Tracy,

I think the problem is bigger than that. See http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&docId=104283115


>In this you are wrong Walter. All of the ideas you mentioned above have been tried here as well and there are many new programs going on right now. You see the 3 strikes on the news, but that is not for all crimes or all ages. We have numerous social services working the same programs you mention and volunteer groups as well in many different cities. Some are successful, some are not. In all fairness, your paragraph above is very, very far from the real picture and indicative of selective media only information which surprises me given your visits here.

>I am not sure which programs have worked the best because it would take a study over a period of years (in the case of youth to determine who turned out to be repeat offenders and who broke away from the cycle). This all begs the question of what really is different. Is it the culture? Is it the attitude of the populace and the youth? Is it the recent history? Is it the parenting skills? Is it something else entirely? Keep in mind that the attitude and beliefs represented here on the UT in the chatter forum only represent a very small minority and are not indicative of the majority. I would say, from my experience, that Mike B and Tamar's views are more common than the others.