Click here to order using our fax order form . Crime rates have fallen sharply since the mid-1990s, yet polls consistently show a majority of Americans believe that crime is rising or holding steady and that the nation's teenagers are on a violent rampage. This guide, written by Philadelphia Inquirer editorial page editor Chris Satullo, offers three different perspectives on how to improve the criminal justice system. The majority of Americans tell poll takers that money is corrupting politics, undermining elections, and shutting citizens out of our democratic system. As with other NIF issue books, this one provides an overview of the issue and, to promote public deliberation, outlines several perspectives, or choices.
Every day seems to bring news of a youth suicide or homicide.
This guide looks at possible origins of youth violence and outlines several choices on how to solve the problem. As Winston Churchill once said, we shape our buildings and then our buildings shape us. The same can be said about communities, and today's concern all across America is that we're misshaping communities and, in turn, they are misshaping us. Cities are struggling to survive with fewer middle-class residents, older suburbs suffer from traffic congestion and overdevelopment, and many rural communities are overwhelmed with the explosive growth of new homes and malls. Norman Rockwell would have trouble painting a pretty picture of the average American school today.