Teen_Violence

Teen Violence and Crime in the United States Cristy Givens Baker College HUS 141 When you turn on your television to the local news channel, you see more and more crimes being committed by our youth’s. Such news has added to the general public’s growing fears. Teen violence and crime is a serious and rapidly growing problem in America today. There are many factors that can be blamed for this problem. As of now, no one can give the right answer to the problem. We as American’s need to pull together to put more effort in finding the cause of this epidemic and we all need to do it before it is too late. When you think about juvenile delinquency you most likely think of serious criminal activity but, it is not just that, it also includes other behaviors that are not criminal. Running away from home, truancy from school, and disobeying parents or legal guardians are a few examples. Most of these behaviors can be just the beginning of the behaviors that can lead to teen criminal offences. Shoemaker states that “The maximum age for juvenile court jurisdiction is 18 but, some states have lowered the age limits. The upper age limit is usually referred to the age of majority—the age at which a person is considered an adult, at least in terms of voting privileges and civil status in society. The upper age limit has very specific guidelines of jurisdiction. Shoemaker states that, all states contain provisions in their juvenile laws for the transfer of juveniles from juvenile court to adult court (Shoemaker 2009 p.3).” Some states are giving responsibilities to the prosecutors to decide whether to charge these youth’s as adults or to charge them in juvenile court. This is adding a great deal of stress to the prosecutors everyday work life. If anyone was sitting at a desk, and a teens file was slapped on your desk it would be a hard decision for them. The life of that youth would be in their hands. What a scary thought. There are two conditions that must be met before a case is waived to adult court. The age of the offender at the time the crime was committed and the nature of the crime was it violent or petty' Usually the juvenile that commits a petty crime, is tried in juvenile court, which are a little bit more lenient. The youth’s that commit violent, horrific crimes suffer the consequences and are tried as an adult. These court systems are not as easy on the juvenile delinquents. Where did this all begin' When did someone decide that children committing crimes should be punished in the court system' Juvenile crimes have been being committed in America for hundreds of years. Juvenile courts were formalized in the year 1899(Shoemaker 2009). “Most states have statutes authorizing secure juvenile detention and setting out basic detention criteria. In general, these laws permit secure detention for a wide variety of reasons, such as “to protect the person or the property of another” or “for the protection of the minor.” They reflect a national policy of “limited due process” for children in delinquency proceedings. A key due process right that applies to adults, but not to children, is the right to bail upon arrest; the United States Supreme Court has held that children have no constitutional right to bail and that pre-trial incarceration of children is consistent with the rehabilitative principles of the juvenile court law. While pre-trial juvenile incarceration is legitimized by federal and state law, it is not necessarily good for children. When juveniles are confined in pre-trial facilities, they incur specific risks of abuse, injury, and suicide. Conditions in these facilities range from satisfactory to abysmal; the worst such facilities have unsanitary and unsafe physical plants, poorly trained staff, and inadequate programs. When JDAI( Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative) began in 1993, many of the detention facilities operated by state and local governments were filled beyond their design capacities. Given these circumstances, juvenile justice reformers sought to control admissions to detention facilities by adopting local, written detention criteria that were more focused than state detention laws. These local criteria were designed to separate low-risk youth—who could safely be returned to their homes—from higher-risk youth who could be securely detained. Some key principles behind these early screening instruments were: Objectivity. Detention decisions should be based on neutral and objective factors rather than on the screener’s subjective opinion about an individual youth. Objective criteria anchor detention decisions in ascertainable facts such as the nature and severity of the offense, the number of prior referrals, or the minor’s history of flight from custody. Uniformity. Local criteria should be uniform in the sense that they are applied equally to All minors referred for a detention decision. To achieve the desired level of uniformity, the criteria must be in a written (or electronic) format and must be incorporated into a screening process that is standardized for all referrals. Risk based. The criteria should be risk-based, meaning that they should measure specific detention-related risks posed by the minor. These risks are: the risk of reoffending before adjudication and the risk of failing to appear at a court hearing(Annie E Casey Foundation 2006 Pg 11 Para 1)” Why are children not being given the same type of treatment as an adult if they can be charged as adult in the court of law' This is a question that still goes unanswered. Many laws are being put in place to try to gain control of the crimes being committed by juvenile delinquents. How many crimes are actually being committed by America’s youths' Why can’t we gain control of this problem' There are many things that need to be taken into consideration while looking at the statistics of juvenile crime. It is important to look at the big picture. You must look at several sources such as observations and analyses of delinquency obtained from published stories, newspaper articles, and similar documents. As stated by Shoemaker, “It is important to distinguish two similar yet separate concepts relating to statistical data. First, there is a concept known as a measure of “incidence”. Incidence data tell us how much behavior is occurring. For example, if we were told that there were four million arrests of juveniles in the United States in given year that would be incidence measure or statistics. We also see statistics that tell us what proportion of a population is involved in an activity. This is referred to as “Prevalence” Measure. If we were told that 35 percent of youth in America were arrested in a given year, this would be an example of prevalence (Shoemaker 2009 p. 32)”. The statistics of juvenile crime is astounding. Juvenile arrests in the United States in the year of 2008 were an estimated 2.11 million. This was 16% fewer arrests in the year of 1999. Of the 2.11 million arrests 96,000 were violent crimes and 439,600 were property crimes. Juveniles accounted for 16% of all violent crimes and 26% off all property crime arrests in 2008. 30% of these crimes are being committed by females, 27% of these crimes are being committed by youth’s under the age of 15(OJJDP, 2008). Wow these numbers are staggering. What is happening in society to cause such an escalation of teens committing such horrible crimes' What factors are putting teens at risk' As stated earlier in this essay. There are many factors that play a role in the rise of juvenile crimes. Adam Ortiz explains that, “The brain of an adolescent is in a developing state and does not reach maturity until the age of twenty one. Especially the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls impulses and anticipates consequences, this is under developed in teenagers, which leads them to react to circumstances impulsively and aggressively instead of rationally. Thus, through no fault of their own, teenagers brains put them at risk (Greenhaven Press, 2009 p.21)”. If an adult sat and actually watched the video games thier children are playing they would be appalled. There are a few studies that have been performed on violent video games and how it factors into teen violence. The few studies that have been performed, by assessing the brain after playing violent video games, results revealed a negative effect (Greenhaven, 2009). Parents need to quit putting their children in front of televisions, Xboxes, Ps3’s and Nintendo DS’s to keep their children occupied, so they don’t have to deal with them or to babysit them. What they need to do is take part in their child’s lives and use their imagination to come up with activities that stimulate all of their brains in a positive way. Another factor is depression. This affects teenagers far more than you might think. Every teen goes through phases that can cause mood swings. Many parents crack it up to be puberty but it could be depression. This could be a serious problem that will impact every aspect of a teen’s life. Untreated depression can lead to many problems from school to the devastating act of suicide. There are many signs and symptoms of teen depression that parents and teachers should look for. These symptoms can look very different from adult depression. Irritability or angry moods, an angry teen can be grumpy to having angry out bursts. Unexplained aches and pains, teens can complain of headaches and stomach aches. If a physical exam comes out to be normal this could be a sign of depression. Teens extremely sensitive to criticism, teens can feel worthless causing them to not take well to criticism. Depressed teens tend to with drawl from family and friends. Bullying can make a major impact in any child’s life. One of the effects bullying can cause is depression, and academic achievement. Bullying is a growing problem and it also needs to be addressed. Eating disorders can also put teens at risk. Studies show that “Anorexia Nervosa normally begins at the onset of puberty, and full blown cases occur in about one in every two hundred adolescents, with 90% to 95% of those teenagers being girls (Greenhaven Press, 2009 p. 62).” Gay teens are at risk due to feeling like out casts. They are harassed due to sexual identity; this can result in verbal, physical, and mental abuse. This can lead to depression and even worse suicide. Teen suicide and suicide attempts are on the rise in the United States. There are greater risks in teens that use alcohol and drugs. Teenagers that are depressed should be watched very closely for signs of suicidal thoughts or behavior. These signs include talking and joking about committing suicide, speaking positively about death, reckless behavior, giving away possessions, saying goodbye to friends and family, seeking out weapons, pills or other ways to kills themselves. These are a few of signs of the suicidal tendencies in teens. Teens that display these signs need to seek professional help before it is too late (Borum, 2000). Reported by Borum, “There are four patterns of adolescent violence: Situational. This type of violence is driven by specific situations or contextual factors such as aggression by another person or criminogenic environment, Relationship. Most violence for adolescents (and all age groups) occurs within the context of existing relationships. It may arise from interpersonal disputes or revenge and often involves family or friends, Predatory. Predatory violence is typically perpetrated for some type of gain. Youth’s desires take precedence over the victim’s. This often occurs as part of a pattern of criminal or antisocial activity. Although up to 20% of adolescents may commit such acts, a small proportion (c. 7% of males and 5% of females) account for most of the predatory violence, Psychopathological. This type of violence is caused primarily by a mental or emotional disturbance, such as acting on a delusion. Psychopathological violence among youth is more rare and often less predictable. (Borum, 2000 p.13 para3).” These are a few things to look for when you suspect juvenile delinquency. That brings up the question, what can society do to help get this epidemic under control' Society and government need to work on getting this serious growing problem under control. There are legislations and laws that have taken effect that should help with this project. Gun control legislation this is positive because handguns are more lethal than other firearms. Hand guns in the home can be deadly to children because children are often victims of unintentional shootings. The availability of handguns increased the homicide rate and the United States firearm death rates are higher than in other countries. This is causing an upset in communities and neighborhoods (OJJDP, 2008). In the year 2008 about 1 and 10 (1,740) murder victims was a juvenile. When are we going to get a grip on this' Kids are killing Kids what is up with this picture. Gangs are taking over the inner cities and the gang related crimes are stretching into the suburbs, and showing our youth the life of crime. In the year 1975 efforts were made to estimate the number of gangs, gang members, and gang crimes. This government study concluded that six of twelve major cities had gang problems (Net Industries, 2011). This is a problem that continues to grow and wreak havoc on our societies. Many of these gang members are our youth’s. We have neighborhood watches and many of the members are so afraid to report crimes that they are no longer as affective as they used to be. We all need to come together to save our future American’s. Work together and keep all of our eyes wide open and ears peeled. Report these crimes this is the only way to nip this problem in the bud. In conclusion, there is a lot of work that needs to be done. Society and the government need to take teen violence and crime seriously and start taking action. There are many of laws that are set in place but they are not working. Our youth’s that are incarcerated in detention centers or in adult prisons are not receiving the help to live normal productive lives when they are released. They are not receiving education, counseling, or the proper tools to live day to day in society. We need to come up with an affective plan to get control of not only the juveniles that are living the life of crime but the juveniles that are incarcerated. Society needs to be more proactive and find ways to get this problem under control in our communities and neighborhoods. Parents and teachers need to be aware of the signs of juvenile delinquency and depression in teens. If these problems are addressed before they are even started juvenile delinquency could be a problem of the past instead of the epidemic of future American’s. If this problem is not addressed soon it will be too late. Future America is in danger of becoming a world of hate and crime if we do not take action! So speak up and save America! References Net Industries.(2011) Juvenile and Youth Gangs & Scope of Gang problems (p.1480). Retrieved March 11, 2011, from http://law.jrank.org/pages/1480/Juvenile-Youth-Gangs-Scope-Gang-Problems.html Shoemaker J.D. (2009). Juvenile Delinquency. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.(pp.3-32) Steinhart, D. (2006).Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative: Juvenile Detention Risk Assessment [Electronic Version].Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 11(1) University of South Florida. (2000,January). Assessing Violence Risk Among Youth. Retrieved March 10, 2011 from website: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi'article=1027&context=randy_borum Watkins, C. (Ed.) (2009). Teens at Risk. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, a part of Gale, Cencage Learning.(pp.21-62) References Net Industries.(2011) Juvenile and Youth Gangs & Scope of Gang problems (p.1480). Retrieved March 11, 2011, from http://law.jrank.org/pages/1480/Juvenile-Youth-Gangs-Scope-Gang-Problems.html Shoemaker J.D. (2009). Juvenile Delinquency. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.(pp.3-32) Steinhart, D. (2006).Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative: Juvenile Detention Risk Assessment [Electronic Version].Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 11(1) University of South Florida. (2000,January). Assessing Violence Risk Among Youth. Retrieved March 10, 2011 from website: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi'article=1027&context=randy_borum Watkins, C. (Ed.) (2009). Teens at Risk. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, a part of Gale, Cencage Learning.(pp.21-62) Annotated Bibliography Net Industries.(2011) Juvenile and Youth Gangs & Scope of Gang problems (p.1480). Retrieved March 11, 2011, from http://law.jrank.org/pages/1480/Juvenile-Youth-Gangs-Scope-Gang-Problems.html I chose Net Industries for my citation on gang related crimes and youth because it had a lot of important points that pertained to what I was looking for. I feel it is a very good argumentative piece because it is to the point and it had a lot of the information that I was looking for. Shoemaker J.D. (2009). Juvenile Delinquency. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.(pp.3-32) I chose the book Juvenile Delinquency because of the information it had. It was a newer book so I knew I would get up to date statistics, laws and an all around view of Juvenile Delinquency. I got so much information from this book I had to break down majority of it to decide what to use. I chose the specific citations because they pertained to what I was trying to get across to the reader. Steinhart, D. (2006).Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative: Juvenile Detention Risk Assessment [Electronic Version].Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 11(1) I chose this journal because I found a few lines that I felt would make a difference in my paper. It would open the reader’s eyes to the truth about what is really going on. University of South Florida. (2000,January). Assessing Violence Risk Among Youth. Retrieved March 10, 2011 from website: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi'article=1027&context=randy_borum This journal had a great deal of information that I was looking for. It is from a university so I know the information I obtained was credible. I used many pieces of this journal to point out key points in my paper that are factual. Watkins, C. (Ed.) (2009). Teens at Risk. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, a part of Gale, Cencage Learning.(pp.21-62) Wow I obtained tons of data from this book. Some of the data was just interesting to read and learn. I used the citations that stood out to me the most and were the most interesting. The reason I chose this book is because it was published in 2009, so I knew the information I obtained would be up to date and it would have the latest up to date information.