INDEPTH: CRIME
Tumultuous teens
CBC News Online | January 13, 2005
At the funeral of her son less than a month ago, the mother of a teen beaten and stabbed to death by other teens pleaded with youth in Toronto to end their spree of violence. A recent spate of youth violence – brawls, group assaults and the murder of two young people – has erupted in recent weeks in Canada's largest city.
Are these incidents some horrible coincidence or do they reflect a growing trend toward group violence among Canadian teens?
According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Studies, after a record of relative stability, youth violence jumped in 2000. The overall violent crime rate increased 13 per cent between 1993 and 2003, and groups seem to be increasingly involved.
Some have speculated that the rise in violent crime numbers may be a result of aggressive "zero tolerance" strategies enacted by schools, social agencies and other institutions. But still others assert that the statistics reveal merely a partial picture, since they represent only the incidents reported to police.
Swarming
The word "swarm" was first used as a verb in 1380 AD to refer to bees "leaving a hive to start another." Since then, the definition has come a long way, and now refers to a type of group assault that is becoming more and more commonplace.
Although to date there is no legal definition or legislation concerning this particular type of crime, legal experts have identified three common elements of swarmings. They are: (1) actions by a group, (2) against one or several individuals, (3) that incorporate violence, harassment, intimidation and/or the potential for overwhelming force or pressure.
Experts warn that young people may be especially susceptible to participating in swarmings because they have a tendency to identify strongly with their peer group, and are less able to withstand the so-called pack mentality that often takes over when a group attacks. As well, since the youth are sharing responsibility for any heinous acts committed, it makes it easier to carry them out. Essentially, the teens lose a sense of who they are.
There is also evidence to suggest that the larger the crowd that gathers to watch a swarming, the more aggressive the offenders will become. This may make large schools with hundreds of students perfect breeding grounds for group violence.
Swarmings first appeared in Canada in the late 1980s with the rise of youth gangs/groups in major urban centres. The proliferation of gangs during the 1990s across Canada led to increased reporting of gang/group violence.
However, the first case to focus national attention on group violence occurred in 1997, when 14-year-old Reena Virk was beaten and drowned by a group of youth in a Victoria suburb. Six teenage girls were convicted of assault-related charges in connection with the beating. One other teen was convicted of second-degree murder and another awaits her third trial for second-degree murder.
One of the interesting elements of this case was that none of the teens involved claimed gang affiliation. The public realized that swarmings could occur outside of a gang structure. In fact, today, many swarmings are now spontaneous, unorganized or loosely organized. They can happen on streets and buses. Sometimes racism, prejudice or hate of the victim and the group to which he or she belongs are motivating factors. Other times, no motivation for the attack seems to exist at all.
It's difficult to determine the frequency with which swarmings are happening, because statistics for violent crime in Canada are collected on the basis of age, gender and the crime committed, rather than on group involvement. However, the Metro Toronto police reported an average of 6.7 swarmings a day in Toronto in 1999.
In the U.S., there has been wider statistical analysis of group assaults. One American finding from 1997 that stands out is that most (46.4 per cent) group crimes were committed by offenders between the ages of 12 and 20, as well as a fair amount (10.6 per cent) by those aged 21-29. The Canadian experience would seem to mirror these numbers.
Two well-known cases that galvanized public outcry on group violence both involved victims and attackers who were youth.
In June 1999, Jonathan Wamback, 15, was brutally beaten by teens in a park in Newmarket, Ont. He spent three months in a coma and suffered permanent brain damage. His parents have gone on to champion tougher laws for youth offenders.
In November of the same year, another 15-year-old boy, Dmitri (Matti) Baranovski, was kicked and beaten after he and his friends were confronted by a group of teenagers who wanted cigarettes and money. He died of his injuries in hospital the next day.
Despite the absence of statistical evidence in Canada, some courts have taken judicial notice of increased incidents of swarmings. For instance, in R. vs. J.M., the B.C. provincial court found in 1995 that "this type of 'gang mentality' on public transport or at multi or single transit exchanges such as sky train stations is becoming so common it is frightening. One only has to sit in these courts but for a short time to see this offence on a regular basis."
Taxing
"Taxing" is a new term that is being used more frequently to describe teen swarmings involving robbery. Teens are surrounded by a group of other teens and intimidated into giving up money or valuables. A recent survey for Quebec's Public Security Department indicated that more than half the elementary and secondary students in the province have been affected by taxing.
What is being done
Communities are trying to stop the frequency of such violence with drop-in programs and increased police sweeps in malls and parking lots. Despite the increased vigilance, some police officers say that only about 30 per cent of swarmings result in charges, and that only 10 per cent of swarmings are reported at all.
In 2003, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) replaced the Young Offenders Act, aiming to emphasize the rehabilitation and re-entry of a young offender into society.
The Canadian Safe Schools Network was also established to train students not to stand by silently when a swarming occurs. It designed a new interactive video game called Cool Heads in the Zone that presents six violent scenarios that let players act as the bully, the victim or the bystander, to see what happens when they choose to get involved, or to do nothing. The game has been bought by every elementary school in the Toronto District School Board, and in schools in Peterborough and Niagara Falls, Ont.
The question of 'why'
Everything from violent video games to permissive parenting to the decline of religion has been offered to explain why an alarming number of teens are engaging in vicious behaviour.
The Wamback family circulated a petition in 2000 calling for mandatory counselling and tougher sentences for violent youth offenders to combat the violence.
It's difficult to pinpoint a single cause, and likely a myriad number of causes are to blame.
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Don't retaliate, police warn Andrew's friends - Dec. 7, 2004
No parole for Virk's killer - Nov. 19, 2004
Violent street crime a priority for police - Oct 7, 2004
Youth fights getting more violent: police - May 13, 2004
Charges laid in Halloween swarming - Jan. 20, 2004
Swarmings need more than police: expert - Jan. 8, 2004
Two views of 'swarming' in Ottawa's west end - Oct. 14, 2003
Police arrest two swarming suspects - June 19, 2002
Police appeal for help in swarming case - June 14, 2002
Video games more violent than ratings indicate: Harvard study - July 31, 2001
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