An Increase in Punishment is not an Increase in Behavior

Since I am having so much trouble deciding what I want to discuss for this week's free write, I am simply going to talk about a topic that has been on my mind this week. This is disparity in the repercussions of criminal actions between young people and the rest of society.
I recently got in trouble with the law, nothing major, don't worry. Yet I have noticed that the there is a grand difference in the treatment and views of young people who get into trouble versus adults, who in my opinion, have less to lose.
What's the deal with the law prosecuting more harshly against those with their entire future ahead of them? If we, college students, are our society's future, then why is this society so trigger happy when it comes to destroying these futures?
It wasn't until the past few years that the law has provided a second chance to those who break the law at a young age. Before the chance of PTI, ADP, etc., once a young person got into trouble, they lost all the work they had done and whatever future they were headed towards. As the incarceration rates increased, so did the rates of criminals, obviously. But then, as the criminal rates increased, society began to believe that our young people were getting worse. When in fact, it was the treatment of criminals that changed, not the criminal acts themselves.
As a result, we have more young people getting in trouble for the same 'unlawful acts' that our parents were doing at our age.
An example of this is how DUI's used to be dealt with. In the old days, if a minor was caught drinking and driving, their parents were either notified and had to come pick them up, or someone else was allowed to drive. Then, both were released. Now, if a minor gets caught doing the same unlawful act, they are arrested, their car towed, they are fined, face jail time, loss of scholarships, loss of driver's license, and may have it on their criminal record for life.
To me, this sounds like e are hindering our youth. We are punishing them more harshly for acts of the same degree. And as a result, we are decreasing the amount of prospects for jobs and college. Is it just me or does this sound like we are shooting ourselves in the foot?
Anyways, before I begin to ramble, I will stop. This is just a little something I've been thinking about. I would love to hear what others have to say on the matter!!!