THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605100525
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY SCOTT MOONEYHAM, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Juveniles continue to commit more violent crimes in North Carolina, even though the overall number of violent crimes increased only slightly last year, according to the state attorney general.
The number of reported crimes in North Carolina rose 2 percent in 1995, but Attorney General Mike Easley said he is more worried about a continuing rise of violent crimes among juveniles.
The number of people under 18 arrested for murder in the state increased from 83 to 90, or 8.4 percent, last year, while the number of juveniles arrested for robbery rose from 792 to 900, or 13.6 percent, according to the Uniform Crime Report, which Easley released Wednesday.
Overall, violent crime rose 1 percent and actually declined by 1 percent among juveniles. The overall decline in juveniles arrested for violent crime was created by a 5 percent drop in aggravated assault.
Still, Easley said North Carolinians should be concerned about long-term trends that show violence among juveniles increasing.
``What we're doing now is not working,'' Easley said. ``The juvenile code is outdated. It was written in the early '70s, when the only crimes you had to deal with among juveniles were property crimes. It was not meant to deal with very violent crimes.''
Overall, the number of murders dropped 11 percent, but violent crime was pushed upward by 1 percent increases in robbery and aggravated assault. The number of reported rapes was virtually unchanged from 1994.
Property crime increased 3 percent overall, with larcenies rising by 4 percent and motor vehicle theft rising by 5 percent.
Easley said the statistics mean very little without looking at long term trends.
``In any of these reports, you have to look at these trends, at least a five-year trend,'' Easley said. ``Whether violent crime goes up slightly, as it did this year, or down slightly, as it did last year, it is still much too high. These are numbers we cannot tolerate as a society.''
He said the long-term trends, not this year's numbers, are why he is worried about juvenile crime.
The arrest of juveniles 15 and under for violent crime increased 25 percent between 1991 and 1995, and 136 percent from 1986 to 1995.
Easley said reducing the class size in public schools, sending disruptive students to alternative schools and reforming the juvenile court system can reverse the trend.
He also said the identity of violent juveniles under 16 years old should not be protected, as it is under current state law.
KEYWORDS: JUVENILE CRIME REPORT CRIME STATISTICS by CNB