Crime in the USA; it is all over the news these days.
You cannot open a newspaper, watch television or listen to the radio without hearing shocking stories of sensational crimes taking place all over the country.
According to the reports, many of these crimes are being committed by children.
As a consultant in the security industry, I have readily gotten caught up in all the hoopla surrounding the increase in violence and crime in this country.
I hate to say it, but the truth is that crime is good for my business and any outbreak or measurable increase in crime helps to sell more security systems.
In doing research for this article, I came across some shocking and very surprising statistics on juvenile crime.
The following statistics are all taken from the 2006 National Report of Juvenile Offenders and Victims prepared by the U.
S.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
According to the report, currently 1 in 4 residents of the United States are under 18 years old.
oJuvenile Courts handled 1.
6 million delinquency cases in 2002 - up from 1.
1 million in 1985.
oThe age at which most murder victims are likely to be killed is 16 years old, regardless of gender.
oThe number of youths under the age of 18 being held in adult jails quadrupled between 1990 and 1999.
oOver 8% of 17 year olds reported to have been in a gang, 16% have sold drugs and 16% have carried a handgun.
oThe proportion of females entering the juvenile justice system for violent crimes has increased by 31% since the mid 90's.
o5 in 100 high school students stayed at home at least once in the past month due to fear of a school related crime.
That certainly sounds like a juvenile crime epidemic to me.
Remember what I told you before I presented you with the shocking statistics? Crime is good for my business.
Right now, I probably have you right were I want.
You are thinking that juvenile crime is rampant and raging out of control, right? As a shocking reminder that people's perceptions of the truth can be completely skewed by the way the national media presents news and information, check out the following statistics that seem to fly in the face of what the media would have us believe.
The statistics are taken from the same OJJDP report.
oThe number of juvenile homicides in 2002 was 44% below the peak year of 1993, and at its lowest level since the mid 80's.
oIn 2002, the number of murders by juveniles dropped to its lowest level since 1984.
oThe likelihood of juveniles being murdered in 2002 was the same as in 1966.
oBoth male and female students ages 12-18 experienced far fewer crimes of violence and theft in their schools in 2001 than in 1992.
oIn 2003, juveniles ages 12-17 were half as likely to be the victim of a violent crime as in 1993.
oBetween 1994 and 2002, the number of murders involving a juvenile offender fell 65% to its lowest level since 1984.
o6% of high school students said they have carried a weapon on school property in the past 30 days-this figure is down from 12% in 1993.
oIllicit drug use by juveniles in 2004 was half that of the early 80's.
Are you surprised? I have to admit that I was actually stunned by some of the statistics found in the OJJDP Report.
Those darn statistics really went against the grain of what I had believed and they actually changed the direction of the article I was planning on writing.
John Quincy Adams might have put it best when he said; "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
" Fact is defined as something that can be shown to be true, to exist, or to have happened, in other words a fact is not an opinion.
Therefore, the statistics provided by the OJJDP report support certain facts.
The fact is that the juvenile crime rate in this country is at the lowest level since the early 80's.
Of course, information presented in statistical reports is open to interpretation.
Statistics can be taken out of context, skewed, reported or presented in ways that can be used to prove a point.
Take for example, the first statistic that I presented you with: juvenile courts handled 1.
6 million delinquency cases in 2002 - up from 1.
1 million in 1985.
I used this statement, presented it out of context and grouped it with other carefully picked statistics to make you believe that juvenile crime is out of control.
Now let's consider this statistic which was taken from the same report: the juvenile crime rate in this country is at the lowest level since the early 80's.
When you combine these two seemingly opposing statistics, you will notice an interesting trend.
Juvenile crime is at its lowest rate in decades, yet we are currently putting 45% more children through the juvenile justice system than we did in 1985.
What is happening in this country? Have we made it a crime to be young? Are we a society that now punishes children for behavior that was once written off to youthful exuberance? Look back to your childhood.
How many stupid stunts did you pull off that would now land you in jail? Wow, there I go again.
Reporting statistics in a way designed to persuade you and shape your opinion.
My point is simply this.
You cannot believe everything you see or hear in the media.
Just as crime is good for my business, it also sells newspapers and keeps people planted in front of their televisions sitting through endless commercials.
Believe me; you are much better off reading the report yourself and formulating your own opinion.
Complete copies of the OJJDP Report are available at http://www.
ojp.
usdoj.
gov/ojjdp I hope this doesn't hurt business!