Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 5, 1993 TAG: 9304050037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
YOUTHFUL CRIME MORE FREQUENT, AND VICIOUS
Dennis Waite still recalls with a chill the 14-year-old who matter-of-factly said he'd shoot again at anyone trying to steal his drug profits.The child, 13 when he wounded two people during a drug deal gone sour, is part of a frightening trend seen by Waite in his 17 years at the Virginia Department of Youth and Family Services.
"We've seen a real increase in not only the frequency of youths who are committed, but in the violence of their crimes," said Waite, chief psychologist for the department.
"When you put . . . a handgun in the hand of a juvenile who probably doesn't have good judgment to begin with, there's an escalation of violence," he said.
Murder and malicious woundings are not the only youth crimes on the rise. Violent sexual acts, physical assaults and robberies, among others, also are burgeoning.
Waite attributes the change to the availability of handguns, the prevalence of cheap drugs such as crack cocaine, and increased exposure to violence through the media and home environments.
"These kids become desensitized to violence," he said. At the same time, many have developed a fatalistic attitude toward lives they recognize as dead-end. The attitude is: "I've got to live the best I can between now and the time someone gets me," he said.
Waite is not optimistic about the future. "I'd like to say that at some point, things are going to get better. But we're probably a long way away from seeing things begin to improve," he said.
For instance, more than 900 juveniles are being held in a state system intended for fewer than 750.
He does see a few hopeful signs, however. The General Assembly has appropriated money to plan a maximum-security youth facility, acknowledging the importance of punishments that fit the crime. The governor's task force on violent crime is focusing this spring on programs aimed at youth. It also is looking at successful ideas aimed both at keeping kids out of trouble and helping them once they're there.
But the bottom line in the success of many of those efforts is money, and money is scarce, Waite said. "It's not cheap. But we've got to do something. If we don't turn these adolescents around, they're going to wind up in our adult penal system."