When Good Kids Kill.

by Michael D. Kelleher, published by Praeger Publisher, Westport, CT, 1998.

Most juvenile violence research focuses on youths with a history of troubled backgrounds (e.g., school dropouts, runaways living on the streets, abuse victims, and those from broken homes). In contrast, When Good Kids Kill addresses the violent crimes committed by juveniles who 1) have supportive families and stable homes; 2) do not have police records; 3) maintain average grades in school; and 4) participate in athletics. Juveniles' killing peers or family members remains one of the most frustrating and complex categories of violence.

The author of When Good Kids Kill specializes in threat assessment and strategic and human resource management, bringing a multitude of research, analysis, and writing experience to the juvenile violence topic. The book provides valuable insight to the law enforcement and investigative communities by interviewing youths and providing much-needed information on an important topic.

The author addresses crimes that range from juveniles' murdering their babies from social fear and killing from feelings of rage or retribution to senseless thrill killing and murdering family members and friends. In the first three chapters, the author discusses the sex of youths who murder and their relationship to their victims and then narrows the research to focus on crimes hard to detect due to low-level predictors and limited known patterns to law enforcement. For example, if juveniles have not come into contact previously with law enforcement, it may be more difficult to prove them capable of violent acts. Additionally, the book includes charts supporting this research. Most of the cases the author presents have received national cove, rage but provided limited information.

When Good Kids' Kill is a well-designed and progressive book that analyzes the development of real scenarios involving juvenile violence. Each chapter begins with an anecdote correlating that specific chapter's title and theme. The author presents seven violent incidents committed by girls, over 12 incidents involving boys and girls who kill, and 15 case-by-case snap shot profiles of these young criminals. The research reinforces the need for law enforcement agencies to perfect crime scene skills and develop knowledge of kids in society who seldom, if ever, come into contact with law enforcement until an incident occurs requiring a response.

The fact that mitigating circumstances associated with the killings usually do not exist creates a common thread in each of the scenarios for law enforcement officers and prosecutors. Even though some low-level indicators suggest that violence might occur, most officers do not take juveniles' comments seriously. The book concludes with a section advising parents to communicate and become good friends with their teens, as well as to demonstrate and prove their love to them good advice for all members of society. Additionally, When Good Kids Kill could provide instructional reference to support juvenile instruction programs.

Reviewed by Larry R. Moore, U.S. Army Military Police Corps (ret.) Certified Emergency Manager, National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management