The juvenile justice system is failing to protect us from the surge in violent crimes committed by young people.

The patchwork of laws put on the books over the past 30 years isn't working. One problem is that the system was designed to help troubled youth who committed minor offenses, but 75% of the current cases in juvenile court are felonies. We need to act immediately to replace it with a coherent program that protects society from violent juvenile criminals, efficiently rehabilitates youths who can be saved--and also knows how to tell the difference.

Here are some principles that could form the core of a revision:

* \o7 Remove many violent offenders from the juvenile system. \f7 Violent youths who are 17 years old should be sent directly to adult court. Last year, about 50% of the juveniles referred to the Probation Department for possible criminal offenses were 17 years old. So were many juveniles charged with the most serious crimes.

Prosecutors should have discretion to transfer even much younger juveniles accused of the most serious crimes to adult courts. State legislators have proposed lowering the age at which a youth can be tried as an adult from 16 to 14, but the numbers matter less than letting prosecutors use their own judgment. For instance, a 15-year-old is currently in juvenile court, accused of a double murder. If the murders had occurred nine days later, on his 16th birthday, he could have been tried as an adult and, if convicted, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Convicted juvenile offenders must be freed by age 25.

* \o7 Limit juvenile confidentiality.\f7 Society needs to identify juveniles who commit serious crimes and know what happens to them in court. Improvements have been made over the years, but there are still instances where agencies charged with providing services to children are not aware of criminal proceedings involving a child. School officials, for instance, concerned about violating confidentiality laws, have often not told teachers about students who had been convicted of crimes.

\o7 * Deliver real rehabilitation.\f7 Juvenile justice has to efficiently deliver rehabilitative services to juveniles who commit minor offenses. The first step is coordination among all the agencies that assist young people at risk. We need to identify and help the growing number of children who have never had structure or hope in their lives. Government can also offer parents help with parenting skills and intervention before the family structure falls apart.