There are enormous costs for incarceration depending on the treatment facility. There are costs for after care, probation, or other counseling services, medical and other social services. How we as a society react to individuals who violate the law has a considerable impact on whether or not they will violate the law again. It is not uncommon for some juveniles to be incarcerated several times. Each time the cost increases in terms of time to be incarcerated, and the type of incarceration.
Police have enormous discretion in who they choose to arrest.
This is the first point in the system where there is discretion. We will focus on discretion throughout the course. The prosecutor has lots of discretion on whether to charge or dismiss, or, if to charge, what the charge will be. In fact, it is the prosecutor who in many ways determines the sentence because the prosecutor sets the charge. The courts and specifically the judge have a substantial amount of discretion in ruling on motions related to evidence, etc.