Year
Adult arrests
Juvenile arrests
| 1999 | -8% | -10% |
| 1998 | -5% | -11% |
| 1997 | -2% | -6% |
| 1996 | -3% | -6% |
| 1995 | 0% | -2% |
<15 <18
18+ all ages
1999 2,137
6,093 86,756
92,849 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_99/99crime/99c4_06.pdf
Table 38 p. 222
and Table 41 p. 228
1998 2,549
6,945 92,831
99,776 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_98/98crime/98cius23.pdf
Table 38 p.220 and Table 41 p. 226
1997 2,419
6,843 98,154
104,997 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/97crime/97crime4.pdf
Table 41 p.238
and Table 38. p 232
1996 1,879
5,850 97,950
103,800 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/96CRIME/96crime4.pdf
Table 41
page.230 and Table 38 p. 225
1995 1,536
5,040 99,912
104,952 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/95CRIME/95crime4.pdf
Table 38
page 218 and Table 41 p. 224
A possible explanation for the rise in <15 domestic violence is an increase in reporting by sibling victims of sibling-sibling violence as a result of school programs encouraging children to report abuse.
I need to check the breakdown of domestic violence
to see how much child perpetrated violence is against parents and how much
is against siblings.
<15
<18
18+ all ages
1999 114
919 8,808
9,727 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_99/99crime/99c4_06.pdf
T.38 p.222
1998 139
1,470 10,865
12,335 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_98/98crime/98cius23.pdf T.38 p.220
1997 183
1,731 11,033
12,764 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/97crime/97crime4.pdf T.38 p.232
1996 257
2,172 12,275
14,447 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/96CRIME/96crime4.pdf T.38 p.224
1995 346
2,560 14,141
16,701 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/95CRIME/95crime4.pdf T.38 p.218
Disorderly Conduct
<15
<18
18+ all ages
1999 42,467
113,303 308,359 421,662
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_99/99crime/99c4_06.pdf T.38 p.222
1998 46,491
132,410 369,456
501,866 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_98/98crime/98cius23.pdf
T.38 p.220
1997 51,212
148,926 412,695
561,621 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/97crime/97crime4.pdf
T.38 p.232
1996 53,726
159,951 466,967
626,918 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/96CRIME/96crime4.pdf T.38
p224
1995 46,221
130,467 431,175
561,642 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/95CRIME/95crime4.pdf T.38 p.218
<15
<18
18+ all ages
1999 3,874
5,791
5,020 10,811
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_99/99crime/99c4_06.pdf T.38 p.222
1998 4,199 6,324
5,820 12,144
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_98/98crime/98cius23.pdf T.38 p.220
1997 4,601
6,914
6,917 13,831
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/97crime/97crime4.pdf T.38 p.232
1996 4,887
7,302
6,453 13,755
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/96CRIME/96crime4.pdf T.38 p.224
1995 5,268
7,834
7,131 14,965
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/95CRIME/95crime4.pdf T.38 p.218
<15
<18
18+ all ages
1999 8,945
27,596 86,284
113,880 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_99/99crime/99c4_06.pdf
T.38 p.222
1998 10,313
32,232 103,817
136,049 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_98/98crime/98cius23.pdf
T.38 p.220
1997 11,160
36,345 116,023
152,368 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/97crime/97crime4.pdf
T.38 p.232
1996 11,684
39,363 121,795
161,158 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/96CRIME/96crime4.pdf
T.38 p.224
1995 13,135
43,211 144,026
187,237 http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/95CRIME/95crime4.pdf
T.38 p.218
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_99/99crime/99c2_01.pdf
Robert Surgenor quotes:
Dedication page: "To Dad - Whose efforts to teach me honesty
were reinforced by the example that he lived."
xvi: "As time went on and I studied the nonspanking philosophy, I began to better understand what this group stands for. I now believe that the agenda of the antispanking bunch is much more ominous than many of us suspect. The nonspanking crowd is a close-knit group who have developed "peer-reviewed published research" they claim proves that corporal punishment is harmful to children. Their attitude is one of arrogance. Their movement is humanistic. Their religion is atheistic."
12: "I was never slapped in the face as a child, although I remember being slapped on the back of the head. Although some advocates of corporal punishment do not condone face slapping (and at least one state prohibits the practice, considering it child abuse), I know numerous parents who have given the open palm to the cheek of a sassy offspring with no noticable adverse effects.
13: "For thousands of years parents have squeezed that trapezius muscle and boxed those ears...And do you know what? They turned out alright. In fact they turned out normal."
43: "As far as the FBI is concerned, all of the crime that is occurring in Illinois is occurring in six cities. It's no wonder that the politicians are boasting that the crime rate is dropping. Little does the public know that the crime rate is exploding. It just isn't being reported....The one thing to keep in mind when studying the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports is that after 1992, the overall crime figures are not accurate. One can, however, recognize the increase in juvenile crime over adult crime.
46: "There's a saying that 'liars figure, but figures can't lie.' To a certain extent that is true. But anyone with any intelligence at all knows that sometimes statistics can be manipulated to suit the manipulator's needs."
46: "My point is that most of the time, anyone can make figures work for them."
48: "Without any doubt there is a steady increase in crime by committed juveniles over the last twenty years."
66: "The problem is that parents today are not cognizant of the law and, therefore, are afraid of being charged with child abuse if they spank their child. Nothing could be further from the truth." THIS CAN ACCOUNT FOR TH 98.1% FIGURE!
71: "I provided everyone involved in our conversation with proof that a parent can spank his or her child. The court advocate indicated that she had been working with the courts for several years and was unaware that the law was worded as such. Good grief! It's no wonder parents are afraid to discipline their kids. Social workers, advocates of (sic) abused children, and ever law enforcement officers are often uninformed and ignorant of the law [permitting parents to legally spank their children].THIS CAN ACCOUNT FOR TH 98.1% FIGURE!
76: "One of the problems that we have in our society is the general public's ignorance of the law" [permitting parents to legally spank their children].THIS CAN ACCOUNT FOR TH 98.1% FIGURE!
78: "A closer investigation of these studies [on the effects of spanking] uncover (sic) faulty information and statistics. Engrained in every one of the "no-spank" studies are subtle tricks designed to deceive those who read them.
87: "The ages of the mothers who participated in this survey ranged from fourteen to twenty-one years." (regarding Straus et al., 1997).
90: "None of the kids who belong to the Crips, Bloods or Folks are receiving discipline from their parents.
105: "Children will act towards their parents in one of two ways. They will either be subordinate or insubordinate. Let me ask all of the parents who are reading these words, would you rather have your fifteen-year-old teenager be subordinate to you or insubordinate to you? Would you rather have your teenager obey your orders and be subject to your authority, or would you rather your teenager tell you to take a hike?"
119: "The reason I do not exceed the speed limit is because I fear the consequences that can be imposed on me by the police officer and the judge. A child will not respect his parents without fearing them. A child with "no fear" is a child headed for disaster."
127-128: "The gay community doesn't care if the majority of people disdain their lifestyle. The militant feminist isn't worried about public opinion. Neither group is concerned that its agenda is in direct conflict with God's plan. The defiant attitude of these groups is obvious. The same goes for our younger generation. More and more, we are encountering kids with no fear of authority. Soon, we will have an entire generation of children who have never been spanked - out of control and defying authority as they grow into adulthood. An entire generation of people with no fear. Not afraid of their parents, not afraid of the police, not afraid of God... It will be easy for that generation to gather together under the direction of the Antichrist in an attempt to defeat the coming Christ. Without God in their upbringing and without the fear of authority that is instilled in a child with the use of corporal punishment, millions of people will gather in the last day in the valley of Megiddo in the final battle of Armageddon... The [anti-spanking movement] is mounting an attack against parental authority. I believe Satan is using this group to accomplish his objective to eliminate the fear of authority from the coming generations."
134: "Fortunately today, the law still protects parents who wish to use corporal punishment in the training of their children. Most parents just don't realize it." THIS CAN ACCOUNT FOR TH 98.1% FIGURE
135: "I don't not believe that the antispanking movement's agenda is based on the fear that spanking is abusive to children. I believe that there is enough overwhelming evidence to prove otherwise. Much of the "evidence" given by the NSA to prove their theory has been fabricated. Some of the statistics given by the NSA have been altered in order to support their theory. As previously mentioned, these statistics need only be confirmed by checking the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports; the differences between the actual figures and those given by the NSA are so blatantly obvious." HIS ENTIRE ASSERTION IS BASED ON HIS OWN MISUNDERSTANDING OF ONE STATISTIC GIVEN TO HIM BY RANDY COX.
137: "The majority of teens who end up assaulting their parents have never been spanked. They are not afraid of their parents. There is no fear of consequences. In the overwhelming number of cases, kids who attack their parents have never been spanked. The correlation is blatantly obvious to those of us in law enforcement who deal with out of control children.
138: "I will reiterate over and over again that the kids who are ending up in trouble for assaulting others, including their parents, have never been spanked....With the exception of those kids who have a genuine mental illness, every child I have ever dealt with who has physically assaulted his/her parents has never been spanked growing up. What these two "experts" have written is a statement that cannot be substantiated with facts or statistics." IRONICALLY, IT IS RS WHO CANNOT BACK UP HIS ASSERTIONS WITH FACTS. HE IS DEBUNKING THE STATEMENT THAT "CHILDREN FROM FAMILIES THAT SPANK ARE MORE LIKELY TO USE AGGRESSION TO HANDLE CONFLICTS." THIS ALSO CONTRADICTS RS'S OWN CASE HISTORY OF BARBARA ON P. 9, WHOSE STEPFATHER WAS REPORTED FOR CHILD ABUSE.
140: "We need to quit emphasizing high self-esteem at the expense of respect for authority and respect for others."
149: "Getting spanked by your parent is frightening. That
is part of the negative consequence that is associated with negative behavior.
That is part of the necessary programming of the child's mind that follows
them throughout his/her lifetime. That is the major problem with
the out-of-control youth of today."
http://nospank.org/maurer1.htm
It has contrary evidence, showing that 0% of juvenile delinquents were
never spanked.
On March 30 2001 I spoke with William Fromwiller who asked me to submit
a request in writing for Cuyahoga county rates of juvenile domestic violence
against parents.
William Fromwiller
Clerks Office
Juvenile Court
2210 Cedar Ave.
Cleveland OH 44116
RS mentions 1996 UCR saying "all crime in Illinois is supposed to have
happened in just 6 cities." Here is the link to the UCR discussion
of NIBRS conversion to the new reporting system in 1996
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/96CRIME/96crime7.pdf p. 389
"NIBRS CONVERSION
"Several states provide their UCR data in the expanded
NIBRS format. For presentation in this book, the NIBRS data base
was constructed to allow for such conversion so that UCR's long-running
time series could continue.
"OFFENSE ESTIMATION
"Tables 1 through 5 and 7 of this publication contain
statistics for the entire United States. Because not all law enforcement
agencies provide data for complete reporting periods, estimated crime counts
are included in these presentations. Offense estimation occurs within
each of three areas: Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's), cities outside
MSA's, and rural counties. Using the known crime experiences of similar
areas within a state, the estimates are computed by assigning the same
proportional crime volumes to nonreporting agencies. The size of
agency; type of jurisdiction, e.g. police department versus sheriff's office;
and geographical location are considered in the estimation process.
"Because of efforts to convert to the NIBRS in recent
years, it has become necessary to estimate totals for some states.
Also, the inability of some state UCR Programs to provide forcible rape
figures in accordance with UCR guidelines and other problems at the state
levels have required unique estimation procedures."
RS's claim that the UCR acted as if Illinois crime happened in only 6 cities in 1996 is false. Illinois crime was estimated in 1996 on the same basis as 1995. Regarding 1995 estimations,
"Concerning Illinois, valid Crime Index counts were available for most of the largest cities. For other agencies, the only available counts were generated without application of the UCR Heirarchy Rule. (the Hierarchy Rule requires that only the most serious offense in a multiple-offens criminal incident is counted.) To arrive at a state estimate comparable to the rest of the Nation, the total supplied by the Illinois State Program (which was inflated because of the nonapplication of the Heirarchy Rule) was reduced by the proportion of multiple offenses reported within single incidents in the available NIBRS data. Valid totals for the large cities were excluded from the reduction process." (p. 390)
Are we experiencing a rise in juvenile crime?
UCR figures
BJSNCVS figures
RS truncates his charts after peaks so as not to
show declines in juv. crime
RS uses UCR data when it
suits his argument but dismisses it as inaccurate when it doesn't.
RS falsely states that 1996 UCR data for Illinois was based exclusively
on 6 cities.
UCR data for 1995-1999 fails to support RS's claim that juvenile crime
is rising faster than adult crime. In fact it fell steadily throughout
this period, and fell by a greater percentage than the fall in adult crime
in all five years.
RS's jurisdiction, Cuyahoga
County, OH, is no exception to the rule. Total Juvenile delinquency arrests/100000
teenagers fell 22% between 1995 and 1999 when he published his book.
Juvenile property crimes/100000 teenagers in RS's district peaked
in 1991 and had declined by 33.1% by 1999 when he published his book.
Juvenile homicides /100000 teenagers peaked in 1992 and had decreased by
60.2% by 1999. Total juvenile violent crime/100000 teenagers peaked
in 1997 and had declined by 9% by 1999. All subcategories of Cuyahoga
County violent juvenile crime showed declines from earlier peaks except
domestic violence, which was up 446%. This is highly anomalous and
may be due to an increase in reporting of sibling sibling violence rather
than an increase in actual incidence.
Have parents abandoned spanking?
RS suggests throughout his book that a parents
have widely abandoned all use of corporal punishment but provides no evidence
for this. On p. 128 he predicts that "Soon, we will have an entire
generation of children who have never been spanked." But he
cites a study on p. 94 which found that 90% of American parents spank their
children.
Do nonspanked children account for 98.1% of domestic violence against
parents by children?
If only 10% of children are raised without spanking
(p. 94) but are responsible for 98.1% of parent assaults, this would make
nonspanked children over 465 times as likely to assault their parents as
spanked children. Why has no other researcher been able to find evidence
for this alleged correlation? No other research has found any evidence
that nonspanked children are more aggressive or antisocial, but rather
just the opposite (wallerstein? and maurer 1987; Straus 1991.
RS states in multiple places in his book that parents
don't realize spanking their child is not a crime (p. 66, 71, 76, 134).
If parents believe spanking their child is a crime, it would appear likely
that parents who spank their child will deny doing so when bluntly asked
by a police detective. Yet this possibility never crosses RS's mind.
Has child domestic violence against parents increased 700% in Cuyahoga
County?
RS provides no other information. He does
not state the base years for this figure, nor does he provide his readers
with the raw numbers upon which it is based. Cuyahoga County juvenile
crime records track domestic violence arrests, but do not break them down
according to the relationship to the perpetrator. Hence, we have
only RS's word for it. Cuyahoga County juvenile domestic violence
arrests are on the rise, unlike all other categories of violent juvenile
crime, which have fallen from peak levels. Juvenile domestic
violence arrests in 1999 were up 446.6% from their low point in 1991 (the
lowest recorded rate for the years available from [cite data source]).
However, if this is the time period RS used, then other types of juvenile
domestic violence besides child-on-parent must have decreased as a percentage
of the total in order for child-on-parent assaults to have increased by
700%. Why should children with "no fear" assault siblings at a lower
rate, or a slower rate of increase than assaulting parents?
"During the period from 1987 to 1994, while the total annual number of murders by juveniles doubled, murders of family members held constant". http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/chapter3.pdf p.56
"More than 1 in 4 identified juvenile murderers in 1997 were in 8 of
the Nation's more than 3,000 counties"
http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/chapter3.pdf
p.57
"The juvenile violent crime arrest rate increased from 1988 to 1994
but has declined since then"\
http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/chapter5.pdf
p. 120
"Juvenile property crime arrest rates changed little from 1980 to 1997,
unlike violent crime arrest rates."
http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/chapter5.pdf
p.126
http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/chapter5.pdf
p.132 has an interesting discussion about how changes in public attitudes
towards some crimes including domestic violence could have influenced juvenile
arrest rates: more enforcement of curfews, mandatory arrests in domestic
violence cases, juvenile arrests for domestic violence which would
have been called merely "incorrigibles" in hears past. "Juvenile
violent crime arrest rates were higher in 1997 than in 1980 even though
victims' reports of juvenile violent crime did not increase during this
period." "Juvenile drug abuse arrest rates nearly doubled between
1992 and 1996. Self report studies do not indicate a large change
in drug use among youth during this period. Since most of the increase
in drug abuse arrests was attributable to arrests for marijuana possession
it seems clear that communities became more concerned about marijuana use
among youth and that law enforcement, responding to this concern, arrested
more juveniles for this offense." During [1980-1996], legislatibe
and policy changes required a formal law enforcement response to domestic
violence incidents. This change would have resulted in more aggravated
and simple assault arrests, but no additional robbery arrests. It
would have had its greatest impace on the arrests for middle-age persons.
It also would have caused arrests to increase without a change in victim-reported
crime levels.
"Therefore, one could explain the increase in violent
crime arrest rates between 1980 and 1997 by an increase in law enforcement
response to the crime of domestic violence. Society has become more
sensitive to problems caused by domestic violence and has chosen to no
longer ignore a crime that has been a part of American culture for generations.
Juveniles are not immune to domestic violence arrests. Family problems,
even some that in past years may have been classified as status offenses
(e.g. incorrigibility), can now result in an assault arrest. This
logica also explains why violent crime arrests over the past decade have
increased proportionately more for juvenile females than males.
"In summary, arrest increases
are not always related to an increase in crime. They can reflect
positive policy changes."
1982
1999 14-17 population = 15,654,000 (U.S. Census Bureau: Statistical
Abstract of the United States: 2000)
1982 14-17 population = 15,057,000 (
"
"
)
Total juvenile offenses in 14-17 age group 1999*= 1,082,022
therefore offenses are 6.91% of 14-17 pop.**
Total juvenile offenses in 14-17 age group 1982*= 935,012
therefore offenses are 5.97% of pop.**
1999 total juvenile population = 70,199,000 (U.S. Census Bureau:
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2000)
1982 total juvenile population = 62,813,000 (
"
"
)
Total juvenile offenses 1999 = 1,082,022 Therefore
offenses are 1.54136% or 1541/100,000
Total juvenile offenses 1982 = 1,436,915 Therefore
offenses are 2.2876% or 2,288/100,000
1979
1999 14-17 population = 15,654,000 (U.S. Census Bureau: Statistical
Abstract of the United States: 2000)
1979 14-17 population = 16,275,000 (
"
" 1980)
Total juvenile offenses in 14-17 age group 1999*= 1,082,022
therefore offenses are 6.91% of 14-17 pop.**
Total juvenile offenses in 14-17 age group 1979*= 1,481,326
therefore offenses are 9.10% of14-17 pop.**
1999 total juvenile population = 70,199,000 (U.S. Census Bureau:
Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2000)
1979 total juvenile population = 62,571,000 (
"
" 1980)
Total juvenile offenses 1999 = 1,082,022 Therefore
offenses are 1.54136% or 1,541 / 100,000
Total juvenile offenses 1979 = 2,143,369 Therefore
offenses are 3.4132% or 3,413 / 100,000
The per capita juvenile crime rate was more than double in 1979 what
it was in 1999
*since UCR lumps 13-14 age group together, I used half the 13-14 number
for the 14 y.o. offenders
**since some juvenile offenders surely offended multiple times during
this year, this number is a maximum
qa277a.gif This figure
shows that the per capita murder rate was somewhat higher among juveniles
in 1980 than 1999
qa280.gif Higher property
crime among juveniles in 1980
qa276a.gif Little
appreciable diff 1980-1999
qa273.gif RS truncated
his graph at 1996
qa268.gif
qa267.gif RS
truncated his graph at 1994
qa265.gif RS
truncated at 1994
qa261.gif
qa257.gif
qa256.gif
qa255.gif
qa144.gif If
juvenile domestic violence is really skyrocketing, shouln't domestic homicide
by juveniles also show an upward trend? Homicide involves a dead
body and is thus less amenable to vaguaries of reportage and definitions.
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/qa144.html
qa141.gif RS truncates
at 94
qa136.gif
qa135.gif
qa279a.gif
Randy Cox sent this useful link
http://cjonline.com/stories/121500/new_murderrate.shtml
Juvenile murder rate at 33-year low
By
MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON
-- A six-year decline in murders by teenagers brought
the 1999 homicide arrest rate for juveniles down 68 percent from its 1993
peak to the lowest level since 1966, the Justice Department reported
Thursday.
The
arrest rate of juveniles for four major violent crimes -- murder, rape,
robbery and aggravated assault -- plunged 36 percent from its 1994 peak
to 1999, reaching the lowest point since 1988, according to FBI
statistics cited in a report by Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention.
Experts
say the decline of crack cocaine and the violent gangs that
peddled it, combined with big city police crackdowns on illegal guns and
expanded after-school crime-prevention programs, have turned around
the juvenile crime wave that pushed murder arrest rates for youths, age
10 to 17, up from 1987 to a peak in 1993.
That
violent youth-crime wave of the late
1980s and early 1990s was overwhelmingly
concentrated among black teens in the
nation's largest cities, and the murder
declines have been greatest among them.
But
there also were sharp declines in
murders by white male teens, said James
Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminal
justice professor who has combined several data sets to produce more
detailed reports than the Justice study.
Fox's
data estimating actual offense rates rather than merely arrest
rates showed that the rate of murders committed by blacks ages 14 to
17 fell from 244.1 per 100,000 youths in 1993 to 67.3 in 1999. The white
teen-age murder rate fell from 21.8 per 100,000 in 1993 to 10.2 in 1999,
Fox said.
"The
reduced level of violent crime shows how the power of prevention,
when combined with constructive intervention and strengthened juvenile
justice systems that hold every offender accountable, makes our
communities safer," Attorney General Janet Reno said.
But
polls show that word of the juvenile crime turnaround has been slow
to sink in among the public. In 1998, 62 percent of adults, polled by
Beldon, Russonello and Stewart for the Building Blocks for Youth
Initiative in the government's largest crime survey, believed youth crime
was on the increase, at a time when it had dropped for five years to a
25-year low.
"America's
kid are committing fewer crimes than they have in three
decades," said Vincent Schiraldi of the Justice Policy Institute, which
advocates alternatives to incarceration. "But this does not seem to be
making it into the public consciousness."
Highly
publicized school killings, such as the Columbine High School
killing in which 15 people died in 1999, overwhelmed news of a decline
in
school violence.
A
1999 NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found 71 percent thought it "likely"
a school shooting could occur in their community during a year in which
there was just a one in 2 million chance of being killed in an American
school.
"We
see lifeless bodies in school yards around country, and they are
much more powerful in shaping public attitudes than the lifeless
statistics we see in our newspapers," Fox said.
The
Justice report also showed substantial drops from the peak years to
1999 in the juvenile arrest rates for the other crimes tracked by the FBI:
•
Rape by juveniles was down 31 percent from 1991 to 1999, to the
lowest level since 1980.
• Robbery was down 53 percent from 1994, to the lowest since 1980.
•
Aggravated assault was down 24 percent from 1994, to the lowest
since 1989.
• Burglary down 60 percent from 1980.
• Larceny-theft down 23 percent from 1997.
• Auto theft down 52 percent from 1990.
In
addition, the juvenile arrest rate for weapons crimes fell by 39 percent
from 1993, to its lowest since 1988.
Two
juvenile arrest rates that had climbed during most of the 1990s
began to drop recently: Drug abuse violations fell 13 percent and curfew
and loitering violations dropped 17 percent from 1997 to 1999.
Fox
and others have said noted that the demand for crack cocaine
abated during the mid-1990s and the gangs that peddled it either
eliminated their competition or made peace with it.
"The
police also played a role," Fox said. "They targeted gang
members, traced illegal guns and aggressively confiscated guns,
particularly in New York, Boston and Los Angeles where the biggest
drops were."
A
booming economy helped too. "Not because a teen-ager would give
up the profits from crack for a McDonald's salary, but because it meant
the cities had money to spend on policing, crime prevention, recreation
and after-school programs," Fox said.
Increased
imprisonment was a smaller factor, Fox said, because even
though more juveniles were sentenced to prison during the decade they
still were locked up less often and for much less time than adult
offenders.
Sunday, August 13, 2000
Police detective's book says spank kids
Author believes crimes would lessen
The Associated Press
BEREA, Ohio — A police detective thinks that if more
parents spanked their children there would be less juvenile
crime.
Robert Surgenor has published a book saying that
proper child-raising requires parents to spank children who
misbehave, inflicting pain without injury.
He says children today don't respect their parents
because they don't fear them. Punishments such as time-outs
and grounding are fine, but when those don't work, hearing a
parent pull off a belt is effective, Mr. Surgenor said.
“Juvenile crime is exploding,” he told the Cleveland Plain
Dealer. He cited FBI statistics that show domestic violence
offenses committed by children increased 348 percent
between 1983 and 1997 — more than double the rate of
increase for adults.
Mr. Surgenor couldn't find anyone to publish his book No
Fear: A Police Officer's Perspective. So he took out a second
mortgage on his house to publish it through Providence House
Publishers. The Tennessee-based company specializes in
regional, historical, inspirational and theological titles.
Berea Police Chief Harry Bernhardt said the department
does not take an official position on the book.
Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Judge Peter Sikora
disagrees with Mr. Surgenor's juvenile crime statistics. He said
the number of crimes committed by children is dropping
nationally and locally — evidenced by a 20 percent drop in
suburban juvenile crime and a 17 percent drop in Cleveland
from 1998 to 1999.
Mr. Sikora wouldn't say whether spanking played a role
in children committing crimes.
“A common characteristic of a law breaker is a lack of
discipline and a lack of respect,” he told The Plain Dealer. “Do
I believe that spanking is the missing ingredient? I don't
believe I can make a blanket statement like that.”
Case Western Reserve University professor Sylvia Rimm
said all the research she's seen shows the more children are
spanked, the more likely they are to become aggressive. Ms.
Rimm is a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Case
Western's medical school and is director of the Cleveland Clin
ic's Westlake Family Achievement Clinic.
Mr. Surgenor said his opinions are based on a career of
seeing children who weren't spanked become lawbreakers.
“The Bible reinforces what I say,” he said. “"The rod and
reproof give wisdom but a child left to himself bringeth his
mother to shame.'
“Society, unfortunately, has geared parents to think
they can't touch their children.”
Mr. Surgenor's eldest son, Robert Jr. says he grew up
knowing his father would swat him if he didn't behave. Mr.
Surgenor has five children, ages 16 to 26.
“He taught me respect,” said 26-year-old Robert
Surgenor Jr., a Cuyahoga County sheriff's deputy. “I think he
made me a better person.”
"I have just read your emailed reply to the Center for More Effective Discipline. I am appalled. Your communication reinforces the adage that a little biblical knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
"No matter how much prooftexting one employs (and your mumbo-jumbo takes the prize), there's no basis for hitting kids in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. When you engage in such a convoluted scriptural exercise, you'r really taking a cultural practice and dressing it up in religious garb. It cannot stand the test of one simple Bible verse: "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."
"Your view of human nature in general, and children in particular, is tragic. Children are inherently evil, according to your view, and have to be beaten into control with pain and fear. Such a distorted view of God's most precious creatures hardly coincides with the Jesus I know!
"It frightens me to know that you are a police officer. With your distorted view of children, your obvious need for control, and your wholehearted defense of violence under the guise of Christian teaching, I hate to think of the consequences for the community where you live.
"I will hold you in prayer: that you may yet discover the magnificent gift God has given us in children; may learn to deal with your need to dominate; and may give up your attachment to violence (another false god). I'll pray also that, as a police officer, you are far removed from the children I know and love.
"Yours truly, The Rev. Thomas E. Sagendorf."
Bexley UMC http://www.bexleyumc.org/index.html