Superpredators

by P. Elikann

Almost weekly it seems that we're bombarded with gruesome headlines of horrific criminal acts committed by young people - adolescents shoot their peers in the schoolyard; a teenager gives birth at her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306460076
• ISBN13: 9780306460074
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

What about Root causes to be found in our Societal Blind spots?

This author tells us that our clinical legalistic approach to solving the problems of juvenile crime (of basically "nipping the bad seed in the bud before it can ripen and become a super predator and then spew its evil fruits back onto society") has not worked. Building bigger and stronger prisons for younger and younger inmates may stimulate the economy of small mostly lily-white communities, but it does next to nothing to stem the tide of new more vicious criminals, (thought to be mostly from the inner cities). And although he is correct in pointing (in passing) to parenting as the epicenter of the problem, I believe he has failed to "skin that onion back" one level further to the society at large, where ultimately all of the root causes lie. Only at this next level of analysis, where poorer parenting arises, can the context of tableau of causes be examined more closely. It is a shame that the author did not move his social microscope inward to this next societal level of magnification, for one does not have to examine it too closely to see that the root of this "altered and greatly diminished parental context" is the rapidly downward spiraling of the American family: fewer parents in the home, more single female headed households, a precipitous decline in the U.S. standard of living, a failing public education system, no healthcare, a continuing resistance to investing taxes in social programs and thus an end to the notion of "the common welfare" or a "common good," as referenced on par with providing for national security, in our Constitution. But perhaps more important than all of these changes is the new American ethos of "Greed is good, and I want mine, now." We find this new ethos dominating business (Wall Street is a worse case example of it, but also the trends show up in outsourcing, offshore bank account, corrupting and corruptible politicians, predatory lending and lobbying, Hollywood, etc.). We find it in the home as well as in the streets, and in each it multiplies in a chain reaction like an out of control virus -- that is, with a vengeance. And surprisingly we even find this ethos in the Churches: the last bastion of instilling values to the young. Couple these changes with a culture that is racist at its core and worships guns and violence (as the first rather than the last resort) to interpersonal problem-solving, and there is little left to talk about when it comes to the causes of crimes by our children? They are simply rehearsing what they have been taught by both indirect and direct examples. Wealth may not trickle down, but bad behavior and incivility always does: directly to our children. Somehow, this book in an "inverted attempt" to defend our children, skips over this much richer context of root causes as if they did not exist at all; as if our society were just another "Black box." We may indeed treat our own behavior as if it was a black box, but to our kids it is not a black box at all. To them it is exhibit nu

A MUST READ FOR ALL INTERESTED IN JUVENILE JUSTICE

I highly recommend that this book be read by any person interested in solving the problems of youth crime. In this excellent, yet disturbing, book, Elikann discusses many relevant topics relating to, as the subtitle of the book describes, the "demonization" of our children by the law.In exploring these topics, Elikann does not rely on his own opinions. He appears to have carefully researched the subject of juvenile crime and punishment and is evenhanded in his presentation of substantive quotes from many well-respected sources, representing opinions from all shades of the political spectrum.I would make it a law that this book be read by every member of Congress and every member of every State Legislature BEFORE being allowed to vote on any bill that might impact juveniles. Maybe, these lawmakers would understand that the way to solve juvenile crime is not to declare war on juveniles, but to declare war on the causes of juvenile crime - poverty, ignorance, and abuse.

Unforgettable. Buy it, promote it and use it

From Library Journal July, 1999 "Superpredator" is the chilling name currently given to the most severe juvenile offenders. Can they be saved? Is it right to lock them away for life? What went wrong? Elikann, an attorney, Court TV commentator, and chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association, writes that these youths can indeed be helped, offering a 15-point plan based on intervention, strengthening families, rehabilitation, and role models. Chapter 5, which eerily connects with the reasons behind the Littleton shootings, merits extra attention. Elikann argues that there is no such thing as a motiveless crime and deals with the role shame and disrespect play in retribution. This book is well researched, straightforward, and unforgettable. Buy it, promote it, use it in discussion groups. Recommended for all libraries.