SPEAKER: ATTACK CAUSES OF YOUTH VIOLENCE

To overcome the increase in youth violence, communities must attack the root causes of violence, an expert in gang activity told a gathering in Cape Girardeau Tuesday night.

Steve Nawojczyk, one of the nation's leading authorities on the dynamics of gangs, was in Cape Girardeau throughout the day talking to students, parents and police officers about the problems of youth violence and gangs.

During the day he spoke to students at the alternative school and at L.J. Schultz School about violence and gangs. Later in the evening he led a seminar on youth violence at Southeast Missouri State University.

Nawojczyk told the seminar participants that when he became coroner of Little Rock and Pulaski County, Ark., in 1983, there were 38 homicides the entire year. By 1993, the number had risen to 111, many of them under age 17.

What happened in Little Rock reflects what has happened throughout the country, Nawojczyk said. Nationally, in the last 10 years there has been a 165 percent increase in the number of homicides of people under the age of 17, he said.

Figures released to the seminar participants from the office of Juvenile Judge Peter Statler show an increase in violent referrals to the juvenile court of Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties since 1991. In 1991, the juvenile court had 132 violent referrals, including homicide, assault, weapons offenses, armed robbery, sexual assault, rape, sodomy and arson. By 1995, the figure had risen to 210. Last year, there were 227 violent referrals.

But Nawojczyk said Tuesday that the violence is a symptom. Youth violence is caused by young people seeking recognition, affection and places to belong. When youths join gangs, hate groups or religious cults, it is often because those groups fill a void in their lives, Nawojczyk said.

"Kids join gangs for identity, recognition, belonging, discipline, love and respect," he said.

The gangs aren't limited to the type often portrayed by the media, Nawojczyk emphasized, giving as an example the North Side Red Neck White Boys of Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

"They all drive pick-up trucks and wear cowboy hats, but they act just like any gang," he said.

The solution to the increase in gang activity in youth activity is to make kids recognize that society wants them and to offer them alternatives to gang membership.

"To beat, we must compete," he said.

He suggested that communities look to implement an ACTION plan. The acronym stands for After school programs; Community-oriented policing; Teams or support groups for parents; In-school programs such as student court or peer mediation; One-on-one programs like Big Brothers or police athletic leagues; and Neighborhood Watch programs.

"I'm not talking about more government programs or more tax dollars. I'm talking about sweat equity," Nawojczyk said.

"We can't wait for the government to solve the problem."

Nawojczyk was brought to Cape Girardeau by the Cape Girardeau Police Department, the Cape Girardeau County Juvenile Office, the Southeast Missouri Regional Law Academy and KFVS-TV.

Cpl. Charlie Herbst of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said Tuesday that bringing Nawojczyk to the city was a part of a continuing effort by the department to be proactive in addressing the growing problems of youth violence.