Only a decade ago, it was far less common than it is today for California juveniles to be tried as adults in the adult criminal justice system. But that was before California voters approved Proposition 21, which made it easier for juveniles to be tried in adult court.

Under Prop 21, California prosecutors can choose to try juveniles charged with a felony in the adult system, without any prior review by a judge. Before Prop 21 was passed, a judge had to sign off on this first, before this could happen.

How has this increased discretion for prosecutors worked out in practice? And what are the implications for California juvenile offenders? The Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice addressed this issue in a recent report.

The report documented stark differences in the way California counties use the adult trial option. In San Francisco, the percentage of juveniles tried as adults is only 0.15 percent. In Ventura County, by contrast, the rate is 12.2 percent of juvenile offenders.

The statewide average for percentage of juveniles tried as adults for felonies is 2.5 percent. Santa Cruz County is slightly above that figure, at 3.1 percent, despite a strong reputation for innovation in juvenile justice programs.

Another finding in the report is that there isn't any correlation between trying juveniles as adults and bringing down a county's juvenile crime rate. It's true that overall juvenile crime rates are down since 2001. But the counties that try juveniles as adults most often have seen lower declines than counties that do so less often.

In other words, trying juveniles as adults does not act as a deterrent against juvenile crime.

Source: "Trying Youth Offenders as Adults," SantaCruz.com, 8-31-11