A Zero-tolerance Juvenile Alcohol Law: Why Legislation Won't Work (Criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship)

Currently, there is a dilemma about how to handle alcohol related issues involving juvenile offenders and drunk driving. Some argue for additional alcohol laws to restrict use and more severe penalties for extant laws. Others call for an ease in alcohol policies, including a lower drinking age and state mandated regulation of alcohol use without federal interference. Lewis examines these approaches and argues that retribution and incarceration have little chance of success and will only add to the problem through higher incarceration rates, the threat of more severe offending, and the implementation of additional policies that will cause net widening.