The District of Columbia’s juvenile justice system contains structural gaps and outdated statutes that legal and policy experts say shield many violent teenagers from accountability and allow repeat offenders to cycle through the courts with minimal consequences.

From strict limits on when minors can be prosecuted as adults, to local statutes that favor leniency and a judicial appointment process some say is unconstitutional, critics argue that the system is structurally tilted toward rehabilitative efforts despite frequent repeat offenders. That presents an onerous problem for President Donald Trump and his efforts to clean up crime in Washington, after moving to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy National Guard troops to quell lawlessness that has plagued the city for years.