The Child Not the Charge: - Transfer Laws Are Not Advancing Public Safety

However, during the “tough on crime” era of the 1980s and 1990s, lawmakers eroded the barrier between the adult and juvenile justice systems and pushed for more punishment at the expense of rehabilitation. [...] While most states require that the first transfer results in a conviction to activate the provision, some only require court certification.12 Role of Weapons – The possession or use of a firearm during the commission of a felony can impact the determination of the court system. [...] In 2007, they raised to a decline in the number of youth in the adult system from the age to 18 and subsequently created a roadmap for other 175,000 in 2007 to 66,000 by 2015. [...] Because adult criminal records are not The number of youth in adult jails and prisons remains a small automatically expunged and are not confidential, as they fraction of the total population, thus funding developmentally- typically are in the juvenile court, the effects of waiving or appropriate programs for youth has historically been a low transferring young people into adult court can follow y. [...] This is despite the youth or transferring youth to the adult system fails fact that the research clearly shows youth are better served to protect public safety and can contribute to future in the community regardless of the underlying conduct.