Teen Court Research 4 Continued
Many are repeat offenders and while some may be first time offenders under the law, it simply means that they were not caught before.
District teen courts are designed to deal with first time offenders and violators of minor crimes. Teenagers that undergo the District Teen Court process are much likelier to become assets to society, than those falling through the cracks or dealt with outmoded methods.
Teen Aggravated Assault Cases (February 1991) Weaver, R. D. Teen Crime Reports 2,1
Teenagers that drive cause their parents to pay higher insurance rates, but there is an even greater reason that insurance rates are higher when it comes to teenagers. In 1989, there were approximately 15,320 reported arrests for motor vehicle thefts with an approximate aggregate value of $16,584,563. Over one half of the reported arrests, 51.5% or about 7891 of them, were of teenagers 19 years of age and under. Nearly 89% were done by school age students 18 and under.
Teenagers were responsible for a motor vehicle theft once every 3 1/2 minutes. The 15-18 age group stole more vehicles than any other age group.
Teenagers going before a District Teen Court are more likely to be stricter disciplined than one disciplined by a regular judge in an adult court.
Teens Cause Higher Insurance Rates (March, 1991) Weaver, R. D. Teen Crime Reports 3, 1
Teens are not going around killing chickens, but they are killing a lot of innocent people as easily as they would a helpless chicken. Teen murderers today are not the same as murderers of yesteryear. You might say that many murders years ago were as a result of someone asking for it. For example, one bad guy killed another for some major reason. Yes, sometimes there were needless murders. Teenage murderers today, however, usually commit them for the least important reason of all. They shoot in drive bys like cowards at night and sometimes even during the day time. They shoot randomly and without cause and more often many innocent people are hurt. Many innocent children have been killed or injured as a result of these cowardly and stupid murderers. Animals kill intruders when they enter their territories as a means of survival, but teen murderers are suppose to be able to think with human brains and yet it appears that their brains were left at home at a time when they were most needed. Teenagers accounted for one out of every five murders committed in Texas in 1989.
Teenage arrests in 1989 accounted for 324 of the 1550 murder arrests or about 21%. Teenagers committed murders once every 22 hours with about 78% of them being committed by school age student 18 and under or about 254 during the year.
Teen murderers are not cases for Teen Courts, however, had the majority of teenagers been involved in programs such as those operated by the District Teen Courts, perhaps the murders would never have taken place. Many gang members join gangs because the need to be wanted, needed, and loved. The need is falsely provided by gangs. Clubs and organizations and projects operated and supported by District Teen Courts would do much more for would be gang members.
Teen Chicken Killers (April 1991) Weaver, R. D. Teen Crime Reports 4, 1
Teen committed thefts accounted for about 37.8% of the thefts in Texas in 1989. Of 115, 813 total thefts in which $322,420,522 in value was reported, teenagers 19 years and under account for approximately $121,874,950 of the total value or about 43,746 of the thefts. School age teenagers, 18 and under, accounted for 88.4% of the teen thefts or about 38,676 thefts. Thefts by teenagers occurred once every two minutes in Texas.
Teen thieves often have a history of taking small items at first and graduating to bigger and more expensive items. They do this as a result of learning that the juvenile court system actually encourages them to do as much as they can before they become of age. The encouragement comes in the way of passiveness or lack of ability to cope with an increasing number of juvenile offenders.
District Teen Courts are specifically designed to help the small crime offenders and can do so at a greater rate of success than any other program used by current court systems.
Teenage Thieves Overpower Courts (May 1991) Weaver, R. D. Teen Crime Reports 5, 1
Teenagers can always be shown the light if the watts are strong enough. There are a number of youth leadership programs that will benefit any teenager that becomes involved with them. A teenager that has served as a District Teen Court judge was recently involved in the news coverage of the San Antonio Drug Summit in which President George Bush met with leaders from Latin countries. The Drug Summit held in San Antonio, Texas in February, 1992 was an effort by the various leaders to come to an understanding and agreement in which efforts would be made to reduce drug traffic into the United States and consequently also to many teenagers and children who use drugs.
The District Teen Court of the National Teen Courts of America And Teen Clubs of America, Inc. has always been involved in saying no to drugs and the coverage of the Summit further emphasized its efforts to do so.
Teen Leaders ( March 1992) Weaver, R. D. Teen News Weekly 2, 1
Bridget Foreman, teenage judge of the 101St District Teen Court of the National Teen Courts of America And Teen Clubs of America, Inc., has been awarded the first Mayor's Youth Award at the annual Bexar County (Texas) United Way Volunteer of the Year Awards for her dedication and efforts as a volunteer and youth leader.
These are the type of headlines and news that need to be read by the citizens of this country. Too often the newspapers and other news media glamorize teen violence and crimes. Gang members can be seen using sign language on television. If they can learn to use sign language, then they can be taught and shown the right way to become productive members of society instead of leeches or vultures preying on the innocent.
Teen Recognized by Mayor (June 1992) Weaver, R. D. Teen News Express 6, 1
*NOTE* For even more detailed information, please submit your written request and the reason for your request in c/o the National Headquarters, P. O. Box 17513, San Antonio, Texas 78217-0513 USA.
**NOTE** The above information does not even include information on how one organization's employees were told that the documents of the National Headquarters were copyrighted and that they were written, prepared and designed for their exclusive use and that they were later used by individuals who had signed notarized legal documents - a non-disclosure statements- in which they swore under oath that they would not disclose information they attained from the National Headquarters. This organization and its employees, secretly and without informing the National Headquarters did so anyway and used it to start another program in another city.
According to a newspaper article from that city, the organization was reported to be associated with the National Headquarters when it wasn't.
In addition, that organization duplicated documents of the National Headquarters, as if their own, for their own use and for distribution to individuals and organizations from other cities who paid to attend an informational conference on the use of "their" teen court and "their documents," which in fact were exact duplicates of the National Headquarters except for the name of the organization.
That organization had not even taken the time to retype the documents, except for one, when they began using them, except for changing their name In fact, when "their" document was placed over one from the National Headquarters and held up to the light it was clear that it had been duplicated.
That organization further distributed them to the individuals and organizations from other cities. By doing so, the organization and the other organizations that they helped attained public and private funds.
Not the actions of proper role models for youths.
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