The sound of gunfire echoed in a neighborhood this August, leaving an innocent Uber driver dead. The shooters weren’t hardened criminals but children as young as 11, who had stolen guns from a pawn shop. It’s sickening that society has allowed this to happen.
Juvenile violent crime rates rose from 31,302 in 2022 to 34,413 in 2023 according to the FBI’s annual “Summary of Crime in the Nation,” and the trend shows no signs of slowing. How many more lives need to be lost before we realize we are failing these kids?
Across the country, the system for dealing with juvenile offenders is broken. Throwing kids into detention centers doesn’t address the real reasons they turn to crime. Many of these children grow up in unstable homes or violent neighborhoods, where crime becomes a way of life. What chance do they have to live up to their full potential when they’re surrounded by chaos from the start?
“It’s no surprise that children exposed to violence from an early age are more likely to repeat that behavior,” said L. Rowell Huesmann, a psychologist specializing in aggression, in a study published by the National Institute of Health. “They model what they see, and if violence is a consistent part of their environment, it becomes normalized for them.”
The age-old debate of nature versus nurture is front and center here. Some might argue these kids are just “bad seeds,” but the evidence points in another direction. Yes, some traits are inherited, but the environment they grow up in is overwhelmingly influential. If a child grows up witnessing violence every day, how can we be surprised when they imitate it?
“Our genes may make us predisposed to certain behaviors, but it’s the environment that shapes how those traits are expressed,” said Vincent Felitti, co-founder of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, in an interview with Psychology Today. “When kids grow up in violent, abusive settings, their chances of turning to violence increase dramatically.”
Take Omaha, for example, where sex trafficking and poverty run rampant. The Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 548 cases of human trafficking in 2023. Of those cases, 1,053 victims were identified. Kids in these environments don’t just fall into crime—they are pushed into it by circumstances beyond their control. When society ignores the systemic issues that create these conditions, we’re complicit in their downfall. Then, we turn around and demonize them for doing what they feel they must do to survive.
“Kids caught in this cycle aren’t inherently bad,” Mark Reed, an officer with the Omaha Police Department said. “They’re often the products of environments that fail them at every level.”
What’s worse is the psychological damage these kids endure. Trauma from violence and neglect doesn’t just disappear—it rewires their brains, making them impulsive and aggressive. The very systems meant to protect children fail them, and by the time they act out violently, it’s already too late.
“When children are exposed to trauma, especially over extended periods, it can impair their ability to regulate emotions and make rational decisions,” Jennifer Singh, a child psychologist said in an article for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. “These children often react with aggression because their brains are wired to respond to stress with fight-or-flight responses.”
But it’s not too late to act. Waiting until these kids commit crimes to intervene is absurd. Mentorship programs, access to therapy, and family support systems should be part of the standard, not an afterthought. And yet, as a society and in our government we pour billions into punishment instead of prevention.
We must face the uncomfortable truth: society prioritizes punishment over helping these kids. If we don’t change course, the cycles of violence will only deepen, and more lives will be destroyed. Communities must invest in their children with the same energy they pour into blaming them.
It’s easy to write off juvenile offenders as “lost causes,” but they aren’t. The real failure lies in a society that would rather incarcerate than nurture, blame than fix, and ignore the root causes of violence. If we want to stop hearing stories about kids with guns and innocent victims, we need to stop pretending this problem is unsolvable. It isn’t. It just requires us to care enough to act.
36 schools throughout Nebraska are creating Hope Squad groups as an intervention program hoping to create a difference. HopeSquad creates outreach events and provides anonymous peer support. This is especially helpful for kids who feel more comfortable opening up to a familiar face. They address issues before they escalate, and HopeSquad can soon refer them to the psychologists at the new mental health center opening.
The Behavioral and Wellness Center will add much-needed resources to help kids and teens (19 years old and younger) struggling with mental health. It is set to open in early 2026 and will have 38 inpatient beds, A 10,000-square-foot assessment center for crisis stabilization, and expanded outpatient programs like partial hospitalization. These services will work alongside groups like Hope Squad, providing a place for kids to get the support they need before things get worse.