The Spotlight: Solutions to youth crime come under scrutiny

It's one thing for a kid to break the law. But when the kids themselves are broken—by addiction, abuse, or mental illness, a jail cell is no place to heal. That's the reasoning behind King County's continued push forward on a plan first promised by Executive Dow Constantine to close the youth detention facility, now by 2028. Teens would be placed in lightly secured group homes instead, where there would be better access to counseling and services. But would that address the jaw-dropping increase we've seen in juvenile crimes this last year? One of the top jurists in the King County courts system is skeptical.