Juvenile Superpredator Myth

The myth of the juvenile superpredator is being readily touted in the media these days. Newspapers, public speakers, television talk shows, and news programs, have created the idea that society is, or soon will be, bombarded with a generation of violent, apathetic, and unremorseful adolescent delinquents (Kappeler, Blumberg, & Potter, 2000, p.175). Kappeler, Blumberg, and Potter refer to this topic in chapter nine, "Juvenile Superpredators," (Kappeler et al., 2000, p175-195) of their text: The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice. The chapter first introduces the beliefs held by a majority of the population regarding youth crime and then goes on to refute those beliefs (myths) with fact. The facts that Kappeler et al. use to rebut the myths
The media has been quick to dig up any evidence of such a claim. A Newsweek article about the prevalence of guns in today 's schools is a perfect example of the rush to construct this fear (Kappeler et al., 2000, p. 187). The 1999 article, by Angell, used information from over three years and branded the period as a "season of killing" (Angell cited in Kappeler et al., 2000, p.187). The article also pictured several of the shooters and a large photograph of an automatic gun (although only one incident involved such a weapon) (Kappeler et al., 2000, p. 187). The ideas put forth in this article have the power to unnecessarily alarm parents and terrorize anxious students. It illustrates the picture of violent killing machines in the form of classmates and corresponds to the idea that innocent children are scared to go to school without arming themselves (Kappeler et al., 2000,
187). Any violence in the school is not usually serious and the data provided in most articles is insufficient to qualify the belief of rising brutality. In other words, there is no indication if the violence was truly serious or if the incident involved a minor scrap. Another reality is that the majority of crimes in the schools are not of a violent nature at all, but are minor theft (Kappeler et al., 2000, p. 187). This parallels most statistics that property crimes are more prevalent than violent crimes in society as a whole (Kappeler et al., 2000, p.