Crimes committed by juvenile delinquents in our nation have gone from a troubling statistic that would have barely been noticed even 25 years ago to a problem of pandemic proportions. The responsibility for this falls on every citizen, and we must all bite the bullet and agree to adequately fund programs that can help prevent crime, properly rehabilitate prisoners, and save our nation's youth at the same time. Youth gangs have existed in various forms since at least the 19th century, although the nature and extent of their activity has evolved over time. Especially over the last 25 years, criminal gangs have grown rapidly both in size and areas of activity. Today, gangs are more violent, their activities are more widespread and pervasive, and they are more entrenched within the community. (Cahill and Hayeslip, 2010) Some people might be inclined to say, “I don't have kids, so this doesn't concern me,” but they would be drastically wrong. As taxpayers we all share the cost of housing juvenile and adult offenders. The sooner we can stop the cycle of youth crime, the sooner we can work to help rehabilitate these young offenders and prevent them from returning to prison. Rehabilitation helps reduce the number of repeat offenders who return to prison after being unable to adapt to life outside of prison. The numbers vary from state to state, but the national average shows that nearly 65% ​​of the adult prison population is made up of repeat offenders. More than 47 percent of repeat offenders in prison today committed their first misdemeanor crime before age 16, and more than 52 percent committed their first crime before age 21. (Stephan, 2004) Many readers probably think this is simply part of the eve...... middle of paper....... Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention of delinquency. (2010).Highlights of the 2008 national youth gang Survey (NCJ 229249).Washington DC: USGovernment Printing Office.http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/229249.pdfCahill, M, & Hayeslip, DUS Department of Justice, programs of the Office of JusticeOffice for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2010). Results of the evaluation of the ojjdp gang reduction program (NCJ 230106). Washington DC: US ​​Government Printing Office. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/230106.pdf Wright, M. (2008, March 09 ). Criminal Rehabilitation: Working towards a better life for prisoners and their families. EZine articles, retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Criminal-Rehabilitation---Working-Towards-A-Better-Life-For-Inmates-And-Their-Families&id=455250