Crime and Youth Intervention; a complex problem with human solutions

Does policy affect crime or are crime rates a direct result of social and economic issues? Some say laws and punishments matter because it prevents crime from repeating itself. Others say that a law is only as good as its enforcement and what really drives crime rate has more to do with community building and trust.  One fact is clear, there is no perfect justice and crime will never go away completely.

The video below states:

• Homicides and violent crime rates have risen in big cities like NYC
• Long term trends are falling but there has been a recent increase in the last two years.
• Crime problems are always problems in need of solutions.
• What is the correct response?  Do violence interruptor programs work?
• 2020 Bail Reform Laws have been blamed for being too lenient.
• Its too easy to blame one factor or another but many factors need to be studied to understand.
• In times of fear people want quick and easy responses.
• When you have many factors causing a problem you need many factors to solve it.
• Overall we are making progress through greater awareness.

In my opinion crime rates are only up when job opportunities are low and poverty levels are up. This is because most men who have families to feed but don’t have a source of legal income will do whatever they need to to put food on the table, even if it’s illegal. I think that in order to lower crime rates we need to put more jobs out in cities with poverty, then people would rather make money risk free and feed their families and will have a safe community for their children to walk the streets.   

https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_gender.jsp

In my experience living in the relatively wealthy region of  Northern Virginia I have witnessed young people getting caught up and involved without even trying. There is a lack of awareness, there is a certain lack of engagement, there is a lack of a sense of belonging and in what is lacking it becomes a type of space that fills itself with insecurity, fear and mistrust.  In other words, young people are the problem and investing in them is the solution.  Young people need resources and programs that give them hopeful alternatives.  Young people need to become aware of the reality and problem of gangs at an early age.  They need programs that engage them in meaningful goal setting activity.  They need to feel as though they matter to the community as a whole so that they can see themselves and their peers with a common dignity and respect.

Possible Solutions:

People who live in high crime rate communities should get together and figure out a way to be able to provide for their families legally, while keeping the space they live safe. There is one very successful program that started 30 years ago on the streets of L.A. that can be used as a model for other communities nationwide. Homeboy industries is the largest gang rehabilitation/re entry program in the world,, The formula for success is not that complicated but it does rely on a certain will of the people to come together in community.

As I reflect on my own experiences it is clear that school communities play a vital role in helping students who may be at risk of getting caught up in crime or violenet behavior.  At Mountain View I participated in my own personal solutions that will help me sustain a growth mindset about myself and my peers. I came to this school because I needed a safe place to avoid trouble in my home community. I participated in a Government class dialogue with our FCPD School Resource Officer. I advocated for my community by speaking out at a town hall meeting with Virginia Delegate Maldonado and asking about youth violence interruption programs.  I experienced complications from problems that followed me from the community streets into the school hallways.  I participated in FCPS Restorative Justice to keep me here at Mountain View focused on Growth Mindset.

What is restorative justice?