Youth and Crime
In the early 1960's, the epidemic of juvenile crime began to take shape. The problem of juvenile crime is becoming an increasingly pressing matter in America. Anyone who watches the news or reads the newspapers is well aware of the intensity of America's juvenile crime problem. Establishing the causes of juvenile crime may help to deter it in the future. A proper solution cannot be executed until the root causes and reasons are exposed. There are undoubtedly many factors contributing to juvenile crime, but the focus should be on those which contribute the most: extremes of poverty and poor education. If these factors are so obvious, why do we not do anything to change it? We must give the children some opportunity and hope instead of just turning the other cheek and watching them go down the wrong path. The government's argument has been that not all poor people are violent and many that do grow up in poor areas do not become criminals. This is true, but the point is that growing up in a poor neighborhood drastically increases the likeliness of criminal activity. The media would lead you to believe that white-collar crime is rampant, but these crimes are not as common as those committed by t
Youths growing up in such an environment are experiencing violence daily and are destined to resort to violence themselves. The money makes the experience quite rewarding. If these people were properly educated and lived in an economically secure environment, then there would not be any reasons for them to engage in crime. This is a problem especially in the inner-cities, where without jobs, people live impoverished and overcrowded lives (Parcels 43). Robbery, prostitution, and drug dealing are practical and immediate results. Should a safer environment to raise a family not be offered to everyone? Poor communities have a tendency to be very unstable because of economic insecurity that is caused by a steady unemployment rate. The biggest differences between the upper-class and lower-class communities are the quality of education the youths receive and their economic security. Until then, by not addressing the situation the government is simply letting these children down, in turn, the juveniles are going to be even more angry and frustrated at the hopelessness of their situation. " The growing numbers of poor communities does not help the situation. In upper-class communities juvenile crime exists, but it is far less common and severe than in the impoverished communities. Why can the government not offer them the opportunity to attend a private school or even a public school in a better district? These children should not be penalized for their parents' lack of money. These solutions will help to a certain extent, but they are treating the effects of juvenile crime instead of the causes. Neighborhoods with a high concentration of poverty are at a much higher risk of having problems such as single-parent families, ineffective parenting, violent schools, high dropout rates, substance abuse, and high unemployment rates (Elliot 86). Educating and giving money to the poor would not solve America's crime and violence problems overnight.
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