Juvenile crime has become one of America's most prominent issues, even as the overall crime rate has declined to the lowest
point in decades. Several celebrated cases have helped create an image of teenagers run amok and younger and younger kids committing major felonies. Once apprehended, these children enter a juvenile
justice system that many claim utilizes an outdated approach. In some cases, murderers have gone free at age 25 simply because that is the incarceration limit for the juvenile justice system. The paper shows that, in response, an advocacy group placed a get-tough measure (called Proposition 21) on the California ballot. This
initiative, which passed overwhelmingly (62 percent to 38 percent), calls for dramatic changes in the juvenile justice system. This paper examines Proposition 21, highlighting the arguments for and against the initiative and submits that the initiative ultimately is a fatally flawed attempt to correct a problem that has been greatly overstated.