Why don't Americans know more about why so many teenagers are in jail? For the past few years, I have talked about the lack of research into why so many teenagers are in jail, and that it should not be difficult to discover the reasons. Why don’t we know?
Why are there not well-publicized studies with actual interviews with teens behind bars? It would be easy to conduct interviews and ask teenagers why they are in juvenile facilities. There would certainly be common denominators that could be used to better understand how the problems in society lead to so many teenagers committing crimes, and only after the problems are well-defined could society seek more tangible solutions.
Teenagers in jail might talk about the absence of a father or male figure in their lives, or parents that failed to take the time to teach them right from wrong, and that there are definite consequences to negative behavior. Maybe teenagers found structure and security in a gang that was missing in a family?
There are many reasons why teenagers are in prison - but it is reasonable to believe that there are common answers to the question.
On my talk show today I Mentioned a special report on WWL-TV titled “ Voices Behind The Walls." In this report - which is part of a national campaign - teenagers talk about their lives and what led them to commit criminal acts that led to their incarceration.
During the conversation on the air, theories as to why there are no highly-publicized studies on why so many teens are in juvenile centers included the amount of money generated and the countless jobs associated with incarceration. Is it possible the government does not really want to solve the crime problem in America because that would lead to lost revenue and massive job loss?
The idea that our government and our politicians would not want to define the problems of teen incarceration by simply talking to teenagers is scary, and exposes a government that is in the business of crime.
Cities and states actually balance their budgets on citizens breaking the law through issuing traffic violations or parking tickets, and that should not be an integral part of any civilized society. As broke as New Orleans and many other cities are - imagine how financially strapped they would be if no citizens broke the law or committed any violations. In other words - governments depend on citizens breaking the law to generate revenue.
I applaud this effort to hear the "Voices Behind The Walls" - we can only solve the crime problem if we find the reasons behind the crimes and the voices of teenagers in jail can give us the reasons. Let's hear what they have to say.
