Youth And Crime Essay Research Paper There

Youth And Crime Essay, Research Paper

There has been a steady increase in the number violent crimes committed by today?s adolescence. Headlines in newspaper read ?Two teen kill13 and wound several others? ?Fourteen year old boy kills one and wounds another.? Incidences like these are shocking society today. Why is this violence happening? Today?s children are growing up in a more violence society. Violence is shown on television, through video games and through different advertising campaigns. Are young kids killing their peers to solve their problems, for respect, or for curiosity? Findings from interview with clinical psychologists, correctional workers, educators and, military personal solve what the problems facing today?s youth are.

Presently crime amongst adolescents is increases at an alarming rate. Violent crimes committed by youths have double in the past twenty years. This number is expected to double again in the next ten years. 50% of youth in a Saskatchewan detention are incarcerated for violent crimes. Of all violent crimes committed last year in the Canada, seventeen percent of those were committed adolescents (equal to that of the United States). The rate of violent crimes is decreasing in urban centers but is steadily increasing in rural areas.

Dr. Todd Willoughby, a clinical psychologist from the Saskatchewan Mental Health Unit in Saskatoon is a member of the High Risk and Violent Offenders Initiative here in Saskatoon. Dr. Willoughby works with a series of other psychologists, social workers and nurses in the psychoeducational assessments for the courts. The assessments are done to determine the risk factors that would lead a youth to re-offend and the type of custody that would be suitable for each youth. The risk factors that are labeled ?criminogenic? are the ones that seem to be apparent in violent youths. Risk factors such as drugs, alcohol, gang association and occupation of spare time, are all major risk factors of a youth. Occupation of spare time is triggered by, bored, frustration, angry, negative emotions and a sexual outlet being closed. According to Dr. Willoughby, these criminogenic risk factors are pre-barriers to crime. Internal barriers occurring within a youth offender is their own consciousness. The external factors are important for dealing with youths in terms of, their resistance to rehabilitation, guilt, and access to victims. Low self-esteem is another factor apparent mostly in sexual offenders. Dr. Willoughby see a history of antisocial behavior as the most obvious predictor of violence. The help that Dr. Willoughby and his associates provide for violent youths comes in the form of anger management, awareness of risk factors, character building and, helping them learn to manage their spare time. Dr. Willoughby suggests that there is not one way to help violent youths, just give them tools to deal with problems.

Danen Connell is one of the Educational Coordinators at the Paul Dojack Youth Center. It is the opinion of Mr. Connell that youths are better served when they are educated rather than being counseled. Mr. Connell educates adolescents between the ages of twelve and eighteen. He feels that if a rapport could be built between the student and educator, the children?s self-esteem could be raised enough that the children were willing to be educated. This education could help them realize that there are better things in life other than crime. This too, helps the youths find new jobs when they are done serving their sentence at the PDYC.

Today?s violent offenders are not getting the treatment that they deserve much to the belief of Canadian citizens. Reg Card the Director of the Paul Dojack Youth Center, believes not enough help is being given to adolescents? that are trying to get rehabilitated. Deemed as too expensive, a psychologist that should be readily available in these correctional centers to the residents is not available. Justifying the cost of three hundred dollar per hour is something that is not being done by political leaders. It is denial by political leaders that are not getting the youth that want to be help the materials that they need. The director of treatment for these violent youths is not around to see the results of the youth in these centers. Aside from the cost, the decision to get a psychologist to help these youths is one that is made by a person who has no contact with the youth in need.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, has been able to make several observations on the impact of today?s television on youths. According to Lt. Col. Grossman?s observations, youth are watching twenty-seven hours of television per week. In addition to this, he and Dr. Willoughby agree that children today are playing more violent video games than ever before. As an expert on military strategies, the Lt. Col. has observed that television uses the same techniques used in the army, desensitizing people toward violence. Though classical conditioning youths are killing associated with candy bars, soft drinks and entertainment. Youths are also seeing a brutal hero shoot and kill without any sort of discipline enforced on them. Unable to tell the difference in what is right and wrong, children are victims of Acquired Violence Immune Syndrome. The operant conditioning youths are being taught is stimuli-response reflexes. Acting instinctively towards a violent video game sends youths the messages that rea