ith 62% in 1990. Females were involved in 27% of person offense cases in 1999, compared with 20% in 1990. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of person offense cases in 1999 involved white youth, 34% involved black youth, and 3% involved youth of other races. (Puzzanchera, 2003, p. 1)
The continuing incidence of violent crime, the fact that the age of violent offenders appears to have dropped, and the fact that the offenders are increasingly likely to be female are all factors that have contributed to the increased attention from lawmakers and public-policy advocates to creating laws designed to fight juvenile violence. However, the big picture of juvenile crime and indeed crime in particular over the course of the 1990s has also been analyzed as one in which the crime rate dropped. While granting that youth are "overrepresented" as both perpetrators and victims of violence, Blumstein cites figures showing that "youth violence diminished as the crack markets shrank, law enforcement increased efforts to control youth access to guns, youth gun carrying declined, and the robust economy provided legitimate jobs for young people" (2002, p. 39). Where violence was most readily observable, Blumstein explains, access to handguns seems to have been a significant factor.
Controversy surrounds the public-policy debate on relevant issues. Further, the culture's response to violent juvenile crime has a significant political component. This means that in a philosophically and politically polarized culture such as that of the United States, ethical implications inevitably become a salient factor of debate and analysis.
One view of violent juvenile crime is that individuals who are identified as "serious habitual offenders," or as it were budding career criminals, should be scrupulously tracked and their cases managed by way of interdepartmental sharin
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