30 Percent of Americans Arrested Before Age 23
Posted by Todd Rhoades in Trends on Dec 29th, 2011 | 3 commentsSurging arrests of American youths are up at an alarming 10 percent compared to ten years ago. The number of adults arrested has spiked as well, along with the amount of people imprisoned.
Since the 1970′s the United States has taken a much more aggressive stance on crime. In the 1970′s, before the war on crme, half a million people were in prison. Currently 2.3 million people are imprisoned with approximately 93,000 incarcerated youth. Is the tougher stance on crime to blame or an increase of morally bankrupt individuals?
So the question really becomes, how much of an increase in crime has there been not just how much of an increase in recorded crime? A questions that is very hard to answer. Another statistical answer that should be answered is what types of crimes are the youth being arrested for- drugs, violent crime, theft?
Are you seeing more and more young people from your church having brushes with the law?
Have YOU ever been arrested? Care to share? :)
3 Responses to “ “30 Percent of Americans Arrested Before Age 23”
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Never been arrested (fingers crossed). Now 62 1/2.
I can only say that the police arrest young people more readily than years ago. In my teens we got in fights and scrapes but never were arrested. Today would be a misdemeanor arrest.
Never been arrested (had the cops draw down on me once… that was exciting)…
This is a good question. We planted a church in Baltimore where the percentage of males in the city was something ridiculous, at or above 50% (not sure of the exact number, it has been a while). Much of it was drug related, and it was a huge influence on how we did ministry. The amount of time that I spent working with some of our congregation negotiate the prison system has me convinced that the prison industrial complex is killing many of our cities.
Never been arrested, but that is all grace. Multiple times was caught intoxicated or with booze in the car. Cops usually just confiscated our beer and warned us not to let it happen again. I think it had something to do with drinking premium beer at a young age; it left our car’s trunk and went into the cops. If there is no report there is no need for evidence. Only once I can remember being hauled into the police station and that was for crossing the state line with alcohol as a minor. Still our parents came and we were left off with a warning. I think when I was growing up police just were pretty tolerant in our small town and knew young kids did stupid stuff.