European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 21, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Younger and younger kids i vol of Foo by Peter Applebome new York times after the judge Road he jury s Verdi he defendant looked up for an explant irom his attorney who told him. We 0 with Hal. Iho to your old boy in the t and Gray athletic jacket buried his head his hands and began to cry he had just been foun guilty of delinquent conduct in the stabbing and beating of a 101 year old woman. The woman a neighbor had identified the boy e her assailant while testifying com her wheelchair in iwo Day rial in juvenile court in Foft Worth Texas. Jury trial which is not usually held in juvenile cases was conducted in open court at the request of he boy s attorney. It was a jarring scene but similar ones seem to i occurring with increasing frequency according to juvenile experts around the United states. They say younger children Are becoming involve More Olen in serious criminal activity usually associated with older youths or adults. Figures on juvenile crime in the United Stales i elusive because much of the crime involving Young children is not handled through conventional Judici channels. Some official Sty that serious crime by Prate agers remains a minor part of the juvenile crime picture and or that reason Hay Are wary of generalizations about major changes in the nature juvenile crime but interviews with juvenile Justice officials a oui the country indicate that the age at which Youngst Are committing serious crimes is declining steadily that cases that seemed like bizarre anomalies a the years ago Are now becoming More common. Crime figures compiled by the Fri based on reports from to ,219 agencies in 1365, reported in youths 15 and younger were responsible Tor 381 cases of murder and non negligent manslaughter 18,021 aggravated assaults 13,699 robberies Anci 2,645 rapes. Children 12 and under were rnspons1 Lor 21 of the killings 436 of the rapes 3,545 schools tap peer groups in resolving by Georgia Dullea new Yolk times he trouble began at William Howard Taf t High school in new York s Bronx Borough when a Sophomore boy threw a piece of Chalk at a Sophomore girl. E ethnic slurs were exchanged along with threats and by Funchi Ime he Girt was on the Telephone to fellow gang members in the office of project smart the coordinator Dorothea Grant recalls glancing of and seeing a big gang of kids outside the school there were rumours of  she said.  i this Nad happened iwo years ago the principal Jimmie Warren said he would have put out an apr or All Points bulletin the the school s Security guards. Instead Warren called in the antagonists and offered them a Choice submit their dispute to mediation or be suspended. After an hour of negotiations with a 6 year old classmate one of the school s 32 peer mediators they signed a contract to buy the Hatchet and Caff off their gangs with cadres of Teon Gers trained to mediate conflicts tall and live other new York City High schools Are outposts of project smart an acronym for school mediators alternative Resolution team. Students who fight have the same Choice As those in the Chalk dispute mediation Warren said has Cut our suspension Rale in  the mediation project is part of a larger National phenomenon known As the peer movement. While parents and teachers have always known Hal adolescents speak More freely to Peers than to adult it is Only recently Hal schools have begun to Lap the positive Force of peer pressure. Trained to help other students express feeling explore options end reach decisions peer Cou Telon Deal not Only with conflicts but Wilh such serious problems As teen age suicide pregnancy drug and alcohol abuse divorce in the family anxiety about tests and loneliness. The movement is stirring interest in Many schools said Morton Deutsch a social psychologist at teachers College of Columbia University and director of ils new Center Lor cooperation and conflict in schools. The Center which trains teachers works with now York schools on Long Island and in Westchester county and new Jersey among others. Robert Bowman editor of the peer Facilitator quarterly estimated thai �0,000 peer counselling programs exist in elementary schools and High schools around the country. Bowman an educational psychology professor at the University of South Carolina said he had consulted with schools in 30 Stales and helped form peer counselling networks in 10 states. Kids today Are leading last paced lives growing up in families thai Are not so Strong he said. Research shows kids watch an average of 30 hours of to a week. But the average time of two Way conversations kids getting listened to is 15 minutes a week. The suicide rate i m convinced s partly because kids Aren t Baing listened to anymore by Ami ties or by each  peer projects take Many forms. Examples Are in Tyonek Alaska a Village where High of 30 teen agers have taken their lives in recent years peer Counselor work with children As Young As 8 to combat suicide and drug abuse. In Peoria 111., mental health workers have trained teen agers to operate a crisis Telephone line Lor other teen agers who Call in anonymously. F in san Francisco Small conflict managers in grades 4 through 6 arc credited with breaking up scuffles and lunch Money Enlo Ruon rings. We stress that they re nol judges not cops just friends who listen said Judy Dummond who toadies bilingual classes and supervises the program a Paul Revere elementary school in san Francisco. Smell conflict manager Leain their skills irom the Community boards of san Francisco neighbourhood dispute Resolution which has trained teachers in 18 Stales. The first year Drummond recalled violent crimes were virtually eliminated. This used to be known As a rough  courses led by peer Counselor Are part of the curriculum in some schools an optional activity in others. Counselor Wear distinctive to shirts or armbands in some schools others consider such symbols elitist. In some schools Counselor Are elected solely by Peers in Ollars the every i need Florid exc stall Lodi i Troi psych a sign Wersal leave 1 like vice i Tackno arson yours tto health Leader Etsell drop i with be Dos Walla Are a advise he to into and vat Page 14 the stars and stripes saturday feb