Written by Claudia Gilburd, Founder/CEO, Teen Law School, Inc.
A shocking new study published last month in the journal Pediatrics finds that by the age of 23, thirty percent of America’s youth has experienced at least one arrest for a crime other than a minor traffic violation. That’s one in three American kids handcuffed, fingerprinted and saddled with a criminal record that can have life-long, emotional and economic consequences. How did we as a society arrive at such a place? How can you, as a parent, protect your child from becoming a statistical victim of this devastating threat? Sound the alarm, Moms and Dads, because this wake-up call is one you’ll want to share with your children and your friends.
The problem has been worsening for some time. In response to the social mayhem of the 1970’s, legislators across our country began criminalizing youthful “delinquency” by creating tougher laws and stiffer sentences. In the 1980’s, gang violence and drug use increased and in response, lawmakers drew up even harsher sanctions with mandatory sentencing rules and options for judges to try juveniles as adults. And then there was Columbine, the first in a string of campus killings that unleashed the most angry, anti-youth crime measure yet -- the zero tolerance policy.
We can all agree that weapons or drugs have no place on or near school grounds and that the punishment for real infractions should be severe. But we also know that these policies, which were originally devised just for weapons and drugs, have expanded their reach to cover a wide variety of behaviors at school and off campus, and therefore have resulted in unfair expulsions and countless arrests for kids of all ages in every corner of the country. When school officials dial 911 instead of calling for conferences with parents, students get arrested. When parents call police to help them discipline their own children, children get arrested.
At Teen Law School we see the effects of these practices every day. Bright kids with promising futures who make typical teenage mistakes that deserve punishment and correction but don’t warrant arrest and criminal histories. We work with these kids to teach them what they might not know about the legal environments they live in. We share facts about the laws that govern their daily lives, so we can challenge their thinking that it’s ”no big deal” to stay out after curfew, or shoplift or drink, or hang out in abandoned houses or throw punches at a classmate. We have these conversations with kids to help them make safer, law abiding choices, and to help them realize that they and they alone are in charge of their choices and behaviors.
Making smart choices isn’t always easy for teenagers, and there is a reason for it. Neuroscientists teach that the teenage brain undergoes a massive re-wiring process beginning around the age of 12, completing itself somewhere around the age of 25. During those critical years, much of the “executive thinking” that adults have experience with, i.e.; impulse control, recognizing danger, calculating risk, defending against peer pressure is either “under construction” or absent altogether. Further, the process is cumulative so that the closer in age a person is to 25, the more likely he or she will behave with caution and self-interest in mind. Until then, the child is acutely vulnerable to crowd-pleasing, reckless behaviors that can lead to legal trouble. Not surprisingly, this latest criminology study points to national arrest data that confirms that the greatest likelihood of an arrest increases with age from 12 to 18 and begins to taper off into young adulthood. No coincidence here.
So what’s a parent to do? First, read about the study by following this link: http://goo.gl/RDOaS. Talk with your children about why they think teen arrests are so prevalent. What do they think is contributing to the problem? How do they think the problem can be solved? Next, discuss your child’s school code of conduct with your child – make sure you both understand the rules and their consequences. Finally, consider sending your child to a Teen Law School workshop so he or she can learn about the laws that pertain to teen life and how to develop effective peer pressure strategies. We all know that kids take risks; it’s up to us as parents to take precautions.
Your Family and the Law is written by Claudia Gilburd, Founder of Teen Law School, Inc. Claudia is not a lawyer but works with Davis Miles attorneys and others to promote preventive legal education and responsible citizenship for all young people. Davis Miles attorneys are always ready to defend your civil rights and those of your minor children whenever they might be challenged. For more information about Teen Law School and its workshops for teens and adults, please visit www.teenlawschool.com.