When a young person is accused of a crime or is being investigated, it is a painful, stressful time for everyone in the family, the juvenile, the parents, the siblings, and the grandparents. There is the fear that the police, prosecutors, and judges will not treat the young person as the child that he or she is, a child that has simply used youthful poor judgment and made a mistake.
Although the juvenile court system was originally created to rehabilitate and not punish youthful offenders, the harsh laws that have recently been enacted have diminished that mission statement. Children as young as twelve are now being detained by the police and questioned without their parents or an attorney present.