While adult and juvenile crime rates have fallen nationally, in Maryland the juvenile crime rate has actually risen. According to figures from the Department of Justice, in 1996 there were 48,856 arrests of Maryland juveniles under the age of 18. By 1997, this number had climbed to 57,865, more than an 18 percent increase in one year. It's clear that we must attack the problem of youth violence on many different levels. I recently held a Town Hall meeting at which experts on juvenile crime, child behavior and the media talked about the multiple factors that lead to juvenile crime and what we as a society should do to reduce the risk of youth violence.
All experts agree that the key to youth violence is to prevent it before it occurs.
In the last 25 years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of working mothers and single-parent families. As a society, we must provide children with safe and stimulating after-school programs. We also need to make conflict resolution and peer mediation, as well as character education, important aspects of every school day. Youth violence has deep roots in our media culture. Dr. Susan Villani, a child and adolescent psychiatrist who is with the Coalition for Positive Media, spoke at the Town Hall meeting about the need to limit the amount of violence on TV and video games.