According to recent news, three 13-year-old boys allegedly stole a car and crashed into another vehicle, killing a 71-year-old man in Robbins. His name was Donald Carter Sr. The teens were taken into police custody and eventually released to their parents. Regrettably, cases similar to this involving teenagers and even preteens committing violent acts continue to happen at rates not seen before in our country.
Youths ages 17 to 19 represented the third largest number of homicide offenders in 2020 in the United States, according to data from market and consumer statistics firm Statista. During that same time, youths 13 to 16 made up the seventh largest total, having committed 604 homicides that year.
Carjackings tell a similar story. Police agencies across the country report that juveniles are committing a high number of these violent acts. In New Orleans, for example, there were nearly 300 carjackings in 2021, up from 105 in 2018. Carjackings in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, nearly quadrupled from 2015 to 2021. Of those arrested in Philadelphia in 2021, more than one-third were teens. Chicago had more carjackings than any large city in 2021 with nearly 1,800 carjackings. According to police reports, the average age of the offenders in Chicago was younger than 18.
In public schools across the country, about 70% saw at least one violent incident, according to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics for 2019 to 2020. Data from NCES also revealed that in 2015-16, the number of teachers who reported being physically attacked by a student was higher than in all previous years. Acts of physical aggression are all too common in some schools. Fights and verbal aggression have been normalized because they happen so frequently in some places.
The public has grown weary and less trusting of how government officials are handling violence committed by our youths. Candidates running for local and state elections throughout the country face questions about how they plan to combat violence.
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There is a question that often stymies candidates: How should teenagers and preteens be held accountable when they commit violent acts? It’s a difficult and polarizing question because no one wants teenagers and preteens to be incarcerated, at least in theory. Yet society cannot allow homicide and other violent acts to go unpunished, regardless of the age of the offender.
While finding common ground on this issue is challenging, we as a society should ask parents or guardians what happened in the child’s upbringing that may have led to such unlawful behavior. Their perspectives could help policymakers, social workers, psychiatrists, educators and others understand the contributing factors. If, in some cases, giving parents immunity from prosecution would help, that may be worth considering.
Conversations about causality and contributing factors make apparent philosophical differences, which can lead to divisive rhetoric and prevent conversations from moving forward in a progressive way.
But what we should all support is a plea to policymakers to work together to help our youths. How do we help teens and other youths make better decisions and decrease their risky behavior?
Supporting legislation that puts age requirements on social media platforms would be helpful. While many of the social media giants stipulate that they have requirements, no form of identification is needed to prove one’s age. That means youth are being exposed to information and content that have adult themes. Policymakers can change that.
When youths purchase video games, are the merchants enforcing the age requirement that is listed on the game? If someone downloads a video game, do they have to prove their age? Video games have ratings such as “Everyone,” “Teen,” “Mature” and “Adult.” Some games are simply not appropriate for young, impressionable minds. Perhaps legislation is needed to ensure that age requirements are being adhered to.
School attendance is another issue worthy of discussion. When students miss an inordinate number of days of school, should parents be asked to account for that? If so, what does that look like?
It appears that lawmakers will get an opportunity to weigh in on many issues affecting youth. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing the case of Gonzalez v. Google LLC and will decide the fate of Section 230 of the U.S. Code, which was enacted in 1996 as part of the Communications Decency Act. It essentially protects website hosts like Google and their users from liability for online content provided by others or third parties. It’s conceivable that the court may turn it over to Congress to decide how Section 230 should be handled.
Through all of this, it’s important that we understand that our youths need us to look out for their best interests. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports from police agencies and statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, along with many others, show that our youths are struggling in many areas, including mental health and with social and emotional issues. What they are exposed to matters.
If we don’t address this problem collectively, cities and communities across the country are going to continue to grapple with the prospect of incarcerating youths 13 years old and younger. It’s essential that we work together on this.
Jerald McNair has a doctorate in education and a graduate degree in public policy. He is a school administrator in South Holland School District 151.
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