The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities between guns and juvenile crime. In many situations juveniles who commit crimes are in the presence of a firearm or some kind of weapon. We will look at possible ways for juveniles to locate guns, the fascination of guns, exactly how many crimes are committed with guns, and a way to stop juveniles from using guns. .
The reality, fear, and consequences of juvenile violence continue to plague this Nation and drive legislative and political agendas at every level of government. More and more States are lowering the age at which juveniles can be waived or transferred to criminal court and enacting other measures to "get tough" with violent juvenile offenders. Meanwhile, prognosticators warn of a coming tide of juvenile violence, driven primarily by increased arrests of juveniles for serious and violent crime over the past 10 years and shifting demographics of age and race. These forecasts are based to some extent on the assumption that current trends are likely to continue. However, as a number of studies have shown, juveniles commit a proportionately higher number of violent crimes than members of other age groups, and since the mid-1980's, juvenile offenders have become increasingly violent. These findings are supported by comparisons of arrest statistics for adult and juvenile offenders. The number of individuals of all ages arrested for murder and negligent manslaughter increased approximately 23 percent between 1985 and 1994, while the number of juveniles arrested for those crimes in the same period grew by 150 percent. According to the FBI, the increase in homicides committed by juveniles has been related to their use of guns as the murder weapon. Between 1980 and 1987, firearms were used in just over half (54%) of all homicides involving a juvenile offender. Then, firearm-related homicides began to increase, so that by 1994, most homicides by juvenile offenders (82%) involved guns.
