kids are behaving in a manner that presents risk of serious bodily harm to themselves or others.

and not every situation where a kid presents such a risk should result in an arrest.

b/c too often arrests result in a criminal charge being filed. the filing of a criminal charge too often results in a guilty plea. guilty pleas too often result in entries on a person's criminal history that create roadblocks in the future when it comes to securing employment and housing, among other things.

i don't think it's right for a kid to have a negative entry on their criminal history b/c they got into a fight w/another student at school and the other student ended up w/a black eye. or if the student broke a desk during the fight. i think those situations should result in some serious punishment that doesn't involve the criminal justice system at all. that should be handled by the school or the district in-house w/o involving any criminal court - not even the juvenile system.