YOUTH CRIME |
Until two years ago, Clearing, Illinois was a tranquil suburb of Chicag';
ReadingText+='o. But residents grew alarmed when they noticed armed teenagers on the streets, giving gang signals ';
ReadingText+='and shouting at passing cars. Then came a series of burglaries and graffiti messages on storefronts.';
ReadingText+=' By the time local authorities realized they had a gang problem, it was too late. Last December, two';
ReadingText+=' 13-year-old girls were shot outside their school as they sat in a car with two members of a local g';
ReadingText+='ang, the Ridgeway Lords. Nearly all 50 states have recently passed laws that allow youths'; ReadingText+=' aged 14-17 to be tried in court as adults. In about 25 states they have passed laws to punish paren'; ReadingText+='ts for their childrens behaviour. And in 146 of the nations largest cities, they have im'; ReadingText+='posed curfews to reduce juvenile violence. When you look at the spectacular rise of violent crime am'; ReadingText+='ong young people recently, its easy to understand the concern. Over the past decade, there has'; ReadingText+=' been a decline in adult murders in the US, while murder rates have surged for youths between 14-17.'; ReadingText+=' For young offenders who arent sent to prison, the punishments vary: some are order'; ReadingText+='ed to perform community service, others are placed in job training programs, still others sent to yo'; ReadingText+='uth prisons. But the Republicans in Congress want to reverse a basic principle of juvenile justice: '; ReadingText+='the separation of young criminals from hardened adult criminals in prison. The reasons are partly fi'; ReadingText+='nancial to reduce the cost of having separate prisons for young people and partly psyc'; ReadingText+='hological to end what Republicans consider as societys overly protective attitude towa'; ReadingText+='rds young criminals. |