State Progress in Addressing Youth Violence

• NCJ Number: 180492
• Author(s): Ginger Romero; David E. Brown
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 29 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Carnegie Corporation of New York
• Sale Source: National Governors' Assoc
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In the winter of 1995, the National Governors' Association asked States to identify State-level initiatives implemented between 1992 and 1994 to address the alarming increase in youth violence; the survey focused on identifying State juvenile justice, education, and youth development initiatives designed at least in part to reduce the incidence of youth violence.

Abstract

Responses from all 50 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico indicated that nearly all jurisdictions implemented youth violence initiatives. Most initiatives targeted young people who had already committed a violent crime, and these initiatives reflected the escalating lack of confidence in the ability of the juvenile justice system to treat and rehabilitate violent juvenile offenders and an increasing public demand for retribution, punishment, and long-term incarceration. However, many States did not focus solely on young people who became violent offenders. States had also implemented a range of preventive strategies intended to make schools safe, identify and serve at-risk children and youth, mobilize communities, and provide productive activities for children and adolescents. Risk factors associated with violent behavior are examined. Components of comprehensive and promising initiatives in some States to address youth violence are described, as are the impact of families and community institutions on healthy adolescent development, and school-based initiatives to reduce youth violence. The authors conclude the need to develop and implement effective juvenile violence prevention strategies is bolstered by the impending converge of three trends: (1) significant increase over the next 10 years in the number of young people between 15 and 19 years of age; (2) rising rates of violent youth crime that show no signs of abatement; and (3) more aggressive law enforcement efforts and longer sentences imposed on violent offenders, as mandated by recent changes in State laws. 10 references, 26 endnotes, 2 tables, and 1 figure