Things You Can Do to Stop Youth Violence

Warning Signs

• There are behavioral cues that indicate that a young person could become violent. For instance, a young person who is prone to losing his temper, is in frequent physical fights and who announces plans for hurting others is at risk for perpetrating violence. Other warning signs include an increase in risk-taking behaviors, such as using drugs and alcohol, carrying a weapon and displaying enjoyment at others' pain (such as hurting animals). Feeling isolated, disliked, rejected and alone can lead a youth to act out in violent ways. The youngster who is feeling hurt and sad might feel that the only way she can earn respect and solve her problem is through violence.

Prevention Tactics

• It is important that adults, such as parents and teachers, are able to see the warning signs. Adults can then offer help, such as counseling and support to the young person, prior to an act of violence.

  Another prevention tactic is to teach young people anger management techniques. In this way, they can learn to recognize and prevent violence in themselves. Basic anger management techniques include: recognizing physical signs of anger, such as tension and stress; learning to take a "time out," and walk away; and finding ways to talk to oneself when anger arises.

Community Prevention Tactics

• Community violence, such as youth who become involved in gangs and gang violence, requires a different approach. Approaches to preventing youth gang violence focus on keeping youth out of gangs or giving youth in gangs a way out. This includes mobilizing different agencies in a community to coordinate their programs toward preventing gang involvement. It also includes offering at-risk youth education, training and employment programs to deter gang involvement and actively reaching out to gang-involved youth and their families. While the community and criminal justice authorities need to hold youth responsible for criminal activities, such as gang participation and violence, it is equally important that youth are offered alternative opportunities to change their lives. In this way, future youth gang violence can be prevented.