s of children to adult prisons every year instead of juvenile centers, where they could change for the better, is that statistics show that incarcerating kids in adult prison does not work. Florida is an excellent example of a state that continually convicts more and more juveniles despite the facts that sending juvenile’s to prison does not work. A 1996 study showed that youth transferred to adult court in Florida were a third more likely to re-offend than those sent to the juvenile justice system for the same crime (Florida 8). Statistics show that teen-agers tried as adults committed serious crimes upon release at a rate double those tried as juveniles (Juveniles 32). Florida state should revaluate how they want Florida citizens to help society.The problem is only increasing. Instead of putting more money into rehabilitation centers for youth, the government is building more prisons to house adult and juvenile offenders. The problem has not gone unrecognized though, former President of the United States, Bill Clinton recognized that juvenile crime was a problem in the United States. However, instead of looking for possible solutions to the issue, he took the easy Marr 4 way out and helped to pass laws to put juveniles who commit non-violent crimes in adult prisons. Also as part of Clinton’s “Anti-Gang and Youth Violence Control Act of 1996,” he proposed to allow juveniles to be prosecuted as adults not only for violent crimes, but also for drug conspiracy and crimes involving guns (Clinton 13). Clinton’s attempts to put a stop to juvenile crime, like many of the bills that have been passed by congress only accomplished one thing, putting more people in prison who could be changing their lives and making America a better place.Between 1992 and 1995 over 40 states changed their laws to make it easier to transfer juveniles to adult court. In most states, juveniles can be tried as adults for non...
