NCJ Number
165798
Journal
Juvenile Justice Update Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (February/March 1997) Pages: 1-2,11-12
Editor(s)
H Sontheimer,
A Volenik
Date Published
1997
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Ironies of the recent increase in gun-related juvenile crime are that Federal law prohibits the possession of handguns by anyone under 18 years of age and that every State has laws concerning juveniles and firearms.
Abstract
Despite these laws, juveniles seem to have little trouble in obtaining firearms illegally. The proliferation of guns on the street has led to more deadly confrontations, particularly among gangs. Incidents that were formerly assaults are now likely to become homicides, and many inner-city young people report they have been threatened with a gun or shot at. Given that statutory gun control strategies have not kept guns out of the hands of juveniles, State and local governments have been forced to devise other ways of dealing with the problem. With support from Federal initiatives involving the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, criminologists and police are learning more about illicit gun markets and how to disrupt them. Specific approaches that have met with success are described that involve tracing guns used by juveniles, gang- related violence, the Drug Use Forecasting System, and targeted sweeps of neighborhoods that often experience gun-related violence. The need for self-protection is cited as the primary motivation for carrying weapons.