There’s good news and bad news.

Friday, January 26, 2001

There’s good news and bad news.

Here’s the good news – there’s fewer teen-agers being arrested for murder.

The bad news? That doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s fewer teens committing other violent crimes.

A recent surgeon general study reported last week that the nation has made some progress regarding teens and violence, but there’s still an epidemic.

The confidential survey found that 10 to 15 percent of high school seniors had been committed a an act of serious violence. However, these acts are less likely than in years past to involve firearms.

In Austin, we’ve been fortunate enough that most juvenile crime is not violent and does not involve firearms.

But Austin residents cannot be so naive as to think such acts of violence at the hands of teens cannot happen here.

The surgeon general’s study suggested that community-based programs designed to curb youth violence are working. It’s important to keep kids off the streets and in safe, fun and nurturing environments.

Austin is lucky enough to have several places for teens to go, such as the Terp, YAC and the YMCA.

The numbers are going down across the nation. Let’s do what we can to ensure those numbers never go up in Austin.