How Should We Treat Juvenile Delinquents?

Overview

When minors violate the law, should parents be held responsible? Should prosecutors provide these juveniles with resources instead of putting them back on the streets with no punishment or locking them behind bars? Is putting a minor in jail helpful or harmful? Santiago claims his son, Bryce, ran over a police officer and crashed into a house, yet he has only been charged one time and never locked up. Santiago says the system is broken and he is fearful his son will be killed or end up dead unless he suffers some sort of consequence for his actions. Ashley says she has the opposite problem with the system; she claims her son is locked up for minor things, such as behavioral issues, which aren’t crimes. Michelle claims the system has failed her as a parent because the law never helped with her son when he was a minor, and now that he is 18, he gets locked up.