2014

University of New Mexico

Jacob Lizewski

[YOUTH VIOLENCE IN NEW
MEXICO]
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1
Youth Violence in New Mexico

Introduction:
Youth violence is a tragedy in our society and New Mexico has one of the highest violent crime rates
among young people in our country. The homicide rate for persons 10 years old to 24 years old is higher
than the states total average homicide rate. Suicide and homicide are the second and third leading
cause of death for young people in our state. This report is intended to show what is making New
Mexico youth so violent and what is leading youth down the road to homicide and other egregious
actions.
Methodology:
To understand the causes of youth violence, we will follow a four part research plan:
1. Compare New Mexicos youth violent crime rate to national statistics
a. We need to find published and accurate statistics of New Mexico youth violence rate as
well as the rates of other states and the country as a whole so to draw accurate
comparisons.
2. Analyze types of crimes committed
a. We need to break down the previously found statistics into individual crimes, such as
homicide, assault, suicide, manslaughter, etc. This way we can see if there is any
singular cause that makes New Mexicos youth violence rate so high.
3. Research the demographics of who is committing such crimes
a. We need to find published and accurate statistics of New Mexicos youth crime rate
broken down across a wide selection of demographics, such as location and ethnic
background.
4. Analyze demographics to find common factors and potential causes of violent crime
a. We need to break down the previously found demographics to find vectors that lead
young individuals to commit violent crimes. We will look at published studies on youth
violence to get a fuller understanding of why this happens.
Results:
Step 1:
As reported by the FBI, the national rate of violent crimes for the year of 2012 was 386.9 per 100,000
individuals sampled, the total number of violent crimes committed being around 1.2 million. New
Mexicos rate of violent crimes is 559.1 per 100,000 individuals sampled, the total number of crimes
committed being around 11,660 (FBI). No break down could be found on the percent of total violent
crimes performed by youth, but what can be said is that New Mexico in general, has a very high violent
crimes rate when compared to the national average.

2
Youth Violence in New Mexico

Step 2:
New Mexico is ranked with eleven other
states, such as California, Illinois, Alabama, and
Louisiana just to name a few, as having a
higher than average youth crime rate. For
every 100,000 young people in New Mexico 10
to 58 will die due to homicide. This statistic
becomes even more horrifying when you
compare it to the overall homicide rate of New
Mexico.

In 2010, the average homicide rate for all ages was 7.6 dead due to homicide in every 100,000 sampled.
But when that statistic was recorded for individuals under the age of 25, the homicide rate went up to
10.4 dead due to homicide in every 100,000 sampled. Compared to the national average (upper left line
graph), the youth homicide rate in New Mexico was almost twice the national average for all ages in that
year and about 28% greater than the national average for youth.
Homicide isnt the only factor that contributes to the high youth crime rate in New Mexico; youth
assault is another big problem in the state. According to survey conducted by the New Mexico
Department of Health, 38.9% of youth in New Mexico reported being in a fight in the last 12 months.
9.9% of students sampled reported being in a fight at least once over the last year, 5% reported being in
a fight at least twice, and 1.3% reported being
in a fight twelve or more times (NMDH).
Step 3:
The majority of youth homicide is committed,
statistical, by people with Hispanic ethnicity
with a rate of 19.7. This being said, the
Trends in Homicide Rates, United States 1
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Youth Violence in New Mexico

majority of people in New Mexico are of Hispanic
ethnicity. The 24.4 rate that you see on the graph
is associated with a collective of many minority
ethnicities, so no conclusions can be drawn. Youth
homicide is also almost primarily committed by
males. From ages 10 to 14, the homicide rate is so
small that it is negligible, but as youth enter the
age when high school is usually started, the
homicide rate spikes to 19.2. The rate increases
again as you enter the age group of 20 to 24. From
the map, we can see that crime is generally focused in the most densely populated areas of the state.
Cities such as Las Cruces and Albuquerque, that carry large population comparative to the rest of the
state, have crime rates of between 221 crimes per 100,000 people sample to 406.
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Youth Violence in New Mexico

Step 4:
From the data collected, we can see that
youth violence, especially youth homicide,
starts during the high school years, is most
prevalent in the Hispanic community,
concentrated in populated areas and is
primarily committed by males. An
inference that can be drawn from these
finding could be that gang activity is a
cause in the jump in the youth homicide
rate. New Mexico has one of the highest
gang members per 1,000 citizens of any
other state. New Mexico gang recruitment
usually begins in high school and is most
prevalent in the Hispanic communities.
Many studies have also tied underage alcohol consumption to increased aggression. 29.4% of New
Mexicans have their first drink before age 13. Of New Mexico students from grades 9 to 12, 40.5%
occasionally drink alcohol and 25.0% binge drink on a regular basis (UDETC).
Conclusion and Recommendations:
New Mexico has such a high youth violence rate because the states high amount of gang activity and
rampant alcoholism. The worst part of this high violence rate is that a majority comes from acts of
homicide. New Mexico doesnt have a problem with children having fights on the playground; New
Mexico has a problem with young people killing each other. Factors such as New Mexicos poor
graduation rate could be pushing youth into vulnerable situations where they are more susceptible to
alcoholism and gang activity. The fact is youth violence is a chain reaction. It starts with a child not
getting the attention he/she needs, which leads he/she into seeking attention from the wrong people,
which leads to him/her lashing out, etc. We can only stop the chain by stemming the source of these
problems.
A recommendation would be to get students involved in school, which doesnt mean making sure
theyre studying the material; it means getting them involved with their peers and role models. This is
as easy as making it a requirement that students join an extra-curricular activity. Some schools already
require students to complete community service hours, so asking that every student be involved in an
activity isnt really asking a whole lot.

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Youth Violence in New Mexico

Citations:
Figures:
"Youth Violence: State Statistics." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
Source Material:
FBI. FBI, 08 May 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
"Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center Home Page." Underage Drinking Enforcement Training
Center Home Page. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
"Youth Violence in New Mexico." New Mexico Department of Health. New Mexico Department of
Health, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.