NC sheriffs express frustration when they refer dangerous teens to detention centers and are denied
Several sheriffs in central North Carolina say they’re frustrated after trying and failing to have teenage offenders placed in juvenile detention centers. The pool of potential juvenile justice offenders grew in late 2019, when the state raised the minimum age at which someone can be charged as a juveniles from 16 to 18. Before Dec. 2019, 16 and 17-year-olds who committed crimes in the state were automatically charged in the adult criminal justice system.