High Crime Rates Among Teenagers
Teenage crime is a very important problem that the United States is facing these days. Teenage crime is a name given to the crimes that are committed by people who are under the age of 18. About 20% of all violent crimes are committed by children under the age of eighteen.(Difficult, Violent Boys 1). During the early 1990`s a rapid increase was led by many states to change their juvenile justice laws to place more violent juvenile offenders on trial as adults. (Youth Crime Watch of America 1). Juveniles were involved in 17% of all violent crimes and 35% of all rapes and 14% of all aggravated assaults involved juveniles. (Youth Crime Watch of America 2) All these rates prove that the United States is facing a very serious problem that needs to be solved. Crimes committed mostly by teenagers include theft, assaults on other teenagers, gang violence, and even murder. (Youth Crime:FAQ`s 1)
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What are the reasons for the high rates of teenage crime? There are several reasons that can be listed. The most important ones are family condition, community experience, and the collapse of community.
The most important reason for high rates of teenage crime is the family condition. Even though people are highly affected by society, media, school, etc. they mostly follow their parents, so, the family is the key word for the people to become who they are. Family conditions that contribute to teenage high crime rates include: single-parent homes, parental fighting and domestic violence, lack of parental supervision and discipline, parental abuse or neglect and criminal parents.
More than three fourths of crime in America, both violent and nonviolent, is committed by male children born to single parents or following their parents' divorce (Difficult, Violent Boys 1). Family disintegration r...