Juvenile Crime in New Orleans: An Analysis of Weapons Use Among Our City's Juvenile Offenders (From Reports on Juvenile Crime, Charles C Foti, Jr -- See NCJ-155066)

• NCJ Number: 155069
• Author(s): C C Foti Jr; H D Hayes
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 37 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Office; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In examining the prevalence of juvenile weapon use in New Orleans, this study found that juvenile offenders used relatively sophisticated and dangerous weapons, that juveniles obtained their weapons quite easily, and that juveniles used guns for protection from a violent environment.

Abstract

Data were obtained from 110 juveniles held at the Juvenile Detention Center at Orleans Parish Prison. Attitudes and perceptions of these juveniles were very different from those of law-abiding juveniles. About 65 percent felt it was acceptable to shoot someone who had hurt or insulted them or their families. Of the 110 juveniles, 42 percent said they had owned or possessed a military-style automatic or semiautomatic rifle, 57 percent said they had owned or possessed a sawed-off shotgun, and 72 percent said they had owned or possessed an automatic or semiautomatic handgun. Of 36 juveniles who reported paying cash for a gun, 11 paid someone off the streets and 15 paid a junkie. Most juveniles carried guns for self-protection, especially at night. Recommendations to reduce juvenile violence and improve the juvenile justice system are offered that pertain to school safety, student crime watch programs, crisis intervention, and violence prevention. 38 references, 16 footnotes, and 7 tables