Ms. Parrillo,

I think the answer lies on the level of proximity among parents and their children. By “proximity,” I mean the level of closeness and openness that both the parents and their children share. I think at least one of the parents, if not both should have close ties with their children, so their children can turn to one parent if not the other at times of great hardship. I personally think conversation is the key to attaining this kind of proximity. With such measures/actions set into practice, teens will eventually feel a greater degree of comfort when they come home, and this will hopefully restrain them from wandering around the city until late at night, and therefore, decrease the likelihood of them being exposed to such dangers.

Well, these were just some ideas I had in mind. Ms. Parrillo, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I wish you and Mr. Cutler a happy new year!

Well, I have no answers, but I do have a couple of comments - first off, I don't know anything about the New Year's Eve, the 47th Ave, or the Devin Lepierro incidents. Having said that, some of these people haven't died (to date), so they aren't all deaths. Eric Bluford was also shot by police following a carjacking - and was not killed. Arturo and his neighbor I believe are both still alive. Jesus Zamora Hernandez is actually from Oakland, but his body was found here - it is unknown (as far as I know) if he was actually killed here. He's also pushing the "youth" tag a bit at 28 years old.

So anyway, you essentially have 5 deaths so far (not counting the police shootings, Hernandez, and it sounds like there was no death in the incident on 47th Ave). Which IS 5 too many I might add. I don't know if it is "dying in droves" though (no offense intended to the OP).

Furthermore, of these, Daniel Valdez was shot at 3 in the afternoon, Koron Kyle Lyles was stabbed at 6:40 PM, Robert Francisco Maisonet was at some time in the afternoon, and I believe the Arturo Islas incident was not late at night, either. James Ramirez's incident occurred around 5 AM, and was pretty clearly not random (it was at his house - he wasn't out and about).

It sounds like most of these aren't really attributed to wandering the city at all hours of the night, although Tina Marie Valdez may be. So while I would tend to agree with Chris Kim's sentiments in general that interaction like this could be part of a general solution to youth issues, I am not sure that it has a lot of bearing on these particular cases. Then again, not knowing all of the back stories on them, it could have contributed to what led to the deaths. Then again, it could have been daytime interactions that led to the deaths (if not random).

I also would agree with what I took to be an implied sentiment from the OP - building more prisons will not resolve the issue. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer. I can say that while it has increased over the decades, this is not a "new" issue. Has it increased over time proportionately to population growth? I don't know, but would be very interested to find out. My *guess* would be that it is probably pretty close. Unfortunately, I don't have time to do that research.

Having experienced the helicopters flying over our house (which is not usual, we live in a City) even more than usual, and being a few blocks from the James Ramirez brutal slaying only a few short days ago, I might have been more keenly focused on this trend when I received an email on this subject. But I do drive by the spot every day on Freeport right by McClatchy High School where not too many months ago, again in broad daylight, a young person was killed. And I do know, having taken into our home for several months a high potential youth (and low functioning, due to an overwhelming abundance of negative external factors that are too numerous to be mentioned here) that caring and setting high standards and nagging, nagging, nagging, and programs like NCCT, can turn people's lives around, we hope for ever. Commenters: Thanks for your insightful comments. Some of us are blessed with parents who care, or who have the time or the guidance or the wisdom or training to care, and others need to seek out people who will peform that all important role - teacher, minister, mentor, social worker, etc. Even if they are not your kids, we can treat them as they are. It's good for them and for all of us. And, if you are a pragmatist, so much cheaper than years in jail.

people die...
i myself as a teen, personally knowing the victim murdered 1/7/06, am outraged at the fact of a numerous amounts of young adult deaths here. But it's disrespect to mention his father in the article without releasing a number of facts. Robert's father was NOT at fault for the others actions, for bullets do not have a name. Robert "pops" was nothing but a kind heart paved of love and gold... with a teaspoon of hot sauce for that extra little spice :) god has his ways of taking people from the earth and some are a bit more painful but that's NOT a statistic!!!! Robert was (no scratch that) IS more than that. His death is no reason to prove a point on teenage crimes out here. His death was an outrage!!... it should count as a statistic on how the wonderful police can find a murderer (who killed their own) in less than 24 hours, but struggle to find the murdererS who scarred the lives of many, on a sunny afternoon, on a super busy street, INFRONT OF A CHURCH, with probably over 100 wittnesses. Can you write an article on that. Give us teens something to read. so we dont go out killing one another?