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For other uses, see Superpredator (disambiguation).

The superpredator or super-predator refers to a myth[1][2][3] that became popular in the 1990s in the United States, which posited that a small but significant and increasing population of impulsive (often urban) youth were willing to commit violent crimes without remorse.[4][5] A now-debunked criminological theory, created by criminologist and political scientist John J. DiIulio Jr.,[6][7] alleged that superpredators were a growing phenomenon and predicted a large increase in youth crime and violence as a result.[8][9] The idea of superpredators contributed to a moral panic about juvenile crime.[10][11] Proponents warned of "a blood bath of violence" or "Lord of the Flies on a massive scale".[5][12] American lawmakers seized on this idea, and implemented tough-on-crime legislation for juvenile offenders across the country, including life without parole sentences.[4]

The theory was criticized when crime significantly decreased in the following years.[8][9] Dilulio has since retracted his ideas.[4] There are many alternative explanations to the rise in crime until the 1990s and the subsequent drop. One explanation, supported by American journalist Kevin Drum, is the lead–crime hypothesis, which says that the use of leaded gasoline could have caused the high crime rates in the 1980s and 90s.[13][14] However, current research suggests lead's impact on crime was highly over-estimated by earlier studies.[15] The superpredator theory was also criticized as many people believed the theory was used to justify disproportionate sentencing of African-American children.[4][16][17][18] A Miami University study of United States media coverage of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre suggested that it reinforced the superpredator theory, especially with "alarmist responses to erroneous fears about growing rates and severity of youth violence".[19]: 351 

The arguments of proponents were eventually revealed to involve multiple errors in logic.[1][20] Other errors also occurred, such as one case where the wrong number was used in a calculation; the number of chronic offenders in a study was replaced with the much larger number for all police contacts, substantially inflating the predicted crime rate.[1]

J.C. Howell wrote that superpredators were "the most damaging and erroneous myth propagated in the 100-year history of the juvenile justice system in the United States".[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Howell, J.C. (2009). Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive Framework. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4129-5638-3. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  2. ^ Admin, Madeo (7 April 2014). "The Superpredator Myth, 25 Years Later". Equal Justice Initiative. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  3. ^ Bogert C, Hancock L (20 November 2020). "Superpredator: The Media Myth That Demonized a Generation of Black Youth". The Marshall Project. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Boghani, Priyanka. "They Were Sentenced as "Superpredators." Who Were They Really?". PBS Frontline. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Newsweek Staff (21 January 1996). "'Superpredators' Arrive". Newsweek.
  6. ^ Templeton, Robin (1 January 1998). "Superscapegoating". FAIR. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  7. ^ "The Coming of the Super -- Predators". 27 November 1995.
  8. ^ a b Leah, Rachel (2018-04-21). "The "superpredator" myth was discredited, but it continues to ruin young black lives". Salon. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  9. ^ a b Vitale, Alex S. (2018-03-23). "Opinion | The New 'Superpredator' Myth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  10. ^ Merlo, A.V.; Benekos, P.J. (2017). Reaffirming Juvenile Justice: From Gault to Montgomery. Taylor & Francis. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-351-61838-0. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  11. ^ Lord P (1 March 2022). "Moral Panic and the War on Drugs". The University of New Hampshire Law Review. 20 (2): 407–431. Retrieved 24 September 2024. Part III ["From Witches to Superpredators"]...draws analogies to prior moral panics.
  12. ^ Haberman C (6 April 2014). "When Youth Violence Spurred 'Superpredator' Fear (Published 2014)". nytimes.com. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  13. ^ Doleac, Jennifer L. (2017-06-01). "New evidence that lead exposure increases crime". Brookings. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  14. ^ Drum, Kevin. "A very brief history of super-predators". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  15. ^ Higney, Anthony; Hanley, Nick; Moro, Mirko (November 2022). "The lead-crime hypothesis: A meta-analysis". Regional Science and Urban Economics. 97: 103826. doi:10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2022.103826. ISSN 0166-0462.
  16. ^ "Op-Ed: Why America is still living with the damage done by the 'superpredator' lie". Los Angeles Times. 27 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Analysis: How the media created a 'superpredator' myth that harmed a generation of Black youth". NBC News. 20 November 2020.
  18. ^ "How being labeled as a superpredator has impacted a generation of Black and Hispanic men". 20 April 2021.
  19. ^ Muschert, Glenn W. (October 2007). "The Columbine Victims and the Myth of the Juvenile Superpredator". Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. 5 (4): 351–366. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.557.1686. doi:10.1177/1541204006296173. S2CID 31869503.
  20. ^ Zimring, F.E. (1998). American Youth Violence. Studies in crime and public policy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512145-2. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
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