Rep. Scott to Host Teen Summit on Youth Violence

The Summit will be an opportunity for young people to address their concerns and thoughts on juvenile violence and crime.  The Summit will include an expert panel with Dr. Dewey G. Cornell, Director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project at the University of Virginia; and the Honorable Jerrauld Jones, former Director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and current Chief Judge, Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, 4^th Judicial District of Virginia.  The panel will also consist of teenagers from Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.

“I am excited about having this opportunity to sit down and listen to the concerns of our youth,” said Rep. Scott.  “Juvenile violence is a real issue nationwide and especially here in Hampton Roads.  Research and evidence have convincingly demonstrated that if you want to reduce crime and violence, you have to deploy evidence-based crime prevention programs targeting at-risk youth before they get into crime careers.  Merely responding to crime after-the-fact does not stop the next wave of crime-prone youth.  We need to get serious about reducing crime and violence by doing what the research and the evidence has shown will actually work.  This Teen Summit will provide an excellent forum to hear what works to reduce teen crime and violence from experts on juvenile crime and violence and to hear what young people have to say about these issues.  In September, I will be introducing a comprehensive violence prevention bill and will use the Summit to make sure their input is included in the final version.”

The Teen Summit is free and open to the public and all are encouraged to attend, especially teens and their families.  The Summit will be held at Achievable Dream Secondary School, 5720 Marshall Avenue, Newport News, VA at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2007.

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