentators argue, education will have to be improved to bring out the personal worth of all pupils, social deprivation will have to be ameliorated, and the worst effects of family break-up, which is very much on the increase, will have to be countered in some way by greater social support from outside the family. A less acquisitive, self-orientated moral climate might be beneficial. Above all, though, the desire of individual boys and girls to behave well will have to be strengthened. It is with this in mind that a novel suggestion can be made relating to the transition from childhood to adulthood. At present, you can legally have sex and marry with parental consent at 16, drive a car at 17, vote, consume alcohol in a pub, enter into hire purchase and other financial agreements at 18, and sit on a jury and get the traditional 'key to the door' at 21.