Generally, children under the age of 18 are tried in the juvenile court system. They are assigned a juvenile probation officer who will look into factors surrounding the case such the juvenile’s criminal history, home life and severity of the crime itself. The probation officer will then decide whether the charges against the minor should be formally or informally prosecuted and recommend detention or another form of rehabilitation. In some cases, juveniles charged with particularly violent offenses can be tried as an adult in the adult justice system.