BATON ROUGE- With juvenile crime on the rise in Baton Rouge, and the age of the criminals getting younger, there is no doubt in the mind of State Senator Jimmy Harris from New Orleans that there is a problem.

"Across the state of Louisiana, as well as across the country, there has been an uptick," Harris said.

Harris says he thinks the family needs to be more involved in the life of juveniles. He proposed a bill that aims to hold the parents of children who commit crimes more accountable.

In that bill, parents—along with their children—could have to attend classes that help with good decision-making and even pay for the crimes their kids commit. The decision on how much they would have to pay would be up to a judge.

"What we're trying to do is address the family as a whole with this child as well as their parent that may need a little guidance on how to deal with their juvenile," Harris said.

Harris hopes this bill could catch kids early on before they turn to a life of violent crimes.

"Let's try to catch them early and hope that they will be given the treatment they need, and hopefully they don't keep on the same track where they end up in adult prison," Harris said.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously and will now be voted on by the house.