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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 5601. Findings
(a) The Congress finds the following:
(1) Although the juvenile violent crime arrest rate in 1999 was
the lowest in the decade, there remains a consensus that the
number of crimes and the rate of offending by juveniles
nationwide is still too high.
(2) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, allowing 1 youth to leave school for a life of crime
and of drug abuse costs society $1,700,000 to $2,300,000
annually.
(3) One in every 6 individuals (16.2 percent) arrested for
committing violent crime in 1999 was less than 18 years of age.
In 1999, juveniles accounted for 9 percent of murder arrests, 17
percent of forcible rape arrests, 25 percent of robbery arrest,
14 percent of aggravated assault arrests, and 24 percent of
weapons arrests.
(4) More than 1/2 of juvenile murder victims are killed with
firearms. Of the nearly 1,800 murder victims less than 18 years
of age, 17 percent of the victims less than 13 years of age were
murdered with a firearm, and 81 percent of the victims 13 years
of age or older were killed with a firearm.
(5) Juveniles accounted for 13 percent of all drug abuse
violation arrests in 1999. Between 1990 and 1999, juvenile
arrests for drug abuse violations rose 132 percent.
(6) Over the last 3 decades, youth gang problems have increased
nationwide. In the 1970's, 19 States reported youth gang
problems. By the late 1990's, all 50 States and the District of
Columbia reported gang problems. For the same period, the number
of cities reporting youth gang problems grew 843 percent, and the
number of counties reporting gang problems increased more than
1,000 percent.
(7) According to a national crime survey of individuals 12
years of age or older during 1999, those 12 to 19 years old are
victims of violent crime at higher rates than individuals in all
other age groups. Only 30.8 percent of these violent
victimizations were reported by youth to police in 1999.
(8) One-fifth of juveniles 16 years of age who had been
arrested were first arrested before attaining 12 years of age.
Juveniles who are known to the juvenile justice system before
attaining 13 years of age are responsible for a disproportionate
share of serious crimes and violence.
(9) The increase in the arrest rates for girls and young
juvenile offenders has changed the composition of violent
offenders entering the juvenile justice system.
(10) These problems should be addressed through a 2-track
common sense approach that addresses the needs of individual
juveniles and society at large by promoting -
(A) quality prevention programs that -
(i) work with juveniles, their families, local public
agencies, and community-based organizations, and take into
consideration such factors as whether or not juveniles have
been the victims of family violence (including child abuse
and neglect); and
(ii) are designed to reduce risks and develop competencies
in at-risk juveniles that will prevent, and reduce the rate
of, violent delinquent behavior; and
(B) programs that assist in holding juveniles accountable for
their actions and in developing the competencies necessary to
become responsible and productive members of their communities,
including a system of graduated sanctions to respond to each
delinquent act, requiring juveniles to make restitution, or
perform community service, for the damage caused by their
delinquent acts, and methods for increasing victim satisfaction
with respect to the penalties imposed on juveniles for their
acts.
(11) Coordinated juvenile justice and delinquency prevention
projects that meet the needs of juveniles through the
collaboration of the many local service systems juveniles
encounter can help prevent juveniles from becoming delinquent and
help delinquent youth return to a productive life.
(b) Congress must act now to reform this program by focusing on
juvenile delinquency prevention programs, as well as programs that
hold juveniles accountable for their acts and which provide
opportunities for competency development. Without true reform, the
juvenile justice system will not be able to overcome the challenges
it will face in the coming years when the number of juveniles is
expected to increase by 18 percent between 2000 and 2030.
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