The Young and the Ruthless Higgins O’Brien Spring 2012

An “Epidemic” of Youth Homicide Homicide offenders ages 25+ have experienced a slow decline in crime rates since the 1980's. However, teenage offenders had a sharp increase in offending rates. Which peaked in the 90's. Youth homicide could be due to -Crack cocaine epidemic -Access to firearms -Increase in gang activity

Street Gangs Defining a gang is difficult, but the National Youth Gang Center estimates that the U.S. has 27,300 youth gangs With 788,000 members Crimes ranging from petty theft and vandalism to serious offenses like rape and murder Gangs are primary distributors of illegal drugs

Street Gangs continued Gangs provide an alternative socializing mechanism Children feel special, find a family Source of excitement and ability to make money Gangs are always recruiting Subculture of violence can easily influence youth, who are more willing to commit crime in a mob mentality *In violent crime as a whole, youth homicide is still very rare

Explaining the 1990's Decline Crack markets began to disappear Police intervention increased in quality and quantity Schools offered better supervision, guidance, and control Increase in prison population Other proposed theories.. Advances in the medical field have reduced fatalities Legalized abortion from Roe v. Wade *The children who were aborted when this decision was made, would have been teenagers in the 90's

Principles of Prevention 1. No program is successful all the time or for all individuals 2. Prevention should have an emphasis on the “Pre” 3. Patience is more than a virtue, it is a requirement 4. Prevention should take a multifaceted approach 5. Prevention is significantly cost-effective

Dial M for Media Less parental supervision has led to an increase of learning from the mass media This can desensitize and influence individuals to violence, but it's impact on crime is debated It would be unethical to do an experiment to test this theory

Justice for Juveniles Under English common law, youth offenders were tried as adults Juvenile courts were formed in the early 1900's For serious crimes like murder, individuals under 18 can still be tried as adults Law varies state by state, but very young are rarely charged with a crime, 18+ are adults, and in between that is a gray area

Looking Ahead The public continues to be very concerned with youth violence, but its views are often misguided The risks and strain youth encounter in minority communities are a much bigger problem than explicit music or television It is better to focus on teaching good morals and practices now, than it is to rehabilitate offenders in the future