Juvenile Court Judge Weighs In On Youth Violence Debate

From the streets of Chicago, to the neighborhoods of Chattanooga, many people want to know how to curb youth violence. While people hold vigils and neighborhood meetings to find answers, Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Suzanne Bailey has some of them.
Judge Bailey, "We're having not only the children not understand they have to take responsibility when the commit these offenses, but we have a difficult time today, more so than we did ten years ago, with the parents."
Judge Bailey sees it all in her courtroom, a 9 year-old charged with arson, a 13 year-old who committed a robbery or an assault. She says she's amazed at the street smarts of some of her youngest defendants.
Bailey, "I think a lot of that is these children have had to raise themselves, they've been without parental guidance. They don't have parents to say how was your day, let me help you with your homework, are you having problems? They're going to find someone who will give them the love that they want because they are still children."
While some communities deal with gang problems, Judge Bailey says youth violence happens in every community, regardless of income or race.
Bailey, "People say it's just the children of these single parents, it's not. Any child can make a mistake and parents who think they're doing a really good job can make a mistake. You can have parents living at home with the children who don't take anymore responsibility than the parents who aren't at home with their chidlren.
There is no single solution. Mark Rogers heads the organization Fight Crime Invest in Kids. He says society must invest more in the beginning, through parenting classes for at risk mothers to pre-kindergarten programs like this one in Chattanooga.
Mark Rogers, "You cant arrest yourself out of juvenile crime. What you have to do is have a community approach where children are in a safe and structured environment not just when they're in school but when they're out of school."
In the meantime, Judge Bailey urges communities to reexamine how they deal with youth offenders.