Teens and Violence

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Lesson goal

To improve students’ understanding of the impact

of violence on young people, violent crimes and their
consequences, and what teens can do to help
prevent violence.
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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Students will learn:

• how violence impacts young people

• how Virginia law defines violent crimes,
and related penalties
• what teens can do to prevent violence
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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Why should violence concern teens?
Young people commit a larger share of violent crimes and are more
often the victims than those in other age groups.
• In 2010, 4,828 young people ages 10 to 24 were murdered – an
average of 13 each day.
• Homicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for young people
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ages 15 to 24 years old.
• Among 10- to 24-year-olds, 86% (4,171) of homicide victims
were male and 14% (657) were female.
• Among homicide victims ages 10 to 24 years old,
83% were killed with a firearm.
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
 TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Why should violence concern teens, cont.
African American and Hispanic males die from violence at a much
higher rate than white males. Among 10- to 24-year-olds:
• homicide is the leading cause of death for African Americans; the
second leading cause of death for Hispanics; and the
third leading cause of death for American Indians and
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Alaska Natives.
• Homicide rates in 2010 among non-Hispanic, African-American
males (51.5 per 100,000) exceeded those of Hispanic males (13.5
per 100,000) and non-Hispanic, white males (2.9 per 100,000) in
the same age group.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Violence not resulting in death
• In 2011, more than 707,000 young people aged 10 to 24 were
treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries sustained from
violence.
• In a 2011 nationally-representative survey of 9-12 grade students:
o Nearly 33 % reported being in a physical fight in the 12
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months preceding the survey.
o Almost 4% reported injuries that had to be treated by a doctor
or nurse as a result of one or more physical fights

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Violence not resulting in death, cont.

o 16.6% reported carrying a weapon (gun, knife, or club) on

one or more days in the 30 days preceding the survey.
o 5.1% carried a gun on one or more days in the 30 days
preceding the survey, with males were more likely than
females to carry a weapon .
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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Felonies

Felonies are classified into categories called classes for the

purposes of sentencing
• Classes range from a Class 1 Felony, which carries the death
penalty and a possible fine of $100,000, to a Class 6 Felony,
which can result in a prisonSubhead
sentence of one to five years and a
fine of up to $2,500. (Code of Virginia §18.2-10)

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Misdemeanors

Misdemeanors are also classified for the purpose of sentencing

• Classes range from a Class 1 Misdemeanor, which results in
confinement to jail for not more than 12 months and/or a
possible fine of not more than $2,500, to a Class 4
Misdemeanor, which resultsSubhead
in a fine of not more than $250.
(Code of Virginia §18.2-11)

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Homicide
• Homicide: Homicide is the killing of one human being by
another.

Homicide offenses include murder and manslaughter. The

difference between murder and manslaughter is malice. When
malice is present, the killing is murder.
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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Murder
• Murder: Murder is the killing of a person and is typically
classified as first-degree murder when it is willful, deliberate,
and premeditated, and is a Class 2 felony.
• All other murder not defined as either capital murder or first-
degree murder is second-degree murder, and is punishable by
anywhere from five to 40 years in prison. (Code of Virginia §
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18.2-32)

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Capital Offenses
• Some murders are considered so reprehensible that they are
punishable by a sentence of death. These are known as capital
offenses. Virginia is a capital punishment state, which means
that offenders can be executed.

Juveniles are not subject to the death penalty but can be

imprisoned for life. Subhead

• Capital murder is a Class 1 felony. (Code of Virginia §18.2-31)

Like first degree murder, a capital murder must be willful,
deliberate and premeditated.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Capital Offenses, cont.
Capital Offenses, cont.
• Some examples of capital crimes include
o killing a person for hire;
o killing a law enforcement officer for purposes of interfering
with his or her duties;
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o killing a witness after a subpoena has been issued or a clerk
or attorney to interfere with their duties;
o killing a person during the commission of a robbery, a rape,
or an abduction; or
o killing a person during an act of terrorism.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Manslaughter
Manslaughter
• Manslaughter is also the killing of one human being by
another but is not premeditated.
• When someone unintentionally causes the death of another
Subhead manslaughter. Voluntary
person, it is considered involuntary
manslaughter is a killing that is intentional but not
premeditated, such as a killing committed during mutual
combat or a killing committed after being provoked by the
victim.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Firearms
• It is a felony to use or attempt to use any pistol, shotgun, rifle, or
other firearm or display such weapon in a threatening manner
while committing or attempting to commit any felony.
• This is punishable by mandatory imprisonment of three
years for a first offense and five years for a second or subsequent
offense. Subhead

• Also, it is a felony to intentionally discharge a firearm with a

reckless disregard to human life, when this discharge results in a
serious injury to another person.
(Code of Virginia § 18.2-56.1)

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Most frequently occurring violent crimes

Violent crimes that occur most frequently are simple assault,

assault and battery, and threat.
A simple assault, or assault and battery, is an unlawful physical
attack by one person upon another.
(Code of Virginia §18.2-57(A)) Subhead

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Added penalties for assault & battery

• It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to intentionally select a victim

because of race, religious conviction, color, or national origin.
Mandatory 30 days in jail.

• It is a Class 6 felony to intentionally select a victim because of

race, religious conviction, color, or national origin if the assault
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results in bodily injury. Mandatory 30 days in jail.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Added penalties, cont.

• It is a Class 6 felony to commit an assault or assault and battery

against a law enforcement or correctional officer, firefighter, or
rescue squad member engaged in the performance of his or her
public duties. Mandatory six months in jail.

• It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to commit an assault or assault and

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battery against any full-time or part-time school employee
engaged in the performance of his or her duties.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Stalking

• Stalking is defined as engaging in conduct, on more than one

occasion, directed at another person with the intent to place that
person or that person’s family or household member in
reasonable fear of death, criminal sexual assault, or bodily
injury. (Code of Virginia § 18.2-60.3)
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• Stalking actions are undesired, harassing, or threatening;
they can be very blatant, such as making over threats, or
seem harmless, such as showing up repeatedly in
someone’s school parking lot.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Stalking, cont.
• Stalking should be taken seriously because it can be the
beginning of harmful, aggressive behavior toward a person.

• Stalking must also be immediately reported to law enforcement.

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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Penalties for stalking
• If a person is convicted of a first offense for stalking, that
person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
• When it has been shown that a person has been given notice of
unwanted contact or following, there is sufficient evidence to
prove that the person who unwantedly attempts to or actually
Subheadintended to place that
contacts or follows an individual
individual in reasonable and objective fear that the person
would cause that individual or that individual’s family or
household members in reasonable fear of death, criminal sexual
assault, or bodily injury.
(Code of Virginia § 18.2-60.3(A))

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Penalties for stalking, cont.
• If a person is convicted for a second offense of stalking
committed within five years of the prior stalking conviction, the
person is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
(Code of Virginia § 18.2-60.3(B))
• When a person is found guilty of a stalking offense, in addition
to imposing a sentence, theSubhead
court issues a protective order
prohibiting contact between the defendant and the victim or the
victim’s family or household member. (Code of Virginia § 18.2-
60.3(D))

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Threat
• In general, a threat is a communication threatening to kill or do
bodily injury to another person or any member of that person’s
family, when that communication places the other person in
reasonable fear of death or bodily injury to himself or herself or
his or her family.
(Code of Virginia §18.2-60)
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• If the threat is written, the person is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

• If a written threat is made on school premises, at a school-

sponsored event, or on a school bus, it is a Class 6 felony, even
if the person who is the target of the threat doesn’t receive the
threat. (Code of Virginia §18.2-60(A) (2))
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Threat, cont.
• Any spoken threats, or the use of obscene or indecent language
with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass another person,
made using a telephone, constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(Code of Virginia §18.2-427)

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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Robbery with assault
• It is a felony to commit robbery by partial strangulation, or
suffocation, or by striking or beating or other violence, or by
assault or otherwise putting a person in fear of serious bodily
harm, or by the threat or presenting of firearms, or other
deadly weapon.
Subhead for life or any term not
• This is punishable by imprisonment
less than five years.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Abduction
It is a Class 5 felony to seize, take, transport, detain, or secrete
another person by force, intimidation, or deception, and without
legal justification or excuse, with the intent to deprive such other
person of his or her personal liberty or to withhold or conceal him
or her from any person, authority, or institution lawfully entitled to
his or her charge. Subhead
(Code of Virginia § 18.2-47)
• This is a Class 1 misdemeanor if committed by a parent
or guardian.
• This is a Class 6 felony if committed by a parent and if the
child is removed from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
What teens can do about violence
• Make a commitment not to contribute to violence in any way.
• Get positively involved in your school and community.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs.
• Learn about ways to resolve arguments and fights without
violence, and encourage your friends to do the same.
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• Do not carry a gun or other weapons.
• If you know someone is planning to harm someone else, report
him or her.
• Take initiative to make your school or community safer.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

TEENS AND VIOLENCE Subhead
Review and recap

You have learned:

• How violence impacts young people.

• About Virginia laws defining violent crimes and related

penalties.
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• What teens can do to prevent violence.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL • COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA • WWW.AG.VIRGINIA.GOV

For more information about Virginia laws that affect teens,

visit www.virginiarules.org

© Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia