Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jul 2006
Source: USA Today (US)
Page: 1A - Front Page
Copyright: 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

POLICE TIE JUMP IN CRIME TO JUVENILES

Gangs, Guns Add Up to Increased Violence

Police in cities across the USA are linking the recent jump in the 
nation's violent-crime rate to an increasing number of juveniles 
involved in armed robberies, assaults and other incidents.

In Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Washington, Boston and elsewhere, police 
are reporting spikes in juvenile crime as a surge in violence 
involving gangs and weapons has raised crime rates from historical 
lows early this decade. The rising concern about juveniles comes a 
month after the FBI said the nation's rate for violent crimes - 
murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault - rose in 2005, the 
first time in five years.

Minneapolis police estimate that this year, juveniles will account 
for 63% of all suspects in violent and property offenses there, up 
from 45% in 2002.

In Washington and Boston, police say there have been alarming 
increases in robberies by juveniles. This year, 42% of all robbery 
suspects in Washington have been juveniles, up from 25% in 2004, the 
police department says. A series of homicides - 14 in July - has led 
D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey to declare an emergency that allows 
him to put more cops in troubled areas. Four suspects have been 
arrested in the slaying of a British man in the upscale Georgetown 
area Sunday; they include a 15-year-old.

In Boston, juvenile arrests for robbery rose 54% in 2005; weapons 
arrests involving youths rose 103%. "Kids are jumping into this 
violence," police Superintendent Paul Joyce says. "We're very concerned."

The forces behind rising juvenile crime vary by city, but officials 
cite some common factors. Among them:

. Reduced funding for police and community programs. Localities often 
complain they don't have enough money; now the chorus is getting 
louder. Tight budgets and an emphasis on terrorism have shifted 
federal and state money from police and programs for youths. "It 
should be no surprise that the streets are more violent," Minneapolis 
Mayor R.T. Rybak says. Since 2003, he says, Minneapolis has lost at 
least $35 million a year in state funding for city programs.

. A changing social climate. In Boston and other cities, gang leaders 
imprisoned a decade or longer ago are being released and are 
reclaiming their turf. Joyce says they're recruiting - or forcing - 
youths to carry guns or deliver drugs to shield older gang members 
from additional charges. The weapons can turn disputes among teens 
into violent confrontations, he says.

"Every 10 years, we seem to go through a cycle of violence," says Tom 
Cochran of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "Everybody is trying to 
figure this out."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake