Today, news headlines are bombarded with accounts of heinous crimes that were reported to have been done by minors. True enough there were such instances and there still is a huge possibility of other crimes to be committed by teenagers. School shootings, rape, murder and robbery – something you can’t bear to think that a child can do. That’s why, politicians started to pass policies that will obstinate crime committed by teens. But in a book by Franklin Zimmering, an expert on juvenile justice. This crime wave that people fear is a fictitious notion. A conclusion built with unjustifiable premises and as he describes it, “evidence of a juvenile crime wave — either current or on the horizon — is no more substantial than the evidence that supports the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.”

Here are some facts that he discovered in his study. Facts; not something that is built out of exaggeration and imagination of a scenario that seems to be fantasized about because of its horridness, (sometimes politicians can be very good in making up bad conclusion to make people think that they need them):

–>Since 1980, arrest rates for juveniles, ages 13 to 17, accused of rape and robbery shows no identifiable trend, either up or down. Rates are currently lower than they were in 1980.

–>The homicide arrest rate for juveniles rose sharply between 1984 and 1992. but declined by more than one-third by 1996 and, according to just-released FBI figures, dropped an additional 16 percent in 1997

–>Most of the increase in the arrest rate for aggravated assault for juveniles during the 1984 -1992 period was due to a change in the way police report and classify such arrests. A lower threshold for crimes considered aggravated assault created a crime wave only on paper.

Its just so depressing to think that a lot of people that Americans have voted to lead them has already placed a tag on 6 percent of the 21.5 million teens who are still in middle school at the moment; that those 6 percent will be doing heinous crimes – robbing, murdering and raping people at their teens.

The Juvenile Justice System was instituted during the Progressive Era, a period of social reform in the U.S. It was initially designed to assist vagrant youth that were being dealt with within the adult system. Since that time it has been effected by numerous policy and philosophy changes. The landmark policy that established the system we currently operate under was the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act called for a “deinstitutionalization” of juvenile delinquents. It required that states holding youth within adult prisons for status offenses remove them within a span of two years (this timeframe was adjusted over time). The act also provided program grants to states, based on their youth populations, and created the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

Through reauthorization amendments, additional programs have been added to the original Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. The following list highlights a few of these additions:

• 1977 – Programs were developed to assist learning disabled children that entered the juvenile justice system.
• 1984 – A new missing and exploited children program was added.
• 1984 – Strong support was given to programs that strengthened families.
• 1988 – Studies on prison conditions within the Indian justice system were called for.
• 1990 – The OJJDP began funding child abuse training programs to instruct judicial personnel and prosecutors.
• 1992 – A juvenile boot camp program was designed to introduce delinquent youth to a lifestyle of structure and discipline.
• 1992 – A community prevention grants program gave start-up money to communities for local juvenile crime prevention plans.

Source.