Problem Solution Paper

Jezzett Anderson
English IV
March 13, 2011
Problem Solution Essay

Juvenile Crime & Violence
“Violence kills one million people in the US annually and young people its number one victims.”(Arbetta) Why is today’s youth behind bars before they are old enough to drink? Why are teens being killed before they are old enough to even drive? Why are kids killing kids and what can we do to help? The biggest crisis that we have in society today is juvenile crimes. “The crisis encompasses not only young people and public safety but also the failure and neglect of families, schools, communities, and social systems for which adults are responsible.” (Bilchik)Groups, organizations, community leaders, schools, and many others have all proposed solutions. The previously implemented solutions have proved to be complete failures, as crime is rising. Youth violence is too serious to be brushed off or kicked to the side. This problem affects millions every day. The problem with the alarming increase in juvenile crimes due to poverty, lack of education, lack of leaderships, and harsh living environments can be solved by implementing good leadership and examples into the lives of the youth.
The number of rates of juvenile crimes has been extremely too high. Lots of teens die every year from violence. There are several reasons why juvenile crime has been on the rise. “The most prominent ones are lack of education, the increased use and availability of firearms and the increase in use and availability of drugs.” (Nancy Rose) Many teens even murder other teens. They fight at school, carry weapons, and bully each other. Many teens are violent in school as well as out of school. Even though juvenile crime rates have dropped over time they still need to be lowered. This violent behavior stems from various social problems. Youths are affected by family life, school, and leaders in the community. If all three of the following are unstable then this plays a great role in that child’s life and leads to violent youth. More teens are committing crimes with guns today than ever before. This speaks to the community leaders and the parents. Where are the kids getting guns from and why aren’t these children being monitored? Lots of high school student also bring weapons to school because they feel threatened. In the life of a teen the schools and communities are filled with violence. Statistics show exactly how bad the problem is.

In 2007, 5,764 people from the age of 10 to 24 were murdered; that is an average of 16 each day! Also, Homicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for people from the ages of 10 to 24. These rates for death are alarming. The rates of violence inside of schools are alarming also. In a 2009 sample 31% of youth in grades 9-12 reported being in a fight in the past month and 17.5% of the youth reported to have carried a weapon more than once in the past month. More important than the youths committing the crime are the youths being injured by them. 7.7% of students reported being injured with a weapon at school one or more times in the past month.

There are many proposed solutions. Many communities and leaders suggest that more recreational centers for teens be built. They believe that the youth need to do something constructive with his time so that they stay out of trouble. Many people believe that recreational time encourages youth, teaches them life skills, and also allows them to have fun while expressing themselves. Other’s believed that the source to the solution is school. People who support this believe that the youth are extremely influenced by school and their peers. Improving the school’s environment might improve the youth’s behavior. Some leaders believe that by implementing education on violence and how to act in different situations that youth violence can be lowered. By Trying and sentencing every 15 to 17 year old who commits a murder, rape, or armed robbery as an adult law makers believe that less youths will commit crimes. This solution doesn’t even prevent violence it just punishes it more severely. A solution that does prevent violence is importing good leadership. This solution includes role models in the lives of youth such as pastors and ministers that encourage success. The government blames the crime rates of the accessibility of guns and proposes that the solution is stricter laws and regulations on such fire arms. “ Since the 1960s, the growth of federal gun control has been dramatic………… For example, it was not a federal crime for those younger than 18 to possess a handgun until 1994.” (Lott)

The best solution for the alarming youth crimes is implementing leadership and improving the community in the youth’s lives. Besides school, teens are mostly hanging out in the community. Things teens are exposed to everyday affects them weather they notice it or not. A child’s environment affects the choices they make concerning their own life. Also, everybody needs someone to look up. Teens need good examples placed before them so that they can be encouraged. Good leaders and examples influence teens to be better. Most violent teens tend to have similarities that portray low, no, or bad leadership. “ They tend to be the black and brown fatherless youth who inhabit our inner cities, and who lack mentors, ministers and monitors.” (Rivers)
Reverend Eugene created and establishment called the Ten Point Plan to put responsible adults, mostly men in the lives of miners. In his community since the establishment of the program there has been a 61% drop in youth violence. This has proved to be a very successful approach to solving the problem of youth crime.


More and more kids are dying. The problem of youth violence and juvenile crime rates stretches across the world. No child should be a victim of violence victim of violence? Every child deserves a chance to live in a violence free environment. The violence and crime rates are too high. Through cooperation we can help. “To fight the problem, we must all get serious about valuing human life..” (Arbetta) The problem with the alarming increase in juvenile crimes due to poverty, lack of education, lack of leaderships, and harsh living environments can be solved by implementing good leadership and good role models into the lives of the youth.




Citations



"Addressing Youth Crime." Interview by Eugene F. Rivers. GALE. General One File. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
Arbette, Sandra. "Violence - a Growing Threat." Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader Publication. General One File. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
Bilchik, Shay. "Breaking the Cycle of Juvenile Crime." Trial. General One File. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
Lott, John R. "Availability of Guns Is Not the Cause of Youth Violence." Insight on the News. General One File. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
Rose, Nancy. "The Solution to Juvenile Crime Is Simple by Nancy Rose." Arizona State University. ASU. Web. 04 Mar. 2011.