The increase in violence, according to some experts, is directly attributable to the increase in weapons. Juvenile murders have tripled, and most are committed with guns. Still more factors may be at work. Studies show that many violent criminals were abused as children, and child abuse statistics are soaring in the county and across the nation. The first children of the crack epidemic of the 80's are reaching their teen years, and studies show that these children are more apt to have poor impulse control and become more violent.
Studies show that poverty contributes to an increased crime rate.
Other studies show that the majority of criminals in prison had no father at home, or had a relative who had already been in prison. With rising numbers of children in poor and single-parent homes and a prison population that has more than doubled in the last decade, the implications are that juvenile crime statistics will continue to rise. At the same time more children are at risk, the juvenile justice system is suffering from cutback after cutback. With more violent crime, the Juvenile Court is stretched to handle more difficult, time-consuming and costly cases. More teens are on waiting lists to be tried as adults.