By Natalia Orendain

Children under 12 will no longer be treated as criminals in the state of California when they break the law, based on a new law that went into effect on Jan. 1 .

Before the law was passed, California had no minimum age for sending children to juvenile court and thats still true of most states. That means that in many places, children as young as six , for example, can be arrested and detained.

In Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, Colorado and other states , the minimum age is 10. Many California state legislators believe that setting a higher standard, 12 years old, will protect younger children from the dangers that come with juvenile detention. And, given that Californias juvenile justice system houses the largest number of youth in the United States and even the world , their stance may influence how other states set their standards for criminal responsibility.