NCJ Number
155068
Date Published
1992
Length
27 pages
Abstract
Studies of violence in New Orleans and elsewhere in the United States demonstrate a strong relationship between exposure to community violence, the incidence of family violence, and overall stress symptoms observed in children. A survey of juvenile offenders by the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Office shows that 63 percent committed their first offense between 12 and 15 years of age and that the most frequently reported first offenses were burglary, auto theft, and theft. In family relationships, 60 percent reported that at least one sibling had been arrested for a crime. Proposals for reducing juvenile violence are offered that include eliminating weapons in schools, promoting a "Cease Fire" campaign throughout the community, establishing student crime watch programs in schools, focusing on juvenile crime prevention, intervening with first and nonviolent repeat offenders, incarcerating dangerous offenders, changing the juvenile justice system, drug testing juveniles at the time of arrest, and keeping problem youth in the school system. 14 references and 6 tables