This week’s tragic school shooting in south Florida sadly highlights kids killing kids for seemingly no reason. Research shows that murder offenses by juveniles have risen over the past thirty years by more than 150%. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau, violent juvenile crime continues to rise while non-violent juvenile crime has plateaued. The Rising Tide of Juvenile Violence: The Natural Disaster of Values Free Education, Culture and Families reveals not only these facts, but also the list of school violence by students over the past few decades. It also explains and analyzes why juvenile violence is increasing, and offers solutions for helping kids with mental health needs, as well as explaining how values, education and gun power have dramatically changed over the decades.
The tragedy of Stoneman Douglass High School allows us to know and pray for the victims of the massacre. What is certain is that kids need strong families to help them cope, evaluate, and heal to move ahead. Starting there can make all the difference.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteIn reading the paper included I landed on the mental health aspect that you mentioned. I have found through juvenile law courses and independent studies that the mental health aspect is not treated with the amount of precedence that it should be. At this time I'm not sure of the root of why we don't treat more juvenile offenders with a mental health aspect, but we should. In the attempt to understand this, I thought it would come down to money and deterrence. To shift the processes and requirement for juvenile courts all around the country you'd see a significant budget spike and to be honest, many states probably do not see the benefits of this. We've proceeded with tough love tactics for years and have failed to really produce significant results, but also on the recidivism side of things you would create less of a deterrence if those with a criminal mindset knew that they could present a mental illness facade then maybe they wouldn't have to have the punishment that fits their crime.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think is interesting here is that violent juvenile crime has increased while non-violent juvenile crime has plateaued. I am very curious as to why that is. It could be due to an increase in the pressure that children experience in our current society. As you pointed out in the article, starting with the family can make all the difference. A good family can alleviate the pressure and pain that children experience, and a bad one can cause (or at least exacerbate) that pressure and pain.
ReplyDeleteOne of the simultaneously beautiful and horrible things about family and society is that there will always be a family. As George Santayana pointed out, other lifestyles besides the traditional family unit do not delete the family; they simply modify it. Whether it be neighbors, friends, or gangs, a child will always have a family. Therefore, the question for us adults is not whether this child will have a family, but what kind of family he or she will have.