At the intersection of North Carolina's juvenile and adult criminal justice systems there's Trouble, with a capital T. Young offenders who've committed serious crimes as juveniles can get what amounts to a clean slate when they move into the adult criminal system. The public doesn't get the protection it deserves, and some youths miss out on a chance to turn their lives around. We can do better than this.

The situation was outlined on the Other Opinion page by a Durham District Court judge, Marcia Morey. Judge Morey handles both juvenile and adult criminal cases. Although she (properly) didn't mention it, a couple of years back she sent Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., then 15 and already an experienced criminal, to youth detention center with a recommendation that he be kept there until age 19.

Instead, as has been reported, another judge granted Lovette early release. Last month the 17-year-old was charged in the murders of UNC and Duke students Eve Carson and Abhijit Mahato. So this is serious business.

One problem is that repeat juvenile offenders can be granted "first-time offender" status when they enter the adult criminal system at age 16. Because juvenile records are confidential, a judge who doesn't also handle juvenile cases may not know the record, resulting in unjustified leniency. A distinction must be drawn between protecting confidentiality for nonviolent juveniles and protecting the public, via the court system, from youths who have committed violent felonies. That's knowledge that shouldn't be kept from judges or probation officers.

A related problem involves 16- or 17-year-old offenders still under juvenile court supervision -- because they're on early release from training school or on probation -- but who also face penalties as "first-time offenders" in the adult system. That system sounds tougher, but in practice it's not.

Juvenile courts can require curfew checks, parental involvement, drug and anger management, psychotherapy, education and other intensive rehabilitation efforts. They can ban gang involvement, impose electronic house arrest or detention and hold out the possibility of training school up until age 19. It is, Morey says, "anything but 'kiddie court.' "

Contrast that with the slackness of the adult justice system's probation system that couldn't be bothered to keep tabs on Lovette. Over and over again.

The path toward a solution involves extending the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 17 or 18 -- the practice in 48 other states. New York and North Carolina are now the only states that automatically try 16- and 17-year olds as adults. Our state's seemingly tougher stance on youth crime really isn't, not when it pushes juveniles into an adult system that doesn't handle them effectively.

So raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 16 to 18. At the same time, allow use of some juvenile records in subsequent adult prosecutions.

The result should be better-informed sentencing, more effective treatment of nonviolent offenders and increased public safety. (To deal with cases involving especially serious, violent crimes, Morey would retain a provision in existing law that anyone 13 or older can be transferred to the adult system.)

Scrapping laws that shield youths who commit violent felonies, and extending the juvenile justice system's authority to older youths who can benefit from its more intensive supervision are steps the General Assembly can and should take.