Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints Book Review

Critical Issue Project on
Rage, Violence and Gunfire

Book Review: Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints


I chose the book, Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints, for this project for several reasons. One, it covers juvenile rage, violence and gunfire all in one book. Two, I chose it because it appeared to be unbiased toward the subject of juvenile crime but instead, it reveals opposing viewpoints on the same issue through a compilation of articles, speeches and long book excerpts. For example, Chapter 1 asks the question: “Are Juvenile Crime and Violence increasing?” The answer presented in one excerpt is that juvenile crime and violence are increasing and in another excerpt that juvenile crime and violence are not increasing and both present research to support their respective viewpoint. Three, I chose this book because it not only presents the issues but also, it discusses the causes of juvenile crime and reveals information on how juvenile crime can be combated. Finally, I chose this book because it touches on the subject of gang-related juvenile crime as well.
As mentioned above, one of the reasons for choosing this book is that it presents opposing viewpoints. However, this was also a frustration for me as I read the book because I could never seem to get a straight answer. Is juvenile crime increasing or not? I noticed that the two opposing viewpoints on this subject did not research the same time-periods in their research. To me, the authors of the article excerpts seemed to research the years that best suited their viewpoint. In my opinion, the answer to the question of is juvenile crime increasing or decreasing just seems to be a matter of when you ask the question. Sometimes, the answer is yes and sometimes no or if about the future, speculative at best.
In my opinion, the book is not bias. However, the individual speeches, articles and book excerpts in the book seem to be bias to me. Whether it is on the subject of juvenile crime increasing or decreasing or whether guns and the media contribute to juvenile crime or not, the individual authors/speakers seem to pull together whatever information they can to make their point sound right. Something else I have noticed is that when one author uses statistics to identify a problem and sheds negative light on an issue, the opposing viewpoint generally relies on emotional factors in making its case. For instance, one article author stated, “every year, guns kill 13.7 Americans per 100,000; in 1996-1997, more than 6,000 U.S. students were expelled from packing heat to school.”[1] While in the opposing article, the author states that blaming violence on something outside the individual denies that the young man/young woman is “ultimately responsible for his/her own actions. By banning the culture of guns, we will not stop teen murderers. But, by rebuilding a culture of loving, moral guidance for our children, we will.”[2] This same occurrence happens in the section on whether violence in the media affects children. One article author states, “research in the 1970s demonstrated the existence of “cluster suicides” in which the local TV reporting of teen suicides directly caused numerous copycat suicides by impressionable teenagers.”[3] While the opposing viewpoint author states, “violence is not learned from mock violence. There is good evidence-causal evidence, not correlational-that it is learned in personal violent encounters, beginning with the brutalization of children by their parents or their peers.”[4]
In my opinion, everyone seems to be chasing their tails in this book, covering their tracks and passing the buck. I think both viewpoints have some truth in them. I think what causes violence is also a case-by-case basis. Obviously, based on the above evidence, violence is learned with the influence of media and with the personal encounter of brutality. However, in my opinion, no one seems to want to take responsibility for anything. Those who support the media will not blame the media for violence and those who support the NRA will not blame guns for violence; those who do not support the media or the NRA will blame them. Basically, the reader of this book has to have their own opinion, know where they stand and make up their own mind because this book does not make it up for them or tell them how to think.
In the book, one article discusses some of the causes of juvenile violence addressed as being poverty, family factors, the environment, media influence and declining social morality.[5] Another article excerpt in the book focused on just poverty being the root cause and yet another article focused on just fatherless ness as the root cause of juvenile violence. However, I like the article that deals with the spectrum of causes from poverty to declining social morality because I do not think it is just one thing that is the root cause but there are a number of root causes for juvenile violence.
Factors addressed that contribute to gang-related juvenile crime are the media, gangsta rap music, a need for family, poor parenting and American capitalism.
I found it interesting that the first two influences mentioned, media and gangsta rap, are cited for glamorizing and glorifying the gangster lifestyle, respectively.[6] This fact says to me that much of the problem can be resolved just by showing the truth about gangs and some of the most influential of our society has chosen not to do that. I feel mixed signals here because I see public service messages in the media and music celebrities talking to kids about staying in school, not doing drugs and not committing crimes of violence yet they turn around and promote the opposite in their marketed products.
Another thing I noticed is that many of the influence for gang-related crime are the same as the influences of juvenile crime in general with the exception of American capitalism. I think the influence of American capitalism is the most difficult to swallow for me. I cannot understand how our country can put profit motive before the lives of its own children, even its entire population and still sleep at night.
Finally, I will turn to some of the ways to combat juvenile violence that the book addresses. The book addresses the following: whether to try juveniles as adults or not; whether to hold parents legally responsible for juvenile crime or not; whether curfew laws are effective, or not, harsher punishment for juvenile crime and more after school programs.[7] Honestly, I do not know how I feel about putting an age on trying a child as an adult or determining their punishment. Concerning holding parents legally responsible for juvenile crime, in certain cases, I would think this would motivate parents to be proactive with their children and help to prevent juvenile crime. I do believe that measures need to be taken to improve the crime rates among youth. I certainly support the idea of more after school programs and curfews.


Bibliography

Ojeda, A. ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California:
Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002.
[1] Ojeda, A. ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002, pg. 82.
[2] Ojeda, A. ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002, pg. 87-88.
[3] Ojeda, A. ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002, pg. 70.
[4] Ojeda, A. ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002, pg. 79.
[5] Ojeda, A. ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002, pg. 62.
[6] Ojeda, A., ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints, San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002, pg. 101 & 105.
[7] Ojeda, A. ed. Juvenile Crime: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002, pg. 130-166.