Children And Violence|Crime Statistics|Juvenile Crime|

Superpredators and Their Place in the Juvenile Justice System More violent, exceedingly cold-blooded, and less remorseful, a new breed of juvenile offenders was predicted to bring mayhem to both the streets of America and to an already overcrowded justice system. Coined “superpredators” by Princeton University political science professor John Dilulio, these juvenile offenders personified the fears of the population, and prompted lawmakers to take action. Years later, however, one question remains unanswered: Where are they?

More violent, exceedingly cold-blooded, and less remorseful, a new breed of juvenile offenders was predicted to bring mayhem to both the streets of America and to an already overcrowded justice system. Coined “superpredators” by Princeton University political science professor John Dilulio, these juvenile offenders personified the fears of the population, and prompted lawmakers to take action. Years later, however, one question remains unanswered: Where are they? The 1990s were filled with in-depth media exposés unveiling a new type of juvenile offender, one which would take the nation by storm, victimizing randomly, and capable of more violence than ever witnessed before. John Ashcroft, prior to becoming attorney general, shelved many juvenile offenders as the day’s “typical murderers, robbers and rapists and drug dealers,” referring to them as “killers in the classroom,” or “predators on the playground.” In 1996, concerns over these increasingly violent juvenile offenders peaked when the term “superpredator” entered the English lexicon. Coined by John Dilulio, superpredators were shaping up to be the blight of a criminal justice system that was ill prepared to deal with a cold-blooded juvenile offender who would be more violent and less remorseful than his predecessors. Ominous statistics hinted that 15 million American children were growing up in homes that served as little more than criminal training camps, and that was just the beginning. Estimates held that if the current trend continued, the United States would be home to some 270,000 more superpredators by the year 2010. Though dismissed by many criminologists at the time, politicians capitalized on Dilulio’s theory. In response, states began to enact harsher, more punitive laws governing juveniles, all while allocating funds for building the new prisons required to hold them. Today, reported by CNN, these new prisons, designed to incarcerate superpredators, have empty beds. After a year of operation, for example, the $71 million dollar prison at Pine Grove, Pennsylvania is not even at half capacity. The facility, slated to house 500 of the state’s most violent youthful offenders, now holds 183. This is not unique to Pennsylvania, however; states across the nation have reported a similar trend. Since 1998, the number of violent juvenile offenders sentenced in California has gone, not up, but down 20 percent, leaving the new Tehachapi juvenile correctional center with empty beds. Colorado adopted its own “get tough” laws on juvenile crime in the early 1990s, erecting a $36 million facility in Pueblo with a capacity of 480. In 1998, its population leveled off at 300, and since November 1 of this year, it has dropped to 230. The surgeon general has dismissed the rising tide of superpredators as a myth, even denying reports that juvenile offenders are any more violent today than they have been in the past. In fact, crime rates among juveniles are still decreasing. According to the Uniform Crime Reports for 2000, juvenile arrest rates for homicide declined 4.4 percent from the previous year. Since 1994, the number of murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults by juveniles has fallen 36 percent. What did the system do to prevent the fulfillment of Dilulio’s prophecy? In response to the threat posed by an ever-increasing amount of juvenile predators, a number of different approaches were considered. A study by a Philadelphia group, Public-Private Ventures, revealed that the presence of a mentor in the life of a juvenile would cut violent behavior by a third and school absenteeism by half. Bills were proposed in Congress that would cut funding to those states that did not willingly prosecute 14-year olds as adults while also relaxing restrictions that prohibited the housing of juveniles separately from adults in jail. Despite these efforts, and the media attention that followed, in actuality the government did very little out of the ordinary to discourage youths from committing violent crimes. The number of superpredators was never the threat that the public interpreted. Most experts concede that bad data was ultimately to blame for the scare. For example, the year Ashcroft classified juveniles as today’s “typical” robber, murder, rapist and drug dealer, it was adults that committed 83 percent of all violent crimes. Despite inaccuracies in data, experts do claim that lower rates of violence among juveniles can be partly attributed to preventative measures, such as the after school programs adopted in many communities. Criminal justice, perhaps more than many fields, is subject to misconceptions. Many Americans consistently claim that crime is “worse than ever” when, in fact, the crime rate is lower now than it has been in three decades. Crime and criminals grab headlines, making interesting copy and, as a result of their newsworthiness, some readers develop a distorted perception of the facts. Even some comments made by Dilulio about superpredators were inflated in the media, and perhaps most importantly of all, in Congress. It is always important to remember that bad policy is often the result of exaggerated facts. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/00cius.htm FBI Uniform Crime Reports (2000) http://www.ncjj.org/images/navigation/navbar_splash.gif http://www.ncjj.org/ National Center for Juvenile Justice http://www.cjcj.org/ Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice http://www.corrections.com/cjca/ Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ Bureau of Justice Statistics The term “superpredator” refers to: Juvenile offenders who are more violent and less remorseful Adult offenders who display consistent violent behavior Juveniles who consistently display violent behavior while incarcerated Violent adult sex offenders A Many juvenile detention facilities that were built to house violent offenders: Remain far below capacity Are overcrowded Remain below capacity, but are quickly filling up Are unable to adequately deal with violent offenders A The threat posed by escalating numbers of superpredators is one of many misconceptions that exist about crime in this country. Often these misconceptions will lead government officials to adopt bad policies. Is there any way to avoid this? Why or why not. Students are basically giving their opinion on this issue, however, their argument should be well thought out.