Policy Issue: Youth Violence

Youth violence is now categorized as one of the leading global problems, especially because it is increasingly becoming rampant in many countries across the world. One of the reports that were released by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that about 1.6 million people die annually because of interpersonal or collective violence ( Merrick, Kandel, & Omar, 2013) . In 2000, the recorded cases of adolescent homicide were 199,000, and the number has been increasing since then. For instance, WHO reported that about 200,000 young people between 10 and 29 years died in 2014 due to youth violence ( Merrick, Kandel, & Omar, 2013) . Young people cause the majority of intentional homicides. Youth violence is a serious global issue because it leads to many deaths and severe injuries while at the same time it affects the productivity and the general functioning of the society. The USA is one of the countries that are concerned with the youth violence because of its severe impacts on young people and the American society at large. Recently the country has been experiencing school rampage shootings that have claimed the lives of many people and caused fatal injuries of innocent people. A significant increase homicide among young people has also raised concerns in the country. Consequently, youth violence is currently one of the major criminal justice policy issues that the US is trying to addresses. Even though some legislation and programs are being implemented to reduce youth violence, the problem persists. 

Youth Violence in the USA 

The USA is one of the countries that are experiencing the highest rate of youth violence, especially when compared to other developed nations. Young people in the USA perpetuate and experience a higher rate of violence than other advanced countries. For instance, the rate of homicides among young people in the USA is 40 times higher than that of many developed countries in Europe ( Bushman et al ., 2016) . The report that was released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that homicide is the leading cause of death of young people, and it is mainly caused by youth violence. About 12 young people aged 10 to 24 become victim of a homicide on a daily basis ( Hahn et al ., 2016) . The rate at which young people are involved in physical fights is alarming. According to CDC, 22.6% of American young people engaged in physical fights annually, and the rate is higher among male than female ( Hahn et al ., 2016) . Therefore, the available statistics clearly shows that youth violence is a serious problem that is affecting American society. 

School shootings are one of the worst types of youth violence that the country has been experiencing for years. Although school shooting is a rare type of youth violence in the country, the available statistics show that it is increasing in numbers and intensity. It is estimated that America experienced 215 cases of fatal school shooting between 1990 and 2012, resulting in about 263 deaths ( Shultz et al ., 2013) . One of the worst school shootings was experienced on December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School when a 20-year-old young man stormed the school at started firing randomly to students and staff. As a result, 20 students and six staff were killed while many others got serious gun injuries ( Shultz et al ., 2013) . The shooter, Mr. Lanza, also killed himself with a handgun when the police came to the scene. The incident made Americans, especially the Obama administration to acknowledge that youth violence is a real criminal justice issue that needed to be addressed. 

The second common type of youth violence is the country is street shooting. The US always experience several cases of street or mass shooting that claim lives of many people. According to Towers et al . (2015), the street shooting in the USA is several times higher than any other industrialized countries. At the same time, the street shooting mortality rate in the USA is five times higher than many developed countries in various parts of the world. Unfortunately, most of the street shootings are accomplished by young people. There is also a close relationship between street shooting and gun violence among young people, which is also increasingly becoming common in the country. Other types of youth violence include bullying and dating violence that are common in a school setup. Almost all forms of youth violence are increasing in the USA, which is a worrying trend. 

The significance of the Problem 

Why Youth Violence is a Significant Issue 

The country should pay a lot of attention to youth violence is because of its high prevalence and its many negative effects on individuals and the society at large. Many reports that have been published by CDC reveal that the country is in great danger if it does not address the issue of gun violence. The fact that 12 young people die annually because of youth violence cannot be taken lightly ( Hahn et al ., 2016) . Currently, homicide is the main leading cause of death among young people due to violence. The report that was released by CDC in 2016 showed that, in 2014, 3,703 young males and 597 female were victims of homicide and the number continues to rise despite the interventions by various levels of the government ( Hahn et al ., 2016) . At the same time, the country cannot tolerate school shootings that do not only kill innocent young people but also disrupt the learning process. Hundreds of innocent young people have been murdered through school shooting while staffs have also been victims. 

The increasing violent behavior among young people is a problem that must be addressed by the country if it wants to enhance the safety and security of all Americans. CDC estimates that about 7.8% of students engage in a physical fight in schools while 4.1% carry guns and other weapons to school, threatening the lives of other learners who are not interested in violence ( Hahn et al ., 2016) . Many students now fear to go to school because of the increased violence, and this affects their academic performance. Bullying is also increasing in many learning institutions. About 20.2% of students are bullied in school, and the primary victims are vulnerable female learners who cannot defend themselves, especially against their male counterparts. Another study that was conducted by Shetgiri (2013) found that about 21% of students in the USA have been subjected to physical bullying. Besides, nearly 51% of students have undergone relational bullying (Shetgiri, 2013). As a result, because of physical violence, about 31 died in school environments because of homicides between 2012 and 2013. Thus, youth violence is threatening the lives of young Americans, which explains why it should be addressed urgently. 

Apart from deaths and injuries, young violence is a significant issue that should be addressed because of its many health consequences, mainly on the victims. A research that was done by Sumner et al . (2015) found that there is a close relationship between violence and infectious diseases such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Youth violence sometimes results in a forced sexual intercourse that is likely to expose the victim to a lot of STIs like HIV/AIDs. Children who are victims of youth violence have 78% chances of suffering from STIs ( Sumner et al., 2015). At the same time, youth violence is linked to many cases of young people who have mental problems in the USA. Many victims of youth violence suffer from acute depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that end up affecting their mental health ( Oscós-Sánchez, 2017) . Based on the findings of a study by Ford et al . (2017), bullying, which is a form of youth violence, is linked to emotional abuse and it may lead to many psychological comorbidities on the victims. Thus, youth violence is a substantial issue that should be addressed because it poses a lot of health risks to young people. It is not only a safety and security issues but also a public health matter that requires an urgent solution. 

Perpetrators of youth violence are also at risk of developing health problems. Many violent youths engage in harmful behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse and excessive smoking of tobacco ( Sumner et al ., 2015) . Consequently, they have high risks of suffering from chronic diseases like cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, they engage in a lot of unprotected sex, which may result in STIs. Therefore, both perpetrators and victims of youth violence are exposed to a lot of health risks. 

Also, youth violence is a weighty issue due to its financial burden on the families and the government. According to CDC, youth homicides, as well as assault-related injuries, has a combined cost of about $18.2 billion, including medical and work loss costs ( Hahn et al ., 2016) . However, the analysis by Frazer et al. (2018) indicates that the cost of youth violence might be much higher compared to the estimate by CDC. Frazer et al. (2018) found that the medical cost of youth violence is $88.6 billion while that of work losses is $35 billion. Generally, the government and families, including organizations, are forced to spend huge sums of money due to youth violence. The huge financial cost of youth violence is one of the reasons why it should be addressed. 

What is being done to Reduce Youth Violence 

Several agencies and departments are working together to reduce youth violence in the county. One of the programs that are aimed at reducing youth violence in the USA is known as the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (Forum) that is implemented by multiple government departments that include Justice, Education, Housing, Labor, Health and Human Services. The primary objective of the Forum is to enhance the local capacity across the nation to prevent youth and gun violence, which is one of the major problems in the USA ( Tomberg & Butts, 2016) . The departments implementing Forum were also tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that youth violence is elevated as an issue of national importance. The forum is based on the strategies that include prevention, intervention, and enforcement to reduce youth violence in the country. 

The forum has, to some extent, helped in reducing the cased of youth violence in the country. Forum has inspired many cities across the country to take bold initiatives and steps to reduce local youth violence. Cities now feel that they are benefiting from Forum and they have the capacity to reduce gun violence ( Tomberg & Butts, 2016) . As a result, the level of youth violence has slightly declined in cities that are implementing Forum. The level of youth violence reduced from 62% in 2012 when the Forum was officially launched to 49% in 2016 ( Tomberg & Butts, 2016) . Therefore, Forum has helped in reducing the rate of youth violence in major cities in the country. However, Forum has not helped in reducing youth violence significantly. The evaluation of the Forum in 2016 showed that it has only assisted in reducing youth violence by about 13% ( Tomberg & Butts, 2016) . At the same time, a lot of youth violence that take place in communities is not reported to the justice system in the country. Besides Forum has not helped in effectively reducing the type of youth violence that occur in various learning institutions. As a result, a lot still needs to be done to reduce youth violence, which is a problem in the entire country. 

Apart from Forum, the Community-Based Violence Prevention (CBVP) is also used in the country to reduce youth violence. CBVP is mainly aimed at reducing gun violence, and gang violence in the country, primarily through the use of evidence-based deterrence approaches. CBVP is implemented by a collaboration of national and local law enforcement agencies, services providers, faith-based organizations, and community-based organizations. Like in the case of Forum, CBVP has not significantly reduced youth violence in the country. For instance, a survey that was conducted in Brooklyn indicated that local people still fear for their safety because of the high prevalence of youth violence ( Tomberg & Butts, 2017) . However, it has helped in educating people about youth violence. 

Applicable Laws to the Issue of Youth Violence 

Currently, no specific law in the USA is aimed at reducing youth violence in the country. Nevertheless, some existing laws can be applied to reduce youth violence. The first applicable law is Anti-bullying Law (ABL) that is designed by states to address the cases of bullying in the country. ABL allows schools to prevent any case of bullying by through punishment and training and education students on how to respond and deal with cases of bullying. The second applicable law is Violent against Women Act (VAWA) that is intended to reduce the case of violence against women ( Modi, Palmer & Armstrong, 2014) . The law was expanded in 2000 by the Congress to cover crimes of dating and stalking. It can be applied to youth violence against women. 

Main Factors Contributing to Youth Violence in the USA 

To address the problem of gun violence, policymakers and researcher have tried to uncover or explore the core causes of youth the criminal justice issues. Researchers have found that, to some extent, the family plays a role in the increases cases of youth violence. Young people who live with harsh and rejecting parents and those who have experienced interparental violence always develop extremely aggressive behaviors that may result in youth violence ( Bushman et al ., 2016). At the same time, children who were being subjected to child abuse and rejections are likely to take part in youth violence. Thus, the type of parenting and family environment influences youth violence. Easy access to guns is one of the significant factors that are causing the high rate of youth violence in the USA. The high levels of gun ownership as well as relax gun rules or laws enable young people to access guns, especially at home while some can easily buy guns in the market. As a result, about 84% of young people who are victims of homicides were killed by guns ( Bushman et al ., 2016). Many people, therefore, blame the lax gun rule and the high ownership of guns as the major factors that are contributing to youth violence, especially school and street shooting. 

Social and peer rejection are also some of the main factors that are linked to the increasing rate of gun violence in the USA. According to Bushman et al . (2016), some studies have found that young people who have participated in school shooting have a history of either social or peer rejection. Some young people have engaged in mass shootings to prove their worth to a given peer group or social network that he intends to join. Apart from social and peer rejection, poverty is also a factor that is closely linked to youth violence in the USA. Street shooting, for instance, is likely to occur in neighborhoods that are densely populated and have high rates of poverty. Limited opportunities for young people in poor neighborhoods force them to resort into youth violence as a way of gaining respect, particularly among peers. The failure to get gainful employment can motivate young people to get involved in violent behaviors as a way of surviving (Barnie et al ., 2017). Consequently, many violence activities have been reported in areas that are dominated by people of color, particularly African Americans because of the high rate of poverty. 

Also, mental violence is linked to the high rate of youth violence in the country. Studies have shown that a significant number of young people who commit violence act suffer from at least one mental condition or severe depression. Rozel and Mulvey (2017) argue that there is a close association between mental illness and crime or violence. Nonetheless, some people maintain that mental illness does not significantly contribute to the increasing rate of youth violence in the country. On the contrary, only 4% of violent acts are committed by people with severe mental illness (Bushman et al ., 2016). The media only create the perception that young people who engage in youth violence like school shooting have some mental problem. The epidemiological literature analysis that was conducted by Rozel and Mulvey (2017) also concluded that a substantial number of people with mental illness are not violent. As a result, Americans are divided whether young people who commit violent acts have some mental problems. Nevertheless, there are some relationships between mental illness and violent actions. 

Therefore, there is clear evidence that youth violence is a criminal justice policy issues in the USA. Youth violence is mainly an issue because of its high prevalence while at the same time it causes death and serious injuries to young people and other members of society. The government is determined to address the problem through various interventions, including policies and regulations. However, despite efforts by state and national governments, youth violence is still being witnessed in various parts of the country. 

Proposed Solutions 

Doing Nothing about Youth Violence 

Failure to respond to the youth violence is one of the options that a group of federal departments that deal with the problem can take. Specifically, the Department of Justice can opt not to address the problem by allowing the status quo to remain. First, the option is easier to take because the department will not have to spend any money to implement various programs that are aimed at reducing youth violence. Secondly, failure to take any action will mean that the departments will not be spending any time on issues that relate to youth violence. Thus, failure to take any action is not only cost-effective, but it also saves time, which may be used to do other activities such as maintaining law and order in the community. 

However, failure to take any action can result in serious negative impact on individuals and society. First, the number of people who will die as a result of youth violence will increase significantly ( Hahn et al ., 2016) . Young people will be motivated to engage in youth violence because of the lack of any severe consequences that they will face when they break the law ( Bushman et al ., 2016) . At the Same time, violence-related injuries will increase substantially. As a result, it is possible that the government will not be saving any money by not taking any action against youth violence. On the contrary, the cost of healthcare services will increase significantly. Already the government and individuals are spending billions of money on healthcare to take care of patients who have attained serious injuries due to youth violence. It will increase the budget on healthcare at both the local and national level. Thus, failure to take any action will affect stakeholders such as victims of youth violence, the government, families, and the health sector. 

Restrict Youth Access to Guns 

About 75% of youth homicides are committed by guns that are illegally acquired or possessed ( Bushman et al ., 2016) . The cases of school shootings and gun violence that are committed by young people involve guns. Therefore, to reduce youth violence, especially school shootings, street violence, and youth homicides, young people should not be authorized to access guns. Even though some people may argue that young people can use other crude weapons such as a knife during young people, guns are the most lethal tools that can be used to kills many people within a short period. Guns are also lethal because they increase the physical and psychological distance between the killer and the victim, encouraging people to engage in gun violence ( Bushman et al ., 2016) . As a result, the youth should not be allowed to access guns at home. Specifically, adults who are licensed to have guns should lock them up in safe places to keep them away from young people. Besides, people whose guns have been used in youth violence should face severe legal punishment and take full responsibility for the violent acts of young people. Studies have shown that keeping guns away from underage youth reduces suicide, homicides, and unintentional gun shootings. Thus, restricting guns from young is one of the best short-term and long-term solutions that can be used to end or reduce gun violence. 

The solution can reduce a lot of time that is taken by the Department of Justice and other federal departments to investigate cases of youth violence. Also, departments will not be worried about street and gun violence, making them focus on other law enforcement areas such as dealing with other crimes and fighting local and international terrorism. Also, restricting youth access to guns is a cost-effective way of reducing gun violence because it does not require a lot of financial investment to implement ( Bushman et al ., 2016) . The department will be shifting the responsibility of ensuring that young people do not access guns to parents and other adults who are licensed to own guns. 

Parents are the primary stakeholders in the implementation of the solution because they have the responsibility of ensuring that youth people do not access their guns. Consequently, they are likely to oppose the intervention. The government also will not have to spend a lot of money to implement the solution because it only requires the formulation of a law of policy to restrict the use of guns among young people. As a result, the solution will not lead to a substantial increase in the budget. 

Enhancing Effective Parenting 

Parents play an important role in influencing the behavior of their children. However, by improving parenting as well as family management, the rate of excessive aggression and violence in young people will reduce, resulting in a reduction in youth violence ( Gebo, 2016) . Effective parenting prevents young people from engaging in anti-social behaviors that are associated with youth violence. To enhance effective parenting, the departments will employ social workers who will teach parents about effective parenting. The social workers will be based on the local communities. Besides, the departments will organize parenting training seminars and conferences for parents. Enhancing effective parenting is a long-term and sustainable solution to youth violence due to some reasons ( Bushman et al ., 2016) . First, it will ensure that young people avoid alcohol and substance abuse that is linked to youth violence. Secondly, Young people will not be exposed to family problems such as interparental conflicts that make people be violent. Thirdly, young people will learn to obey rules, and they will be taught how to handle some of the challenges that they encounter in various settings. 

The departments will have to incorporate a team a team of professionals such as social workers and counselors to implement the solution. The departments will also be forced to work with local communities to improve parenting in society. Implementing the solution is costly because of the need to hire professionals and organize parenting training for parents. As a result, it will increase the budget for the department. Parents, who are the primary stakeholders, will also have to create some time to participate in parenting training. Importantly, they have to create time for parenting activities. However, despite the high cost and time required to implement the solution, it will provide a long-term solution to the problem of youth violence ( Bushman et al ., 2016) . Young people are not likely to engage in violence if they adopt the desired behavior at homes, in schools, and when interacting with other members of society. 

Conclusion 

Youth violence is a criminal justice policy issue that concerns almost all Americans. Many interventions that have been implemented by the state, local, and federal government have not helped in ending youth violence. Unfortunately, many people continue to die and get severe injuries due to youth violence. It also affects the physical and mental health of both the victims and perpetrators. Therefore, a team of federal departments that have been tasked with the responsibility of ending youth violence should design and implement effective strategies to solve the problem. The strategy should focus on the core causes of the problem, and they should provide a long-term solution to youth violence. It is also essential for the solution to be proactive and not reactive. Youth violence can be ended when government, parents, youth, and communities join hands together and work towards addressing the problem. 

References 

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