Balance means exactly what the word implies.
It means not only providing those of us in law enforcement the tools and resources to do our jobs more effectively, but also to provide the resources necessary to insure that we do everything we possibly can to prevent kids from ever becoming involved in crime or violence in the first place. The National District Attorney s Association has long supported such a balanced approach to juvenile justice. There is no prosecutor in America who would rather prosecute a youth for a crime than to prevent that crime from occurring in the first place. If we invest resources to provide our nation s children access to quality educational child care programs and if we assure that America s school age children have access to after-school, weekend and summer youth development programs, and if we get troubled and disruptive kids and their parents the counseling and help they need, we can prevent juvenile violence before it ever gets out of the starting blocks. It is a scary world out there for our children and for us all.