Youth Violence Myth

Youth Violence Myth With the media focusing so much attention on cases of juvenile crime, you might think that youth today are more violent and dangerous than ever. There is no such thing as "youth violence." The levels of, and cycles in, violent crime and homicide among poorer, mostly minority young men occur because, for every race/ethnic group, poverty rates among the young are twice those of adults. Factor out poverty differences, and murder …

…cutbacks in social services for the poor can be made up for by faith-based charities. With Bush in the White House, it appears that more scapegoating of America's youth is on the agenda. But public discontent with treating youth offenders as adults is on the rise. We need to keep challenging the politicians who are prepared to condemn an entire generation of young people to the wasteland of the American injustice system--all for political gain.