Since the early 1990s, America has witnessed an increase in the fear of youth crime. Sensationalized media exposure in the 1990s facilitated the public’s fear of youth crime, which resulted in get tough legislation and a perceived need to “do something” about juvenile crime. The juvenile court was criticized for its inability to control youth crime and, as a result, policies shifted from rehabilitation to punishment of juvenile offenders. This punishment included an increase in the number of states that adopted new legislation or revised their previous statutes to facilitate the transfer of youthful offenders from juvenile court to criminal court to be tried as adults.