NCJ Number
166060
Date Published
1995
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Violent juvenile offenders are a source of increasing concern in Nashville, Tenn. and nationally; experts continue to seek both the causes and the solutions to juvenile violence.
Abstract
About half the youths taken to the Nashville juvenile court have been their before. More than half the juvenile crimes nationwide are committed by 5 percent of the youths. Arrests of juveniles for violent crimes have increased sharply since 1970, especially in the last 5 years. During the last 5 years, juvenile rape arrests increased from 37 to 48, juvenile robbery arrests increased from 235 to 408, and juvenile aggravated assault arrests increased from 74 to 232. Twenty-one juveniles were charged with murder last year. Concern about violence has led police and prosecutors to give more attention to nonviolent crimes that have frequently been overlooked in the past. One commented that violent juvenile offenders start by shoplifting or committing burglary and gradually progress to violence. The police hope to identify and monitor potentially dangerous youth earlier and to share information among justice personnel, schools, and social service agencies. The data indicate that guns, drugs, and working mothers have not caused the increase in juvenile violence. Case examples