NCJ Number
178649
Journal
Criminal Justice Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 1996 Pages: 30-33
Date Published
1996
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the increase in youth violence and measures to combat it.
Abstract
Crime victimization studies as of 1996 indicated that young people were responsible for approximately 20 percent of personal crimes of violence. The victims of the violence were often young people themselves. One of the factors contributing to increased youth violence was developmental neglect of children resulting from parental divorce, both parents working, single-parent families and the erosion of neighborhood networks and other traditional support systems. Easy access to guns and the growing threat of gangs were also contributing factors. Measures to cope with today’s youth violence and to keep young people from crime and violence in the future include: Federal and local antigang activities; statutory tools like pretrial detention to help keep the most violent offenders locked up; tough enforcement of existing laws; supervised constructive afterschool programs; state and local drug courts supervising mandatory substance abuse treatment; and boot camps to instill in young offenders discipline, routine, and respect for authority.