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hree teenage girls died early Thursday when a stolen car they were in crashed into a pond at a cemetery in St. Petersburg. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri identified the three teenagers who died as Ashaunti N. Butler and Laniya Miller, both 15, and Dominique M. Battle, 16. Gualtieri said all three girls had criminal histories for grand theft auto. He said between the three of them, they had been arrested for grand theft auto seven times in the past year. According to Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the girls stole the 1998 gold Honda Accord from a Walmart in the...

Nearly half of black men and 40 percent of white men are arrested at least once on non-traffic-related crimes by the time they turn 23. That's according to a new study. The estimates published this month by criminologists at the University of South Carolina and the University at Albany didn't rely on arrest records but on an annual federal survey of 7,000 young people who answered questions from 1997 to 2008. The authors found that by age 18, 30 percent of black men, 26 percent of Hispanic men and 22 percent of white men have been arrested. By 23, those...

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has been applauded after breaking up a group of fighting teenagers in Henderson over the weekend. The fight took place near the West City shopping centre, with the fighting mainly carried by girls aged between 11 and 17-years-old. The fighting proved to be so aggressive, one retailer locked its doors to protect the elderly people inside. Ms Bennett intervened after fearing the fight would brew into something much larger. Watch the full interview with Social Development Minister Paula Bennett

You raise your kids right, teach them to step up and do the right thing; then one day they do as you taught them and they're struck down and killed. "I am proud of him but it's no consolation," said Cindy Pipho, whose son, Josh, was slain Saturday after having reportedly confronted his attacker. "Sometimes I regret training him so well," she said. "He gave his life protecting the people he cared about." Joshua Caleb Pipho was born April 1, 1987, in Mission Hills. He died a hero to friends and family in Santa Clarita on Nov. 24, 2007. He...

The Loss of Shaming and the Rise of Youth Crime - with Implications for Schools (and ceremonial events) The Pasadena Pundit - August 31, 2007 Excerpted from John Braithwaite, Crime, Shame and Reintegration, 1989. 1. Crime is committed disproportionately by males. 2. Crime is perpetrated disproportionately by 15-25 year old males. 3. Crime is committed disproportionately by unmarried people. 4. Crime is committed disproportionately by people living in large cities (or highly impersonal downtown settings). 5. Crime is committed disproportionately by people who have experienced high residential mobility and who live in areas characterized by high residential mobility (where there...

Mum worries political pressure may influence Parole Bd NZPASunday, 21 January 2007 The mother of slain south Auckland pizza delivery man Michael Choy says her son's teenage killer is still a menace and danger to society and should not be released from prison. Bailey Junior Kurariki was 12 when he and five other young people killed Michael Choy in September 2001. A parole board is due to meet tomorrow morning in Auckland to hear an application for the release of New Zealand's youngest convicted killer. Michael Choy's mother Rita Croskery said today she was worried the parole board was under...

Girl charged in murders 12 year old accused of killing her family Sherri Zickefoose CanWest News Service Tuesday, April 25, 2006 MEDICINE HAT, Alta. - A 12-year-old girl is accused of murdering her mother, father and younger brother in the family home on a quiet street in Medicine Hat, Alta. A 23-year-old man is also accused in the three deaths. His relationship to the 12-year-old co-accused is unclear. Both accused face three first-degree murder charges after the family was found slain in their home on Sunday afternoon. The pair were picked up by Leader, Sask., RCMP early yesterday morning...

A teenager charged with murdering his family on newsman Sam Donaldson's ranch was a cold-blooded killer who methodically shot his father, stepmother and stepsister, then hid their bodies in a manure pile, a prosecutor told jurors Monday. In her closing argument, prosecutor Janice Schryer urged jurors to convict Cody Posey of first-degree murder despite defense claims that the 16-year-old suffered years of physical and mental abuse. (...) Defense attorney Gary Mitchell has said the boy -- 14 at the time of the killings -- told teachers, family and friends about the alleged abuse but the state failed to help him....

Toronto Sun December 11, 2005 Martin 'a jackass' Parents of slain teen say prime minister's proposed handgun banwill do nothing to stop youth violence By ALAN CAIRNS, TORONTO SUN A grieving Yvette, whose eldest son Jason was gunned down on Aug. 30, say Liberal policies have led to youth violence. (Ernest Doroszuk/ Sun) MAPLE -- Prime Minister Paul Martin is a "jackass" if he thinks that banning handguns will "choke off" the deadly weaponry of Toronto street gangs, says a man whose son was slain. "For this so-called prime minister of ours to come into the low-income areas of this...

Older brother to serve at least two years in TYC for brother's death DENTON (AP) — A 10-year-old Lewisville boy reportedly will spend at least two years in the Texas Youth Commission system for the April 15 slaying of his 6-year-old brother. An unidentified source involved in the investigation of Jackson Carr's slaying said in Tuesday's editions of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Jackson's elder brother could remain in TYC detention until he is 21. The Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News reported the sentencing came under a plea deal reached between prosecutors and the boy's court-appointed attorney, Dan Kossman....