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GREENSBORO — Teenagers. They're brash and impetuous, likely to make mistakes they wouldn't make later in life.

Should 16- and 17-year-olds be tried as adults or as juveniles? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

A Raleigh-based child advocacy group, citing recent brain research that shows teens make such rash decisions, says it's time for North Carolina to stop treating some teens as adults when it comes to crimes.

North Carolina is one of three states that sends 16- and 17-year-olds to the adult criminal system for any charge. Connecticut, another of the three, plans to raise that age to 18 by 2010, joining 37 other states and the District of Columbia.

Action for Children North Carolina argues in a report released today that the Tar Heel state needs to do the same.

Jackie Butler, chairwoman of the Guilford County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, sees the effect the adult system has on those who in all other instances — being able to marry or vote, for example — are considered underage.

"Once they enter the (adult) system, statistically, the chances begin to go down that we're going to turn their lives around," she said. "What's two more years? It can make a major difference in a child's life."

The state police and sheriff's associations oppose changing the age of "juvenile delinquency" from 16 to 18. Legislation introduced earlier this year to change the age could be considered by the General Assembly in 2008.

In its new report, Action for Children says that automatically transferring juveniles to the adult criminal system neither protects the public nor prevents juveniles from committing more crimes. Both national and state research show juvenile offenders treated as adults are more likely to return to the system, the report says.

A 2006 state study showed offenders age 16 to 17 in the adult criminal system were nearly twice as likely to be reconvicted as younger offenders served by the juvenile system.

In Greensboro, a lot of the crimes committed by youths that age are serious, said police Chief Tim Bellamy, who opposes changing the age.

"They're committing adult crimes," he said, "and you're going to treat them like juveniles?"

But teens shouldn't be held as culpable as adults when they aren't mature enough to make sound decisions, Action for Children argues. The group cites research that shows the human brain matures well into the early 20s.

"This is why we provide greater guidance to teens in other activities, such as restricting driving privileges and banning access to tobacco and alcohol," said Berkeley Yorkery, director of data and publications for Action for Children. "To expect them to think like adults is developmentally inappropriate, and we miss the opportunity to steer them in a better direction."

The report also notes that the state's juvenile system is better equipped than the adult system to help stop youth from repeating criminal behavior.

The juvenile system offers more services, from counseling to guided growth programs, which are geared toward the specific needs of children. The juvenile system also involves parents and can require them to receive counseling and parenting training.

That system might have helped a young man who, several years ago, died from an overdose after he stopped receiving juvenile services, said local defense attorney Chris Justice. Jeremy McPherson was 17.

"This was somebody that needed continued action by the court system," Justice said. "Frankly, the court system wanted to do it."

But, he said, the juvenile system no longer had jurisdiction over the teen.

Earlier this year, the N.C. Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission also advocated changing the age.

Both the commission and Action for Children noted that for the most serious crimes, the state could continue its practice of treating juveniles as adults.

Children as young as 13 can be tried as adults for such crimes as murder.

Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes fears judges won't transfer even serious cases to adult court, leaving teens to face less serious consequences under the juvenile system.

Keep them in the adult system, he urged, and address concerns about 16- and 17-year-olds not being treated the same as younger peers for such crimes as fighting at school.

"Change the punishment to fit those particular crimes," he said. "Don't change the age and give them an out."

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jfernandez@news-record.com