The drinking age should not be lowered to 18. Lowering the drinking age from 21 years old to 18 years old could lead to an increase in dangerous behavior such as drunken driving and car accidents, risk of developing alcoholism and people under the age of 21 do not fully understand the dangers of alcohol. A teenage driver and alcohol is a dangerous combination. Drinking and driving accidents are the number one cause of death among teenagers. “Traffic deaths from drunken driving have fallen steadily, with those involving teenagers 16 to 19 declining by 39.1 percent from 1982 to 1990, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)”.
Indeed, after the tough laws being carried out, the arrest rate declines for juveniles, and the rate in 2007 was about the same level 25 years ago(“Juvenile Justice”, 2008, p109). Moreover, Katel quotes from Oregon District Attorney Marquis that locking the juveniles up in adult prisons so that they can not hurt anyone (“Juvenile Justice”, 2008, p109).However, keeping the juvenile inmates in adult prisons does not make the society safer in fact; instead, by the time they are released, they likely to do more severe and brutal things to re-offend the society. Katel wrote that, according to a research reported in 2005, almost near half of the juveniles transferred to adult prisons commit new crimes when they are released, while about only one third of the offenders who are from juvenile facilities have done the same thing (2008, p108). Indeed, it sounds horrifying that one of every two juveniles in adult prisons after releasing will commit new crimes, and this makes the society much more dangerous. Another study reported by Florida Juvenile Justice Department has shown the same conclusion: Juveniles in adult prisons had a one third percent (34%) higher recidivism rate (2008, p112).
About 1,900 people under 21 die every year from car crashes involving underage drinking. i) Young people are more susceptible to alcohol-induced impairment of their driving skills. ii) Drinking drivers aged 16 to 20 are twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as drinking drivers who are 21 or older. iii) For every 100,000 Americans under the age of 21, 1.4 people were killed in drunk driving fatalities in 2010 iv) The rate of fewer than 21 drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 populations has declined 48% over the past decade. v) In 2009, 11 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were young drivers 15- to 20- years old.
Here are some key facts about youth sex offenders. Youth sex offenders are statistically less likely than are both adult sex offenders and juveniles who committed non-sex offenses to re-offend 1. The National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth (NCSBY) reports that only 5% to 14% of juvenile sex offenders re-offend (compared to approximately 40% of adults, as reported by the Bureau of Justice). The re-offense rate for sex offenses is substantially lower than are the recidivism rates for other adolescent delinquent behavior, which range from 8% to 58%. 2.
Violent crimes in the county have been steadily decreasing from 2,447 in 2005 to 2,072 in 2009. Homicides decreased by almost 50% in the same time. The 2012 homicide rate was 15 down from 18 in 2011. Most of the murders in the county happen in East Palo Alto, a city with a long history of crime and poverty. Burglary and robbery crimes have also been steadily decreasing.
The lowest the city had in the past few years was in 2009, it ended with 896 cases. There were a lot of serial rapist that happened in Philly, again 60% of went unsolved. The only crime that was the lowest numbers was arson. That wasn’t reported in years. Burglaries ended 10,969 cases in 2009.
I will also incorporate the views of people who oppose trying juveniles as adults and their reasons for this. If a juvenile is old enough to commit a serious crime, then he or she is old enough to face serious consequences. First, criminologists who deal with juveniles believe poverty, family factors, the environment, media influence, and declining social morality are the main reasons for juvenile crime. It is considered out-dated to say that poverty causes crime, but nearly 22% of children under the age of eighteen live in poverty. Disorganization, dilapidation, deterioration, and despair are all associated with social isolation and economic stress, which are two main factors of poverty (O’Connor, 2004).
The criminal system is supposed to be justice, but as we see it is very injustice. (www.racismreview.com) Across 34 of the 50 states, a black man is 11.8 times more likely than a white man to be sent to prison on drug charges and a black woman is 4.8 times more likely than a white woman. (www.racismreview.com) Their 10 states with the greatest racial disparities for drug offenders are Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Colorado, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Arresting a lot of black Americans has not ended street corner drug sales. When someone gets arrested there is someone to take their place.
Cannabis was the most common type of drug found in both possess/use offences and cultivation/manufacture/trafficking offences. Other offences Other offences decreased by 6.1% in the last financial year. The largest percentage decrease in this category of crime was in regulated public order, which decreased by 34.8% compared with 2009/2010. The number of offences recorded under the Behaviour in Public offence category in 2010/2011 (6,850) was 17.5% lower than the number recorded in 2009/2010. Behaviour in Public offences peaked
The article expounds on some key statistics that suggest that young people are 36 more times to commit suicide in an adult prison than a juvenile facility. It also speaks to the outcome of young people who survive an adult facility. They return to society as damaged and dangerous people and are more likely to commit violent crimes and add to the recidivism rate. This article reinforces my opinion and advocates my stance on children in jails with adults. A quote from the article that puts it in perspective says, “The rush to criminalize children has set the country on a dangerous path.