POLICE TIE JUMP IN CRIME TO JUVENILES

Gangs, Guns Add Up to Increased Violence

Police in cities across the USA are linking the recent jump in the
nation's violent-crime rate to an increasing number of juveniles
involved in armed robberies, assaults and other incidents.

In Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Washington, Boston and elsewhere, police
are reporting spikes in juvenile crime as a surge in violence
involving gangs and weapons has raised crime rates from historical
lows early this decade. The rising concern about juveniles comes a
month after the FBI said the nation's rate for violent crimes -
murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault - rose in 2005, the
first time in five years.

Minneapolis police estimate that this year, juveniles will account
for 63% of all suspects in violent and property offenses there, up
from 45% in 2002.

In Washington and Boston, police say there have been alarming
increases in robberies by juveniles. This year, 42% of all robbery
suspects in Washington have been juveniles, up from 25% in 2004, the
police department says. A series of homicides - 14 in July - has led
D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey to declare an emergency that allows
him to put more cops in troubled areas. Four suspects have been
arrested in the slaying of a British man in the upscale Georgetown
area Sunday; they include a 15-year-old.

In Boston, juvenile arrests for robbery rose 54% in 2005; weapons
arrests involving youths rose 103%. "Kids are jumping into this
violence," police Superintendent Paul Joyce says. "We're very concerned."

The forces behind rising juvenile crime vary by city, but officials
cite some common factors. Among them:

. Reduced funding for police and community programs. Localities often
complain they don't have enough money; now the chorus is getting
louder. Tight budgets and an emphasis on terrorism have shifted
federal and state money from police and programs for youths. "It
should be no surprise that the streets are more violent," Minneapolis
Mayor R.T. Rybak says. Since 2003, he says, Minneapolis has lost at
least $35 million a year in state funding for city programs.

. A changing social climate. In Boston and other cities, gang leaders
imprisoned a decade or longer ago are being released and are
reclaiming their turf. Joyce says they're recruiting - or forcing -
youths to carry guns or deliver drugs to shield older gang members
from additional charges. The weapons can turn disputes among teens
into violent confrontations, he says.

"Every 10 years, we seem to go through a cycle of violence," says Tom
Cochran of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "Everybody is trying to
figure this out."