Essay Sample: Stop School Violence Act of 2018

Every year there are thousands of activities pertaining to youth and teen violence, ranging from homicide, suicide, bullying, and assault within the vicinity of American schools. In most of these illegal activities, youths or teens exhibit warning signals before engaging in these acts. Ironically, the adults or other youths who observe these signs do not always clearly understand these signals or report what they have found. In that respect, the legislation, most notably, Stop School Violence Act of 2018, was enacted and passed to combat the violence especially those directed to schools. This article will be presented to the New-York Times, with the goal of showcasing how this legislation relates to the adolescent or child development.

In reference to, (Congress. Gov, 2018), as of 14th March 2018, the legislation by the title, Stop School Violence Act of 2018 was passed by the House by a vote of 407 against 10. This legislation was first pioneered and propagated by John Rutherford. This legislation was adopted as a counter strategy for the killing that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, situated in Florida, Parklands, which culminated to loss of 17 lives. The provisions of this legislation encompassed:

1. Training of the school staff, local enforcement, student to hamper school violence comprising active shooter training,
2. School crisis intervention team and threat evaluation,
3. Establishing efficient reporting systems to inform law enforcement officers regarding potential threats of violence, installing locks, metal detectors as well as equipping the schools with technology and safety equipment.
4. Boosting coordination with law enforcement.

Although this Act prioritizes safety within schools, it also impacts the society and the peer relationship with the teens, in the sense that it requires cooperation among the community members with the local enforcement agencies to prevent gun violence in society. Bearing that in mind, it goes without saying that this legislation relates to a great extent with the development of adolescent and children. This is because violence begins during early stages of an individual's life. In fact, according to the American Psychology Association (2016), an individual can start acts of violence at the age of 10, according to the level of their exposure. If no strategic intervention is adopted early enough, children they may grow to be hardcore criminals or even serial killers. In reference to the (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2017), the Approximated number of Juvenile Arrest amounted to 809,700 teens, with 910 teens sentenced for manslaughter and murder, 28, 220 convicted for aggravated assault, and 18,370 adolescents convicted for carrying weapons. In that regard, among the pillars of the legislation Stop School Violence is to train the staffs, students, and teachers on how to pinpoint signals when individuals are engaging in acts of violence, and subsequently inform the relevant law enforcing agencies. Consequently, this measure may assist in preventing crime before they happen.

References

Becker, K., & Norberg, P., 2014. Caveat, Animated Violence: Examining the Efficacy of Violent Games. Taylor and Francis, Ltd. (49)83-94

Brown, A. S. (2015). Trends in Juvenile Justice State Legislation. Chicago: Harvard University Press

Haynie, D., and South, J., 2010. Residential Mobility and Adolescent Violence. Oxford University Press. (84) 571-584.

Wright, D., and Fitzpatrick., K., 2012. Adolescent Violent Behaviour, Correlates of Fighting and Weapon Use Among Secondary School Students. Social Forces. (90), 1435-1452

Congress.Gov., 2018. H.R. 4909-Stop Violence Act of 2018. Retrieved on 29th December 2018.