Introduction

 Myths & Realities

 n  Myth 1: Today’s Youth are more criminal than ever 

·         During the 1990s – arrests for index crime declined by 23% for those under 18

·         Arrests for violent crime for those under 18 declined by 14% from 1998 to 2007 (murder went down by 23%)

·         Some criminologists predicted an “explosion” of “superpredators” in the 1990s – it never happened

·         Study by Males, Macallair, and Corcoran in Calif. from 1980 and 2005 found large drops for juveniles but big increases for adults.

·         Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

 n  Myth 2: As the number of teenagers rise so does the crime rate 

·         The proportion of teenagers in so-called “crime-prone years” has little to do with overall crime.  In fact, quite often just the opposite is true.

·         For example, homicides in Los Angeles in the late 1980s rose rapidly as the young male population decreased. 

n  Myth 3:  Youth of today are using more guns and committing more violent crime than ever.

·         During a ten-year period from 1999 to 2008, arrests rates for violent crime among juveniles went down by about 9% (a more modest decline after a one-third decline between 1994 and 2004), led by a drop of 27% for murder. Arrests for possession of weapons dropped by about 2% during this time

·         Juveniles are far more likely to be killed by their own parents at home than killed by one of their peers at school by a ratio of 15 to 1

·         A related myth is that the rise of “gangsta rap” has caused a rise in homicides by youth. Quite the opposite is true, as throughout the 1990s the number of rap music albums sold doubled (from 74 million to 125 million), while the number of teenage males arrested for murder decreased by half.

 n  Myth 4:  Teenagers are the biggest part of the drug problem. 

·         Between 1995 and 1996, for instance, only 3.7 percent of all drug emergency cases in the nation’s hospitals were under 18, while this age group accounted to merely one percent of drug-related deaths; in 2002 they constituted 9.5%.

·         In 2007, people under the age of 18 accounted for 6.3% (the lowest percentage of those aged 12 or older) of all illicit drug emergency cases in the nation’s hospitals.

·         In contrast, the 26-34 age group accounted for almost 36 percent of drug emergency cases and 24 percent of drug-related deaths.  Fully two-thirds of drug-related deaths were among those between 35 and 44.

·         Drug arrests for juveniles dropped by about 7% between 1999 and 2008. In 1999 juveniles accounted for about 12% of all drug arrests, while in 2009 that percentage had dropped to a mere 10%.

·         Despite the fact that adults use drugs at a higher rate than youths under 18, the arrest rates are much higher for kids  

·         5% of 12th graders used pot daily in 2006 vs. 4.9% in 1996.

n  Myth 5:  Youths who commit murder and other serious crimes need to be treated as an adult.

·                     Every major study has found that certifying children as adults does more harm than good.  The overall “get tough” approach has backfired as a social policy.

·                     A closely related myth says that tougher laws will reduce juvenile crime.  This is not true.  One example of getting tough is curfew laws, periodically touted as a cure-all for juvenile crime. Enforcement of curfew laws has no impact on juvenile crime.

·                     This is because most juvenile crime is committed during hours not covered by curfew laws.

Some additional myths 

•          Myth: In the 1990s, school violence affected mostly white students or students who attended suburban or rural schools.

–      Fact: African-American and Hispanic males attending large inner-city schools that serve very poor neighborhoods faced - and still face - the greatest risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of a violent act at school. This is true despite the recent series of multiple shootings in suburban, middle-class white schools.

•          Myth: Weapons-related injuries in schools have increased dramatically in the last five years.

–      Fact: Weapons-related injuries have not changed significantly in the past 20 years. Overall, schools - in comparison to other environments, including neighborhoods and homes - are relatively safe places for young people.

 Media contributes to myths 

•          Media blitzes surrounding school shootings and other violent, but rare incidents have succeeded in scaring the public and creating a climate that supports tougher juvenile laws like curfews and trying kids in adult courts.

•          75% of the public say they form their opinions about crime from what they see or read in the news, while only 22% say they get their primary information on crime from personal experience.

•          The media rarely connect crimes to a larger social context and they disproportionately connect people of color as perpetrators of crime and white people as victims of crime

 NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll 

•          71% of Americans felt that a school shooting was likely in their community.

•          There was less than a one in two million chance of being killed in a school in America in 1998-1999

Exploding Youth Crime?

 Latest Arrest Statistics 

• http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_32.html
• Note the trends during the past 10 years.

 Normal Adolescent Behavior or Deviance? 

• Most juveniles commit some sort of “delinquent” act
• The serious and chronic delinquents are the exception

 Cultural Influences 

• Need to keep in mind how adults shape the world of adolescents

 Fear Colors Reaction

• Note the example of the Las Vegas case of the 9-year old boy arrested for “vandalism”
• Proposition 21 in California – classic example of an overreaction, almost a “one strike and you’re out” law
• Oregon’s “Measure 11” is another example

Understanding Juvenile Delinquency: Conservative, Liberal and Radical Views of Crime

 The Conservative View 

• Comes from Latin word conservare which means to "save" or "preserve.”
• Most problems (crime, etc.) caused by individuals or groups of individuals who seem unable to succeed within the overall system
• Belief in the “free market,” low taxes and less government interference
• Use of tax dollars for social programs to assist the general public is to be avoided whenever possible.
• Libertarianism is an extreme illustration of conservatism – extremely limited government; no subsidies to corporations, no laws against drugs, etc.
• Conservative view of family – “strict father morality”
  • Child must learn to obey the rules and respect authority.
  • Proper behavior is taught through the use or threat of punishment.
  • “Spare the rod, spoil the child”
• Authoritarian personality – an extreme version of conservatism (Nazism is one example); extremely punitive attitudes
• Conservative view of crime: People commit crime because they think they can get away with it, largely because the pleasure they get from committing the crime is greater than the potential pain they would receive if caught and punished
  • Deterrence is the hallmark of conservative thinking; increase the punishment is what is needed
  • “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”

The Liberal View 

• Origins in the period known as the “Enlightenment” (17^th and 18^th centuries)
• Declaration of Independence was a liberal document (most Founding Fathers could be described as liberals)
• Government should be more involved because the economic system is flawed and taxes should be used for the “common good”
  • The “New Deal” of the 1930s was a good example (Social Security, etc. and later Medicare
• Liberals see the causes of crime as more complex, stressing both psychological and social/cultural causes
• Emphasis should be on rehabilitation and prevention via tax dollars
• View of family as a “nurturing parent” – children become good adults through love and support, not punishment
  • Teach children to be socially responsible

The Radical View 

• Crime stems from the very nature of capitalism, especially social inequality
• Conflict between classes – esp. workers vs. owners
  • What is going on with the budget crisis is an example (Wisconsin, etc.)
• Growth of the “underclass” has contributed to the crime problem, with widespread unemployment in urban mostly minority communities
• This view argues that to reduce crime you strongly regulate capitalism with the ultimate goal of replacing it with some form of socialism