I agree that we should respond with celerity and certainty to all juvenile offenses, no matter how minor. More than two-thirds of nonviolent offenders never reoffend at all, without any sanction or intervention whatsoever. A smaller number will require some sort of longer-term residential placement. Some need treatment for substance abuse, while others need special education, and still others need psychological counseling. Some may need all of the above.
Adolescence is a time of tremendous variability.
I am not opposed to sanctions for juvenile offenders. Indeed, there are some offenders for whom punishment is a very appropriate response. But there are other offenders who will be affected by the very same punishment in a way that will make them more likely, not less likely, to reoffend. We know that this is especially likely if the punishment brings the nonviolent offender into contact with violent and more serious delinquents, or with adult criminals. Adolescence is a critical period in development, a period during which many decisions and choices have long-term implications for the successful transition into adulthood.