Teen crime is on the rise in Florida. You may not see this as a threat now, but the numbers don't lie.
As of August 2012, Florida's population of 10 to 17 year-olds was estimated to be approximately 1.84 million. in 2012 there were 13,461 delinquency arrests where the most serious offense was misdemeanor assault or battery; There were 10,124 delinquency arrests where the most serious offense was burglary. (www.djj.state.fl.us/research) At first glance these numbers seem miniscule and of little or no importance, but according to the Florida Juvenile Justice League teen crime in little spurts like this are apart of a "five year path" which means that authorities project these numbers to double and they expect to see these same teens in the adult court system within five years of their first charge.
I recently interviewed three people. A police officer, a mother, and a high school teacher. All three of them felt compelled to express their worry for the new generation growing up nowadays. Maldrina Carson (cq), a mother of two teen boys stated that she "feared for her kids life." She was also quoted saying " There used to be a time when sending your kids to school meant they were safe. Not anymore." Both Officer Harris and Mrs. Homestead stated that it is going to take the whole community to reach out and save our youth. Regardless of the effort, it has to be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment