n emphasis on punishment. By 1983, 48 states and the District of Columbia had taken away much of the discretion of judges in setting sentences (Bennett, 1989, 68). As early as 1978, public dissatisfaction had caused all fifty states and the federal government to enact statutes under which juveniles could be tried in adult courts, but even this has not worked as intended: "The very mandated sentences that are supposed to make life harder for criminals make it much more difficult to prosecute a youngster" (Bennett, 1989, 68).
There are many problems with the juvenile justice system that are constantly in debate by both politicians and the populace. With the specter of violent crime being committed by younger and younger children, such as the recent California case of a six year old beating an infant to near death, there is a growing debate on the age of true responsibility when a youthful offender should be treated as an adult or held culpable for his or her crime. One approach to controlling youth has been to impose greater restrictions on truancy as a way of keeping young people in school and out of trouble, as in an ordinance passed by the Los Angeles City Council in May of 1995. Los Angeles Board of Education President, Mark Slavkin, spoke in support of L.A.'s new truancy ordinance:
There's a high correlation between truancy and daytime crime affecting shopkeepers and homeowners, like graffiti. To that extent, it's a very real law enforcement issue. So it's not a matter of turf. We need to send a strong and united message (Chu, 1995, B3).
Los Angeles schools employ their own police force but it is used primarily for on campus law enforcement. This new ordinance would enable a much larger group--the Los Angeles Police Department--to have responsibility over truants (Rainey and Respers, 1995, B1).
Such efforts are part of a larger view that the criminal justice system "coddles" criminals, and this extends to youth...