Old Enough To Do Time: Juvenile Justice Policies

"If you're old enough to do the crime, you're old enough to do the time." This documentary investigates the results of this stern policy, a departure from earlier attitudes when juvenile courts were established specifically to help young people reform. We see juveniles as young as thirteen being tried as adults and incarcerated with adult criminals. This program also shows us four alternative correctional programs; one where minors are referred to community boards instead of the courts; a second, based on a wilderness "outward bound" program; a third, based on a  residential model; and a fourth, a "tracking" program which keeps close tabs on youthful offenders.... The documentary concludes that by locking up juveniles we gain some short term relief from crime, but in the long run we may be giving up on children who could have been turned around.