A new study of juvenile justice in Florida shows the state has saved at least 45-million dollars over the past three years by giving kids a civil citation instead of arresting them for misbehaving.
Deborrah Brodsky, director of the Project on Accountable Justice at Florida State University, says it's not only good for taxpayers, but also for children, who avoid the stigma of a criminal record for doing something stupid.
Brodsky says Florida could have saved even more, but that decision is left to local officers and almost half the kids who were eligible for a civil citation last year were arrested instead.