.org

"Violent Youth Crime in U.S. Falls to New 32-Year Low", written by Jeffrey A. Butts, was published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and John Jay College on October 4, 2013. This article provides a statistical analysis of the dramatic decrease of violent crimes committed by juveniles between the years of 2009 and 2012.  By only using four different categories of crime – murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault – the FBI is able to determine the juvenile crime trends throughout the year. The article also provides crime rate data from 1980 to 2012, which is very interesting to review.  It shows how many juveniles were arrested between the ages of 10 and 17 for every 100,000 juveniles in the population. I chose this article because the charts provide a helpful visual aid to help explain the decline of juvenile crime.  Also, crime statistics are important because they portray the trend and direction of crime in the United States.

.com

"16 Calif. teens arrested for looting party at mansion", written by Samantha Schaefer, was published in the Los Angeles Times on December 12, 2013. This article talks about teenagers from California who were arrested because they stole expensive and unusual belongings from a mansion during a party that was thrown at the property.  At the time of the party, the mansion was vacant because the owner of the home was trying to sell it. Some of the suspects, including the ring leader of the party, are still at large. The juveniles who were arrested do have charges that they will have to face.  These charges include: trespassing, grand theft, and possible underage drinking. I chose this article because I can use this story as a concrete example of juvenile delinquency in America today. Another reason why I chose this article is because I saw what charges and consequences a juvenile can face.

Introduction

The topic I have chosen to write about is crime committed by children and teenagers. I chose this topic because I am a Criminal Justice major and I am highly interested in this topic.