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Violent Adolescents
Annette Fuentes writes an interesting article called Crackdown on Kids. Fuentes wrote this article for the June 15/22 issue of The Nation. This article is about how we have neglected to see the real problem at hand with juvenile delinquents and how quick we as a society are to just throw them in detention facilities rather than solve the problems in a more effective manner. Fuentes wrote this article in response to the shooting sprees at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. On March 24, 1998, three boys, ages 11, 13, and 15, unloaded a slew of mini arsenals and were responsible for the deaths of four students and a teacher. Attorney Janet Reno wanted to lock these boys up until the age of 21 if convicted.
The outcome of the violence that has broken out in schools resulted in the zero-tolerance policy in public schools. Criminalization is on the rise with young people and therefore any little thing that these kids do to provoke attention will get them in trouble with authorities. Fuentes shows studies that keeping kids in detention facilities will not encourage children to become more responsible but rather make them more delinquent when they get out.
The National Center for Education Statistics released a statistics report showing the percentages of public schools with a zero-tolerance policy and the percentage of schools that have law enforcement positioned on site full-time. Between 1987 and 1996, the numbers of juvenile arrests were up 35 percent and juvenile violent crime arrests were up 60 percent. Dogs are now even used in public schools to search for illegal drugs and weapons.
Many people may ask, “Are such harsh punishments warranted?” Depending on the situation, yes, they are warranted. Society has become such a cesspool for violence, it’s a no brainer that there is enforcement all over the place making sure that young adults obey the law. It is unfortunate that it had to get this far, but who is to...