YOUTH VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC NOT OVER, SURGEON GENERAL WARNS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An epidemic of youth violence that climaxed with the
1999 mass shootings at Columbine High School in a Denver suburb is
not nearly over, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said on
Wednesday.

American children and teens are just as violent as ever, but they are
using guns less frequently and thus the violence is less lethal,
Satcher said in a special report on violence.

``The youth violence epidemic is not over,'' Satcher told a news conference.

But he said jail and crackdowns are not the answer. Instead,
carefully planned programs that train parents and teachers to be more
involved in children's lives will work.

``The fact is that young people transferred to adult criminal courts
have a much higher risk of re-offending,'' Satcher said.

Programs tailored to the individual child, taking into account his or
her age, the community, and involving teachers, parents, health
workers and the criminal justice system, are most likely to help, the
report says.

The report cites programs that have reduced violence, including
skills-oriented approaches that build confidence, and problem-solving
exercises.

Perhaps surprisingly, programs that do not work include the very
popular Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program aimed at
preventing drug use and ``Scared Straight,'' in which youths deemed
at risk are taken into prisons.

``Specifically, DARE is implemented too early in child development,''
the report says. ``It is hard to teach children who have not gone
through puberty how to deal with the peer pressure to use drugs that
they will encounter in middle school.''

``Some of the things that worked for me was having mentors, having
positive role models, having people invest in me,'' Gilbert Salinas,
who works with the successful Teens on Target program in Los Angeles,
told the news conference.

Salinas, 25, uses a wheelchair after having been shot by a friend
when he was 16 and credits Teens on Target with rescuing him from
gang life.

MEDIA NOT THE MAJOR CULPRIT

In an unexpected departure, the report -- which President Clinton
asked Satcher to write after the Columbine shootings -- does not
single out the media, violent films or games.

``This report found strong evidence that exposure to violence in the
media increases the risk of aggressive behavior in the short-term,''
Satcher said.

But he and his team moved to the back of the report a section on
media violence -- the idea that showing murder and mayhem in movies
was causing children to become aggressive.

``We did not find the media to be a major factor -- (just) a
factor,'' he said, adding that it was hard to single out the media
and entertainment industries from all the other influences, although
he said there was a clear effect.

The good news is that deadly violence among youths is down from the
1983-1993 decade-long peak, the report said.

``Youth homicide, robbery, and rape arrest rates in 1999 are actually
lower than they were in 1983, prior to the violence epidemic,'' it
reads.

The report said the reason is clear. ``Since 1994, a decline in
homicide arrests has reflected primarily the decline in use of
firearms,'' it said.

Police crackdowns on guns, less involvement by youth in crack
distribution and the strong economy all seem to be factors in the
decline in gun use, the report said, but added that it is hard to
really tell why fewer youths are using guns.

``At the same time, however, rates of arrest for aggravated assault
remain nearly 70 percent higher than in 1983,'' the report added.

The report draws on several studies that have shown that the more
time kids have to ``hang around'' and do nothing, the more likely
they are to get into trouble, including using drugs and involvement
in sex.

``The most critical risk factor for violence for your children is the
behavior of their peers. Know who your kids associate with and
encourage healthy peer relationships,'' the report advises parents.

The report also attacks several ``myths,'' such as the idea that
child abuse and neglect inevitably lead to violent behavior later in
life, that African American and Hispanic youths are more likely to
become involved in violence and that a new breed of ''young
superpredators'' threatens the United States.