Criminalizing Youth by Jonathan Baird, Esq. Juvenile violent crimes are now at their lowest levels since 1988. Adult problems with teenagers are an old story.
Every older generation complains about the younger generation.
But something new has been happening. Adults are scape-goating teenagers and blaming youth misbehavior as a principal cause of crime and violence. A philosophy of heavy handed punish-ment, not rehabilitation, has become the dominant legislative and judicial trend. More and more states are prosecuting juveniles as adults. We also have been lowering the age when kids can be prosecuted as adults.