A year ago, I wrote an editorial regarding the viral disrespect, which is prevalent in a portion of our society and how that disrespect has trickled down to our younger generations. I come to you again about this continuing problem and the lack of accountability and consequences which is present in some of our youth and in our juvenile justice system.
We are continuing to merely slap the hands of violent juvenile offenders. There seems to be very little in the way of concrete repercussions, allowing them to repeatedly be a nuisance and danger to our communities. Raising the legal age from 17 to 18 for individuals to be considered adults in our criminal justice system has exacerbated matters and has only compounded the problems we are having.
In October 2019, Governor Whitmer signed 18 bills into law as part of the “Raise the Age”, legislative package to raise the age of persons considered to be adults under the criminal justice system from 17 to 18 years of age.