Anonymous drug dealers

Someone tell me I'm wrong on this one:

Wednesday, the Cabell County Sheriff's Department arrested four people at a Huntington-area motel and charged them with possessing crack cocaine with the intent to deliver. Three adults and one juvenile were arrested. We ran the names of the three adults, but authorities did not release the name of the juvenile.

The kid whose identity we don't know was 17 years old. I don't know if he just turned 17 or if he turns 18 tomorrow.

The law prohibits authorities from releasing the names of juvenile suspects and offenders as a way of protecting them in later life. But we have come to the point where the law does not serve the needs of society.

If a 17-year-old in my neighborhood sells crack, I want to know about it. If a 16-year-old is charged with murder, I want to know about it. But those names are shielded unless a judge agrees that the kid should be tried in adult court.

We're not talking about a 12-year-old who spray paints his love on a railroad bridge. By the time they reach 16, kids know that drug dealing and murder are serious stuff, and if they are arrested, the rest of us should know.

Tell me if I'm wrong.