Contents To the Instructor
iv
Course Syllabus
v
Class Syllabus
xiv
CHAPTER 1 Juvenile Justice: An Overview
1
CHAPTER 2 The Extent and Nature of Juvenile Crime
7
CHAPTER 3 Causes of Juvenile Crime
11
CHAPTER 4 Gender and Juvenile Justice
16
CHAPTER 5 The Prevention of Delinquency
22
CHAPTER 6 The Police
27
CHAPTER 7 The Juvenile Court
32
CHAPTER 8 Juveniles in Adult Court
38
CHAPTER 9 Community Corrections
43
CHAPTER 10 Juvenile Institutionalization
49
CHAPTER 11 Juvenile Aftercare
54
CHAPTER 12 Treatment Technologies
60
CHAPTER 13 Juvenile Gangs
64
CHAPTER 14 Drugs and Delinquency
70
CHAPTER 15 Juvenile Justice in the Twenty-First Century
75
Videos for Juvenile Justice Classes
80
Test Bank
94
iii Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
To the Instructor Juvenile Justice in America (9th Edition) provides an in-depth look at the lives of juveniles, their experiences in society, and the consequences of those experiences. The text carefully examines the structures, procedures, policies, and problems of American juvenile justice agencies. The Ninth Edition places further emphasis on delinquency prevention, and features a new chapter on juvenile offender populations to give readers a more comprehensive view of delinquent youth. Boxed features in every chapter highlight the practical realities of working in the juvenile justice system. The careful balance of theory, evidence-based findings, and practical applications gives readers the most up-to-date insight into the state of juvenile justice in America today. The instructor’s manual begins with an outline of the chapters to assist with lecture preparation. Following the chapter outlines, there is a list of videos relevant to juvenile justice topics. Finally, there is a test bank that includes multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, matching, essay, and critical thinking questions that cover the information in each chapter. New questions have been added and others edited either for the sake of clarity or to cover added new materials. This course can easily be set up in various weekly formats without having to adjust the point system. Graded assignments in every class are recommended in order to motivate students to attend all classes. To add more graded assignments, you could offer fewer points for the “Instructor Assigned” homework and have some in-class points added each week. You can offer graded activities at the very beginning of classes and at the end of classes to encourage students to be to class on time and to remain at class until the end. These activities can be short quizzes from prior lectures or can be quizzes at the end of class from the lecture offered during the class. Points can be offered for correct answers or for participation. Games can be played in which questions are asked from prior learning and the students can receive a grade for participating. It might help to “sell” the paper to the students in a way that helps them realize that it isn’t just a paper, but more of a research project that can benefit them in finding out more about the field they want to work in, or just want to learn more about. Hopefully the students who have used too many drugs or committed too many crimes will find out early where they can and can’t work before they dedicate too much time into the wrong areas. If possible, try to bring in a few guest speakers. Let the students know in week one that you would like 2–3 guest speakers and ask them to contact you if they have any relatives or friends who could qualify. You could either have the student invite the speakers or you could obtain contact info and invite the speakers yourself. Usually about 45 minutes is sufficient for a speaker to talk about what they do and what road they took to get there. They can offer some advice to those interested in their field and answer questions. For the first class, it is a good idea to make a quiz on the syllabus and have each student take it for a grade or just for your own records. If you do this as a graded assignment, you would need to adjust your point system to allow more points to be earned. Another option for the first and last class is a pretest and a posttest. A 25–50-question quiz can easily be put together using the test bank that is provided at the end of this manual.
iv Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Course Syllabus Course Number: Course Length: 16 Weeks Course Schedule:
Course Title: Credit Hours: Date: Instructor: Phone: Email:
Course Description: This course is an overview of the development, nature, purpose, and theoretical doctrines of juvenile justice. Topics to be covered throughout the course include the history and development of juvenile court, police decision making regarding juvenile offenders, juvenile detention, the court intake process, juvenile transfer policies, juvenile court decisions, the effectiveness of juvenile corrections, and delinquency prevention and intervention. Course Materials •
Juvenile Justice in America Clemens Bartollas – University of Northern Iowa Matthew Makarios – University of Northern Iowa ©2023 • Prentice Hall
Course Assignments •
•
•
• •
Exams (50 points each – 150 points) There are three (3) multiple-choice exams. The exams are not cumulative but will be based on the chapters presented immediately preceding each exam. Final exam (100 points) There will be final exam for this class. The format for the exam may consist of some type of multiple choices, fill-in-the-blanks, and/or essay questions that pertain to all of the information presented. Instructor assignments (10 points each – 70 points) Assignments will be given out throughout the semester. Students are expected to complete each assignment and submit them on the due date. Essay or Critical Thinking (10 points each – 130 points) Students will complete an essay or critical thinking assignment for each chapter. Project Paper (50 points) Students will write a research paper about a career in juvenile justice that is of interest to the student. The paper will be in APA format and contain an introduction, the body of the research, and a conclusion. The paper must contain in-text citations from at least three sources. One of the sources must be our textbook. v Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
APA Style Papers that you write in your program of study must follow the guidelines set by the American Psychological Association. Purdue Online Writing Lab: Visit the Online Writing Lab (called OWL) whenever you have an APA question. There is a tutorial on the APA website that teaches how to write using the APA format. Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism In the learning environment, professional attitude begins in the classroom. For that reason, students and faculty will not tolerate or commit any form of academic dishonesty. Any form of deception in the completion of assigned work is considered a form of academic dishonesty. This includes, but is not limited to: • Copying work from any source. • Assisting, or allowing another to assist you, to commit academic dishonesty. • Any attempt to share answers whether during a test or in the submittal of an assignment. • Any attempt to claim work, data or creative efforts of another as your own. • Resubmitting graded assignments for use in multiple classes (recycling your work). • Knowingly providing false information about your academic performance to the college. • To avoid plagiarism, do not “copy and paste” into assignments without using quotation marks and citing, in APA format, the source of the material. Plagiarism •
Papers that you write in your program of study must follow the guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA). Using another’s intellectual creation without permission or without giving appropriate credit is the academic equivalent of theft. Consequences of Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism All violations of academic policy are documented and made a part of the student’s academic record. When academic dishonesty is confirmed, the student will immediately be notified of the incident, which may result in one or more of the actions listed below: • Reduction in grade on the assignment on which the violation occurred • No credit on the assignment, paper, test, or exam on which the violation occurred • A failing grade for the course •
Suspension or dismissal from the college
Class rules •
Attendance The requirement to attend class should not be taken lightly. Attendance is considered an important part of the course. Excessive unexcused absences will negatively impact on the classroom participation grade as well. vi Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
•
•
•
Make-Ups Students who have scheduling conflicts with an exam are expected to make arrangements with instructor in advance. Students are allowed one make-up on an exam per semester. The instructor will announce the make-up date and time. There is no make-up on the final exam. Student Conduct Students are responsible for knowing the regulations of the department, college, and university with regards to topics such as withdrawals, incomplete grades, student conduct, and academic misconduct (those who engage in any form of academic dishonesty will fail this course). Students may review these rules at: ___________. No use of cell phones will be allowed in the classroom. Grade Categories
Total Points
Three Quarterly Exams
150
Instructor Assignments
70
Essays and Critical Thinking
130
Project Paper
50
Final Exam
100 Total:
500
Grading Scale Letter Grade
Point Scale
Interpretation
A
450–500
Excellent
B
400–449
Good
C
350–399
Average
D
300–349
Below Average
F
Below 300
Failed to Meet Course Objectives
vii Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Class Schedule Class Wk 1
Date
Discussion Topic
Learning Activities / Resources
Graded Assignments
Introduction
During this first week you will be introduced to the course and walked through the syllabus. You will be given the first Instructor Assignment. You will also receive clarification on the research paper so you can get started. You will view the first PowerPoint lecture and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
IA #1 – (10 points) Due ___________
Overview of syllabus and course material Chapter 1: Juvenile Justice PowerPoint Lecture
#1 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Reading for next week: Ch 2 Wk 2
Chapter 2: The Extent and Nature of Juvenile Crime PowerPoint Lecture
During this class you will participate in a discussion about IA #1. You will view a PowerPoint lecture for chapter 2 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Reading for next week: Ch 3
Wk 3
Chapter 3: Causes of Juvenile Crime
During this class you will participate in a discussion about IA #2. You will view a PowerPoint lecture for chapter 3 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
PowerPoint Lecture
Reading for next week: Ch 4 Wk 4
Chapter 4: Gender and Juvenile Justice PowerPoint Lecture
During this class you will participate in a discussion about IA #3. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 4 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Study guide will be passed out for exam #1 over chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4. Reading for next week: Ch 5 viii
Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
IA #2 – (10 points) Due __________ #2 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________ IA #3 – (10 points) Due __________ #3 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________ #4 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Wk 5
Chapter 5: The Prevention of Delinquency PowerPoint Lecture
During this class you take your first exam. You will participate in a class discussion on last week’s assignment. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 5 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
Exam #1 (50 points) #5 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Paper is due next Reading for next week: Ch 6 Wk 6
Chapter 6: The Police PowerPoint Lecture
Wk 7
Chapter 7: The Juvenile Court PowerPoint Lecture
Paper (50 points) You will submit your paper this week. During this class you will view a PowerPoint for chapter 6 IA #4 – (10 points) and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation Due ________ points. #6 Essay or critical thinking exercise Reading for next week: Ch 7 (10 points) Due __________ During this class you will receive your graded papers. You will participate in a class discussion on IA #4. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 7 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Study guide handed out for exam #2 over chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8. Reading for next week: Ch 8
ix Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
#7 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Wk 8
Chapter 8: Juveniles in Adult Court PowerPoint Lecture
Wk 9
Chapter 9: Community Corrections PowerPoint Lecture
Wk 10
Chapter 10: Juvenile Institutionalization PowerPoint Lecture
During this class you will take your second exam. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 8 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
Exam #2 (50 points) IA #5 – (10 points) Due ________
Reading for next week: Ch 9
#8 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
During this class you will participate in a class discussion on IA #5. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 9 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
Exam #2 (50 points) IA #5 – (10 points) Due ________
Reading for next week: Ch 10
#8 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
During this class you will view a PowerPoint for chapter 10 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
#10 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Reading for next week: Ch 11 Wk 11
Chapter 11: Juvenile Aftercare PowerPoint Lecture
You will participate in a class discussion on the lab assignment from last week. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 11 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Study guide handed out for exam #3 over chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12. Reading for next week: Ch 12
x Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
IA #6 – (10 points) Due __________ #11 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Wk 12
During this class you will take your third exam. You will participate in a class discussion on IA #6. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 12 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
Chapter 12: Treatment Technologies PowerPoint Lecture
Exam #3 (50 points)
#12 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Reading for next week: Ch 13 Wk 13
IA #7 – (10 points) During this class you will participate in a class discussion on Due ________ last week’s assignment. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 13 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
Chapter 13: Juvenile Gangs PowerPoint Lecture
Reading for next week: Ch 14 Wk 14
Chapter 14: Drugs and Delinquency PowerPoint Lecture
During this class you will participate in a class discussion on IA #7. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 14 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
#13 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Reading for next week: Ch 15 Wk 15
Chapter 15: Juvenile Justice in the Twenty-First Century PowerPoint Lecture
During this class period you will hear from a few guest speakers in the criminology field. You will view a PowerPoint for chapter 15 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Study guide handed out for the final exam over chapters 13, 14, and 15, and anything else selected by the instructor.
Wk 16
Final Exam
Final Exam
xi Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Final Exam (100 points)
Grading Content and Development 35 Points
Rubric Points Earned
/35
Additional Comments: All key elements of the assignment are covered in a substantive way. • Students chose a relevant topic from the textbook. • The body of the paper is at least ___________ in length. The content is comprehensive, accurate, and persuasive. Major points are stated clearly; are supported by specific details, examples, or analysis; and are organized logically. The introduction provides sufficient background on the topic and previews major points. The conclusion is logical, flows from the body of the paper, and reviews the major points. Points Earned
Readability and Style 7.5 Points
/7.5
Additional Comments:
Paragraph transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper. The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment. Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. Sentences are well constructed, with consistently strong, varied sentences. Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought. Points Earned
Mechanics 7.5 Points
/7.5
Additional Comments: The paper, including the title page and reference page follows APA formatting guidelines.
xii Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Citations of original works within the body of the paper follow APA guidelines. The paper is laid out with effective use of headings, font styles, and white space. Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed. Spelling is correct.
Points Earned
Total 50 Points Overall Comments:
xiii Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
/50
Class Syllabus Course Number: Course Length: 10 Weeks Course Schedule:
Course Title: Credit Hours: Date: Instructor: Phone: Email:
Course Description: This course is an overview of the development, nature, purpose, and theoretical doctrines of juvenile justice. Topics to be covered throughout the course include the history and development of juvenile court, police decision making regarding juvenile offenders, juvenile detention, the court intake process, juvenile transfer policies, juvenile court decisions, the effectiveness of juvenile corrections, and delinquency prevention and intervention.
Course Materials •
Juvenile Justice in America Clemens Bartollas – University of Northern Iowa Matthew Makarios University of Northern Iowa ©2023 • Prentice Hall
Course Assignments •
•
•
• •
Exams (50 points each – 150 points) There are three (3) multiple-choice exams. The exams are not cumulative but will be based on the chapters presented immediately preceding each exam. Final exam (100 points) There will be final exam for this class. The format for the exam may consist of some type of multiple choices, fill-in-the-blanks, and/or essay questions that pertain to all of the information presented. Instructor assignments (10 points each – 80 points) Assignments will be given out throughout the semester. Students are expected to complete each assignment and submit them on the due date. Essay or Critical Thinking (10 points each – 120 points) Students will complete an essay or critical thinking assignment for each chapter. Project Paper (50 points) Students will write a research paper about a career in juvenile justice that is of interest to the student. The paper will be in APA format and contain an introduction, the body of the research, and a conclusion. The paper must contain in-text citations from at least three sources. One of the sources must be our textbook. xiv Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
APA Style Papers that you write in your program of study must follow the guidelines set by the American Psychological Association. Purdue Online Writing Lab: Visit the Online Writing Lab (called OWL) whenever you have an APA question. There is a tutorial on the APA website that teaches how to write using the APA format. Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism In the learning environment, professional attitude begins in the classroom. For that reason, students and faculty will not tolerate or commit any form of academic dishonesty. Any form of deception in the completion of assigned work is considered a form of academic dishonesty. This includes, but is not limited to: • Copying work from any source. • Assisting, or allowing another to assist you, to commit academic dishonesty. • Any attempt to share answers whether during a test or in the submittal of an assignment. • Any attempt to claim work, data or creative efforts of another as your own. • Resubmitting graded assignments for use in multiple classes (recycling your work). • Knowingly providing false information about your academic performance to the college. • To avoid plagiarism, do not “copy and paste” into assignments without using quotation marks and citing, in APA format, the source of the material. Plagiarism •
Papers that you write in your program of study must follow the guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA). Using another’s intellectual creation without permission or without giving appropriate credit is the academic equivalent of theft.
Consequences of Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism All violations of academic policy are documented and made a part of the student’s academic record. When academic dishonesty is confirmed, the student will immediately be notified of the incident, which may result in one or more of the actions listed below: • Reduction in grade on the assignment on which the violation occurred • No credit on the assignment, paper, test, or exam on which the violation occurred • A failing grade for the course • Suspension or dismissal from the college
Class rules • Attendance The requirement to attend class should not be taken lightly. Attendance is considered an important part of the course. Excessive unexcused absences will negatively impact on the classroom participation grade as well.
xv Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
• Make-Ups Students who have scheduling conflicts with an exam are expected to make arrangements with instructor in advance. Students are allowed one make-up on an exam per semester. The instructor will announce the make-up date and time. There is no make-up on the final exam. • Student Conduct Students are responsible for knowing the regulations of the department, college, and university with regards to topics such as withdrawals, incomplete grades, student conduct, and academic misconduct (those who engage in any form of academic dishonesty will fail this course). Students may review these rules at: ___________. • No use of cell phones will be allowed in the classroom. Grade Categories
Total Points
Three Quarterly Exams
150
Instructor Assignments
80
Essays and Critical Thinking
120
Project Paper
50
Final Exam
100 500
Total:
Grading Scale Letter Grade
Point Scale
Interpretation
A
450–500
Excellent
B
400–449
Good
C
350–399
Average
D
300–349
Below Average
F
Below 300
Failed to meet minimum requirements
xvi Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Class Schedule Class Wk 1
Date
Discussion Topic
Learning Activities / Resources
Graded Assignments
Introduction
During this first week you will be introduced to the course and walked through the syllabus. You will be given the first Instructor Assignment. You will also receive clarification on the research paper so you can get started. You will view the first PowerPoint lecture and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Lastly, you will take a pre-test that is not graded.
IA #1 – (10 points) Due ___________
Overview of syllabus and course material PowerPoint Lecture Chapter 1: Juvenile Justice
#1 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Reading for next week: Chs 2 & 3 Wk 2
Chapter 2: The Extent and Nature of Juvenile Crime
Chapter 3: Causes of Juvenile Crime PowerPoint Lecture
Wk 3
Chapter 4: Gender and Juvenile Justice
Chapter 5: The Prevention of Delinquency PowerPoint Lecture
During this class you will participate in a discussion about IA #1. You will view a PowerPoint lecture for chapters 2 & 3 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Study guide will be passed out for exam #1 over chapters 1–3. Reading for next week: Chs 4 & 5
During this class you will you’re your first exam and also participate in a discussion about IA #2. You will view a PowerPoint lecture for chapters 4 & 5 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Reading for next week: Chs 6 & 7
xvii Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
IA #2 – (10 points) Due __________ #2 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________ #3 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________ Exam #1 (50 points) IA #3 – (10 points) Due __________ #4 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Wk 4
Chapter 6: The Police Chapter 7: The Juvenile Court PowerPoint Lecture
During this class you will participate in a discussion about IA #3. You will view a PowerPoint for chapters 6 & 7 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Study guide handed out for exam #2 over chapters 4–7. Reading for next week: Chs 8 & 9
Wk 5
Chapter 8: Juveniles in Adult Court Chapter 9: Community Corrections
Wk 6
During this class you take your second exam. You will participate in a class discussion on last week’s assignment. You will view a PowerPoint for chapters 8 & 9 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
PowerPoint Lecture
Paper is due next
Chapter 10: Juvenile Institutionalization
You will submit your paper this week. During this class you will Discuss IA #5 and view a PowerPoint for chapters 11 & 12. You participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
Chapter 11: Juvenile Aftercare PowerPoint Lecture
Reading for next week: Chs 10 & 11
Study guide handed out for exam #3 over chapters 8–11. Reading for next week: Chs 12 & 13
xviii Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
IA #4 – (10 points) Due ________ #5 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________ #6 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________ Exam #2 (50 points) IA #5 – (10 points) Due ________ #7 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________ Paper (50 points) IA #6 – (10 points) Due __________ #8 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
Wk 7
Chapter 12: Treatment Technologies
Chapter 13: Juvenile Gangs
PowerPoint Lecture
Wk 8
Chapter 14: Drugs and Delinquency Chapter 15: Juvenile Justice in the Twenty-First Century
During this class you will take your third exam. You will also receive your graded papers. You will participate in a class discussion on IA #6. You will view a PowerPoint for chapters 12 & 13 and participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points. Reading for next week: Chs 14 & 15
Exam #3 (50 points) IA #7 – (10 points) Due ________
#9 (10 points) Due __________
#10 (10 points) Due __________ During this class you will discuss IA # 7 and view a PowerPoint for chapters 14 & 15. You will participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
IA #8 – (10 points) Due ________
During this class period you will hear from a few guest speakers in the criminal procedure field. You will participate in class exercises and discussions to earn participation points.
#12 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
#11 Essay or critical thinking exercise (10 points) Due __________
PowerPoint Lecture Wk 9
Study guide handed out for the final exam over chapters 12–15, and anything else selected by the instructor. Wk 10
Final Exam
Final Exam
Final Exam (100 points)
xix Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Points Earned
Content and Development 35 Points
/35
Additional Comments: All key elements of the assignment are covered in a substantive way. • Students chose a relevant topic from the textbook. • The body of the paper is at least ___________ in length The content is comprehensive, accurate, and persuasive. Major points are stated clearly; are supported by specific details, examples, or analysis; and are organized logically. The introduction provides sufficient background on the topic and previews major points. The conclusion is logical, flows from the body of the paper, and reviews the major points.
Points Earned
Readability and Style 7.5 Points
/7.5
Additional Comments: Paragraph transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper. The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment. Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. Sentences are well constructed, with consistently strong, varied sentences. Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought.
xx Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Points Earned
Mechanics 7.5 Points
/7.5
Additional Comments: The paper, including the title page and reference page follows APA formatting guidelines. Citations of original works within the body of the paper follow APA guidelines.
.
The paper is laid out with effective use of headings, font styles, and white space. Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed. Spelling is correct. Points Earned
Total 50 Points
xxi Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
/50
CHAPTER 1 Juvenile Justice: An Overview CHAPTER OVERVIEW Evidence-based research provides reason to be positive about the future of juvenile Justice in the United States. All of the remaining chapters of this text discuss evidence-based practices in juvenile justice. “Gold standard” programs that have recently been developed to benefit youthful lawbreakers are Blueprints for Violence Prevention developed by Dr. Delbert Elliott, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Model Programs guide, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. In the midst of these hopeful program innovations in the juvenile justice system, there remains wide criticism of juvenile justice in the United States. Some of the criticism focuses on the juvenile court, as well as on the court’s rehabilitative parens patriae (“the state as parent”) philosophy. Indeed, one characteristic of juvenile justice today is the proposal, from both liberals and conservatives, to reduce the scope of the juvenile court’s responsibilities. Conservatives want to refer more law-violating youths to adult court, while many liberals recommend divesting the juvenile court of its jurisdiction over status offenders (juveniles who have engaged in behaviors for which adults would not be arrested). Some also believe that the adult court could do a much better job than the juvenile court with youthful offenders. Juvenile offenders, according to this position, would at least receive their constitutionally guaranteed due process rights. The fact is that the juvenile justice system will experience major changes in the next few years. How it will change and whether the changes will be helpful to the youth of this nation are critical questions to be answered. In the chapters of the current volume, positive changes are recommended to improve the functioning of the juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice system is responsible for controlling and correcting the behavior of troublesome juveniles. What makes this mission so difficult to accomplish in the twenty-first century are the complex forces that intrude on any attempt either to formulate goals or to develop effective programs. Juvenile violence remains a serious problem, although homicides committed by juveniles began to decline in the mid-1990s. Even though juvenile gangs declined in numbers and membership across the nation in the final four years of the twentieth century, these gangs continue to be a problem in many communities. Juveniles’ increased use of weapons has also become a serious concern, and there are those who believe that “getting the guns out of the hands of juveniles” is the most important mandate that the juvenile justice system currently has. The use of drugs and alcohol among the juvenile population declined in the final decades of the twentieth century, but beginning in the mid-1990s and continuing to the present, there is evidence that the use of alcohol and drugs, especially marijuana and methamphetamine, is rising in the adolescent population. Furthermore, conflicting philosophies and strategies for correcting juvenile offenders have combined with the social, political, and economic problems that American society faces today—this combination presents other formidable challenges to the juvenile justice system. Yet, let it be clear that while presenting the challenges of juvenile justice and the oftendisturbing results of working with youth in trouble, the authors are not promoting a “nothing works” thesis. There are stirring accounts of youths who started out in trouble and were able to turn things around. In some cases, it was a program that worked with them; in others, it was an adult who made a difference in their lives; and in still others, it was the youths themselves who 1 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
made the decision to live a crime-free life. As previously noted, with the current emphasis on evidence-based practices and other model programs, it is hoped that juvenile justice programs will be more effective in the future. A heartwarming success story is found in Focus on Offenders 1–1. The youth in this case had more than his share of troubles with the law as an adolescent. He ended up in and out of juvenile institutions and became a member of an emerging Vice Lord gang. Incarcerated for forty-one years in Illinois’ prisons, he became a positive force to inmates while incarcerated and during his three years since his parole, he is committed to helping juvenile people in the community stay out of trouble. This chapter examines four topics: a historical sketch of juvenile justice, several historical themes, the organizational structure of juvenile justice agencies, and the philosophical approaches to treating youthful offenders. What these topics have in common is that they present the contexts (past and present) that have shaped juvenile justice in the United States. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Retrace the journey of juvenile justice in the United States LO#2: Summarize the history of juvenile confinement LO#3: Summarize the historical themes that guided the development of juvenile justice in the United States LO#4: Describe the function of the juvenile justice system LO#5: Describe how juvenile offenders are processed LO#6: Examine the various philosophies and strategies for correcting juveniles LECTURE OUTLINE What Are the Roots of Juvenile Justice? •
The influences affecting the juvenile justice system can be traced back to the Middle Ages. a. Early Europe o
The common law tradition in England eventually concluded that children under age seven should not face legal penalties. However, the responsibility of children between ages seven and fourteen was determined by such considerations as the severity of the crime, maturity, capacity to distinguish between right and wrong, and evidence of blatant malice.
b. The Colonies and Later o o o o
In the colonial period, juvenile justice was shaped principally by the cultural and religious ideas of the Puritans. The family was the source and primary means of social control of children. The only law enforcement officials were town fathers, magistrates, sheriffs, and watchmen. The concept of parens patriae gave the courts a legal basis for intervening in the lives of children. The premises of the parens patriae doctrine permitted the juvenile court to take charge of children in need so that the causes of their problems could be discovered and treated.
2 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
c. How Did the Juvenile Court Develop? o o
The juvenile courts had to develop different procedures and terminology from those of the adult courts to achieve their goals. The attractiveness of the juvenile court philosophy resulted in almost all states setting up juvenile courts.
The Juvenile Court Today • •
Juvenile court codes, which exist in every state, define what constitutes delinquency and specify the conditions under which states can legitimately interfere in a juvenile’s life. Some controversy has surrounded the issue of how long a juvenile should remain under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. a. What Is the History of Juvenile Confinement? o
o
o
o
In the late 1700s to the early 1800s, there was a growing concern of what to do about the growing number of juveniles who were abandoned, had run away from home, or had run afoul of community norms. The House of Refuge. When citizens and reformers first became concerned about these inhumane conditions, their solution was the house of refuge. This facility was for all children, not just delinquent children. The Reformatory or Training School. Developed in the mid-nineteenth century. This is essentially a continuation of the houses of refuge. In 1847, Massachusetts opened the first state-operated training school. The Cottage System. Introduced in 1854, the cottage system spread throughout the country. Their rationale was that youths on farms would be reformed when exposed to the rural virtues, the simple way of life, and the bounty of Mother Nature.
b. How Did Probation Develop? o
John Augustus, a Boston cobbler, is considered to be the father of probation in this country. In 1841, accepted his first probation client, whose offense was “yielding to his appetite for strong drink.” Augustus worked with women and children as well as with male offenders.
c. What Is the History of Aftercare? Aftercare is as old as the juvenile institution. With the formation of the juvenile court, parole generally was called aftercare. Aftercare officers generally mirrored probation officers in trying to utilize current popular treatment modalities. What Are the Historical Themes of Juvenile Justice? The historical themes of juvenile justice include: o o o
a. Discovering the Child o
Members of society began to debate children’s “age of responsibility” in considering the seriousness and extent of their undesirable behavior.
b. Increased Authority of the State o
Society has gradually taken authority away from the family and given it to the state for correcting the behavior of children.
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c. Reform and Retrenchment o
A period of reform led to a period of retrenchment, characterized by a liberal agenda.
d. Get-Tough and Go-Soft Approaches o
The get-tough approach for serious juvenile offenders and the go-soft strategy for minor offenders and status offenders have characterized the sentencing practices of juvenile courts in recent decades.
e. Threat of the Dangerous Poor o
Institutions were needed to protect society against the behavior of these so-called dangerous poor.
f. The Unsolvable Nature of Youth Crime o
No simple solution to this age-old problem exists.
•
MOVIE NOTE: Jim Crow Juvenile Justice. This new short film (8 min.) from the national advocacy campaign Youth First Initiative delves into the origin of youth prisons and how that history relates to today’s juvenile justice system, which disproportionately targets Black and Latinx children. What Are the Juvenile Justice Agencies and Functions? The juvenile justice system has been given the mandate to correct and control youthful offenders. The U.S. Constitution gives both the federal government and the states the authority to make laws and the mechanisms for enforcing the law. The primary laws with which this book is concerned are laws governing delinquent and criminal behaviors in the three subsystems: a. The Police b. The Juvenile Courts c. Correction Departments How Are Juvenile Offenders Processed? • The juvenile is typically referred to the juvenile court, which first decides whether to leave the juvenile in the system or not. • The juvenile court decides in what is called an adjudicatory hearing whether the juvenile is guilty of the delinquent acts alleged in the petition. • A disposition hearing takes place when a juvenile has been found delinquent in the adjudicatory stage. • A delinquent youth might be referred to probation, one of the residential programs in the community, or a training school. What Are the Most Widely Held Philosophies and Strategies on Correcting Juveniles? a. The treatment model is most concerned that juvenile offenders receive therapy rather than institutionalization. b. The justice model supports the granting of procedural safeguards and fairness to juveniles who have broken the law. c. The crime control model emphasizes punishment because it argues that juveniles must pay for their crimes. The crime control policies of the past twenty years have proposed a gettough strategy, especially with violent juveniles. d. The balanced and restorative justice model called for a new framework of community organization and a new set of values that emphasizes a commitment to all—the offender, the victim, and the community. e. Comparison of the Four Models. The conflicting philosophies and methods of correcting 4 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
f. •
juvenile offenders make it difficult to succeed in correcting juveniles in trouble. Social Policy and Juvenile Justice. Effective policy will merge when well-thought-out theoretical assumptions are supported by sound research. TEACHING TIP: Stories related to juvenile justice are in the news nearly every day. Have students identify a current news stories and post (on Canvas or other course platform) this story, a brief description of how this story relates to the content of the chapter, and the student’s personal reaction to the story.
LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE • •
New Focus on Policy Box on the COVID-19 pandemic Focus on Offenders 1-1: Jason’s Story
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1.
There are many ice-breaker games and activities that can be played in the first class in order to show the students that they chose an interesting and fun class. One such icebreaker that is fun and informative is question game to let them show what they already know (and don’t know). Make a PowerPoint with multiple-choice questions from each chapter in the book. Usually about four questions from each chapter would be enough. Divide the class into two groups to enhance the interest through competition. Boys against girls usually work great for competition. Let the sides work as a team as they answer questions for points. Let them know that the questions are examples of some of the things they will be learning during the semester. There are different variations you could do with a game like this. You can add in a 50/50 option for fewer points. You can draw a target on the whiteboard and let the teams shoot a dart gun for more points if they get the initial question correct.
2.
Group Work: The chapter starts off with Focus on Policy 1-1, which talks about the COVID19 pandemic and the impact it had on juvenile justice agencies. Have students break into groups of 4-5 and have them brainstorm ways the lockdown during the pandemic would affect juvenile justice agencies. For example, how would a residential facility deal with the youth at their facility during a 2-3 week lockdown? Or probation: How would probation officers meet check in/meet with their clients during a lockdown? Groups should write down several ways agencies could have adapted to the pandemic and then bring that to discuss as a large group.
3.
Write a single paragraph describing each of the following: the history of the juvenile court, probation, juvenile confinement, and aftercare. Critique and revise.
4.
Group Work: Describe each of the juvenile justice agencies and their functions.
5.
Class Debate: Divide the class into four groups. Each group will be assigned one of the four models found in juvenile justice today. Each group should learn its essentials and argue for its model as being the best model for the United States today. Groups may not compromise in the defense of their models.
6.
There are numerous videos available related to juvenile justice. A list of videos is provided here is the instructor manual.
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SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
The juvenile justice system has devised four ways to deal with youth crime: the treatment model, the justice model, the crime control model, and the balanced and restorative justice model. Which do you think works the best? Why? A: Answers will vary
2.
Why is justice so important to the juvenile justice system? How can the juvenile justice system become more just, fair, and effective? A: Answers will vary
3.
What do you believe can be done about reconciling the different approaches to juvenile justice? A: Answers will vary
4.
What do you think would be the result of abolishing the juvenile justice system and having the adult courts deal with all youthful offenders? A: Answers will vary
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CHAPTER 2 The Extent and Nature of Juvenile Crime CHAPTER OVERVIEW Juveniles are studied by a wide variety of agencies. Traditionally, the Uniform Crime Reports, collated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), were known as official statistics and were the primary source of our knowledge. Today, these data are referred to as the CIUS or Crime in the United States. During the past seventy-five years, however, many more data collection sources have been developed that contribute to our knowledge of juveniles and their problems. Juvenile Court Statistics were developed to show what happens to juveniles who come to the attention of authorities. Victimization surveys focus on “hidden” or non-reported crime. Other governmental agencies such as the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention also do research on juveniles. In addition, research funded by federal and state governments and private foundations takes place in private research institutes and in universities and hospitals across the nation. This chapter looks at these research efforts and their findings on children in trouble.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Summarize juvenile crime trends and how the data is categorized, measured, and reported. LO#2: Describe the methods, benefits, and limitations of self-reporting LO#3: Describe the context of juvenile victimization LO#4: Describe the dimensions of law-violating behavior
LECTURE OUTLINE Major Data Sources in Delinquency Data • •
The Uniform Crime Reports, Juvenile Court Statistics, National Crime Victimization Data, and self-report surveys are the major sources of data on juvenile crime. These data collection sources contribute to our knowledge of juveniles and their problems. a. Uniform Crime Reports o The Uniform Crime Reports have been our major source of information since 1930 on the amount of crime in the United States. o The FBI was chosen as the clearinghouse for these data, and police departments across the United States were requested to report all arrests to the FBI. b. Juvenile Court Statistics o Most information about the number of children appearing before the juvenile court each year comes from the Juvenile Court Statistics publication, released annually by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), an arm of the U.S. Department.
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What Are Self-Report Measures of Juvenile Crime? a. Self-Report Studies o In self-reporting studies, juvenile tell about offenses they committed in a previous period. o A major benefit of self-report studies is that it is possible to obtain a more complete picture of the amount of crime that could be obtained through the UCR’s data. o Self-report studies have been helpful in discovering the relationship between race, gender, and social class and juvenile offending. o The most serious weaknesses about self-report studies relate to their validity and reliability. o There seems to be some evidence that juveniles who have committed more serious behaviors are less likely to answer questions truthfully than those youths who are less delinquent. b. Victimization Surveys o In 1972, the U.S. Bureau of the Census began victimization studies to determine as accurately as possible the extent of crime in the United States. o The volume of “hidden crime” is great because many crimes go unreported to the police. o The National Crime Victimization Survey is conducted annually by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. It was set up to overcome the “hidden crime” problem, and it gives policy makers a better idea of just how much crime is actually committed. • TEACHING TIP: Have students explore the website of the Bureau of Justice Statistics https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/forensics and analyze real-life examples of how delinquency is measured in research. The Context of Juvenile Victimization • Children can be victimized by the family, the school, and on the streets. In the family, child maltreatment and neglect are the most common forms of victimizations, with young children making up the majority of child abuse cases. • The forms of child maltreatment include neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional maltreatment. • In the schools, bullying is a common form of victimization. This issue, which has seen increased attention since the 1990s, has changed with the changes in technology. Traditionally bullying was face-to-face and physical or verbal in nature. With increases in technology, the internet, and social media, cyber-bullying has become widespread. • Mass school shootings, although rare events, are especially tragic. Emerging research on school shooters suggest that they are often victims of abuse or bullying, are loners who often engage in other antisocial behavior, and frequently alert others to their plans, for example, on social media. • A common theme in bullying is the desire to exercise power and to feel superior over victims. • Estimates suggest that there are as many as 300,000 children engaging in sex work in the United States.
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What Are the Dimensions of Law-Violating Behaviors? • The most important factors in understanding the variables and patterns of offending are age of onset, escalation of offenses, specialization of offenses, desistance from crime, and transition to adult crime. • The evidence is mixed on some of these variables, but together they constitute the most important dimension of delinquent behavior. • Desistance from crime and the transition to adult crime, are the most important to researchers because they examine those who are exiting from youth crime and those who are going on to adult crime. a. Age of Onset o Several studies have found that the earlier the juveniles began law-violating behaviors (the age of onset) the more likely they were to continue such behaviors. b. Escalation of Offenses o Official studies have typically found that the incidence of arrest accelerates at age thirteen and peaks at about age seventeen, but this pattern is less evident in selfreport studies. c. Specialization of Offenses o Cohort studies have revealed little or no specialization of offenses among delinquent youth. d. Desistance from Crime o A major problem in establishing desistance is the difficulty of distinguishing between a gap in a delinquent career and true termination. e. Transition to Adult Crime o Some scholars argue that juvenile offenders’ transition to adult crime is due to their prior participation in unlawful activities. LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE • • •
Upgraded tables and figures Table 1—Juvenile Arrests Rates by Offense New section on school shootings
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1.
Group Work: First, identify and describe the different types of research methodologies used to collect data on crime and offenders. After discussions die down, you may open your books and spell out in considerably more detail the different types of research methodologies used to collect data.
2.
Group Work: First, all groups are, without looking at the data in the text, to discuss with each other the findings of the different research methods. After initial discussions, open the text and describe the findings of the different research methodologies.
3.
Writing to Learn: Write on one or more of the following topics: the UCRs, victimization surveys, self-report studies, or cohort studies. Critique and revise.
4.
Class Debate: Divide the class into two groups. Assign one group to argue the benefits and advantages of the UCRs, victimization studies, and Juvenile Court Statistics in understanding crime. Assist the other group to argue, supported by the chapter’s introductory comments by 9 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
Dr. Zahn and her excerpt in Voices of Delinquency: A Researcher Speaks Out, that the data on school and family victimization are the most worthwhile data for use in juvenile justice. 5.
Writing to Learn: Write on the nature of juvenile victimization in the school and in the family (about 10 minutes for a paragraph on each). Critique and revise.
6.
There are numerous videos available related to juvenile justice. A list of videos is provided here is the instructor manual.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
What do the UCRs generally show about youth crime in the United States? A: Youth crime is widespread in U.S. society. The number of victimization discovered is much higher than the number of offenses reported to the police.
2.
What do juvenile court statistics show about youth crime in the United States? A: Most youths come into juvenile court as a result of the filing of a petition or complaint.
3.
What can self-report studies tell us that official accounts of youth crime cannot? A: A large amount of hidden delinquency occurs and is not reported to the police.
4.
What do you believe the connection is between the maltreatment of children in their homes and on the streets and their involvement in crime and delinquency? A: Answers will vary
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CHAPTER 3 Causes of Juvenile Crime CHAPTER OVERVIEW This chapter offers some possible explanations for juvenile crime. In contrast to the unconscious influence exerted by unpopular first names, described in the chapter’s opening story, some authors suggest that much delinquency is caused not by factors beyond the offender’s control but by a conscious thought process that considers the cost and benefits of particular behavior and once with some degree of planning and foresight goes on for reasons whether the behavior is desirable or not. On the other hand, if something as simple as first names can impact people’s behavior, then they might not be able to make fully conscious choices. This kind of deterministic view—that delinquent youth cannot stop themselves from committing socially unacceptable behavior because of some overpowering influence—build on your perspective known as positivism, a major theoretical position in criminology. However, whether talking about youth crime arising from free will, biological or psychological inferiority, social causes, or integrated explanations (two or more existing theories), it is clear that any particular theory only accounts for some of the reasons for juvenile offenses. Some explanations are more powerful than others in explaining youth crime, but even the most powerful amounts to only a small piece in the larger puzzle of juvenile offending. The association between criminal behavior and the rationality of crime has its roots in the eighteenth-century classical school of criminology. More recently, a number of approaches to the rationality of crime, especially the rational choice theory, have emerged. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Summarize the principles and influences of the classical school of criminology LO#2: Describe biological theories of juvenile crime and delinquency LO#3: Describe psychological theories of juvenile crime and delinquency LO#4: Describe sociological theories of juvenile crime and delinquency LO#5: Summarize integrated theories of juvenile crime and delinquency LECTURE OUTLINE Classical School of Criminology • Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham were the founders of the classical school of criminology and the basic theoretical constructs of the classical school of criminology were developed from their writings. a. Rational Choice Theory o This approach makes the assumption that the delinquent chooses to violate the law and has free will. o Some youthful offenders clearly engage in delinquent behavior because of what they see as a low risk of such behavior. o Rational choice theory is based on the notion that delinquent behavior is planned. 11 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
The concept of rationality also assumes that individuals have free will and are not controlled by their emotions, but many youngsters do not appear to have such control. b. Why Do We Punish? o Punishment involves applying pain, often long after the evil deed has been committed. o At its core, criminal punishment results in harm to another human being—something that is in opposition to the moral values of modern society. o Punishment is considered justified in modern society. o There is no single vision of who should be punished, how the sanctions should be administered, and the ultimate goals that justify the application of punishment. o The object of criminal punishment can be grouped into seven distinct areas: General deterrence Specific deterrence Incapacitation Rehabilitation Retribution/just deserts Restoration Equity/restitution c. Development of Positivism o According to positivism, human behavior is but one more facet of a universe that is part of a natural order. o Positivism became the dominant philosophical perspective of juvenile justice at the time the juvenile court was established at the beginning of the twentieth century. Biological Positivism • The belief that there is a biological explanation for criminality has a long history. • The attention given to biological positivism in the United States can be divided into two periods: a. Early Forms of Biological Positivism o Characterized by the nature–nurture debate o Cesare Lombroso’s theory of physical abnormalities, genealogical studies, and theories of human somatotypes represent early approaches relating crime and delinquency to biological factors to the study of crime. b. Biological Positivism Today: Sociobiology o In the second half of the twentieth century, sociobiologists began to link genetic and environmental factors. o They claimed that criminal behavior, like other behaviors, has both biological and social aspects. o The hyperactive child remains a temperamental mystery. o Psychological factors have always been more popular in the United States in explaining juvenile offending than were biological or sociobiological factors. o
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Psychoanalytic Explanations • In developing psychoanalytic theory, Sigmund Freud contributed three insights that have shaped the handling of delinquent youth: o Children who have not yet learned to control primitive drives cannot distinguish socially acceptable behavior from socially unacceptable behavior. o Children must learn to control their sexual and aggressive drives in socially acceptable ways. o Emotional traumas experienced in childhood are especially likely to cause lifelong psychological problems. a. Sensation Seeking and Delinquency o Defined an individual’s need for varied, novel, and complex sensations and experiences and the willingness to take physical and social risks for the sake of such experiences. b. The Psychopath o The psychopath (also known as the sociopath) is acknowledged as the personality of the hard-core juvenile offender. o According to the D S M-IV, these individuals are usually diagnosed with a conduct disorder. c. Reinforcement Theory o The theory argues that behavior is governed by its consequent rewards and punishments, as reflected in the history of the individual. o One of the major flaws of this theory is that it consistently shows a disdain for the social context in which crime occurs. • MOVIE NOTE: We Need to Talk About Kevin. Is crime in the blood? Watch this film on Netflix or other commercial outlets and discuss the impossible question of nature vs. nurture. The movie is based on a fantastic book, so the assignment could be turned into a book review. Sociological Positivism • The sociological theories of juvenile crime and delinquency can be divided into three main divisions: a. Social Structural Theories o Social structure theorists claim that such forces as social disorganization, cultural deviance, and status frustration are so powerful that they induce lower-class individuals to become involved in criminal and delinquent behaviors. b. Social Process Theories o Social process theories examine the interactions between people and their environment that influence individuals to become involved in criminal or delinquent behaviors. o Differential association, containment, social control, and labeling theories are the social process theories that have been the most widely received. c. Conflict Theory o A great deal of variation exists among conflict theories. o Some theories emphasize the importance of socioeconomic class; other theories emphasize power and authority, and others, group and cultural conflict. 13 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
The Marxist perspective views the state and the law itself as ultimate tools of the economic interests of the ownership class. How Does Integrated Theory Explain Juvenile Crime? • Several integrated theories for delinquent behavior have been developed. Three of the most important are: a. Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime o Gottfredson and Hirschi define lack of self-control as the common factor underlying problem behaviors. o The other pivotal construct is crime opportunity. o These two constructs capture the influence of external and internal restraints on behavior. o Low self-control is empirically supported: Reviews of the literature have consistently found it to be strongly related to crime. b. Elliott and Colleagues’ Integrated Social Process Theory o The theory offers an explanatory model that expands and synthesizes traditional strain, social control, and social learning perspectives into a single paradigm that accounts for delinquent behavior and drug use. c. Thornberry’s Interactional Theory o The initial impetus toward delinquency comes from a weakening of the person’s bond to conventional society, represented by attachment to parents, commitment to school, and belief in conventional values. o Delinquency is not viewed as the end product; instead, it leads to the formation of delinquent values. d. Social Policy in Juvenile Justice: PHDCN LAFANS o The Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) is an interdisciplinary study of how families, schools, and neighborhoods affect child and adolescent development. o PHDCN is perhaps the largest interdisciplinary study of the complex influences exerted on human development ever undertaken. o
LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE • • •
Expansion of the section on social disorganization Expansion of the section on differential association theory Expansion of the section on Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1.
Writing to Learn: Write an essay in class that explains the nature and types of biological positivism. Critique and revise.
2.
Writing to Learn: Write an essay in class that explains the nature and types of psychological positivism. (Skip the psychoanalytic approach for this particular exercise unless requested by the instructor.) Critique and revise.
3.
Writing to Learn: Write an essay that explains the nature and types of sociological positivism. Critique and revise.
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4.
Class Presentations: Divide the class into three groups. Ask each group to report on one of the major ideas of structural functionalism, social process, and conflict theories. Let each group defend its ideas against the other approaches as to why their ideas are the strongest.
5.
Group Work: Divide the class into three groups. Each group should develop one of the three following approaches: the major and minor ideas of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime, Elliott’s integrated social process theory, and Thornberry’s interactional theory. After identifying the components of each theory, have each group pull together all of the ideas of each theory into a schema of the whole theory and present the ideas to the class.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
What is the labeling perspective’s definition of why adolescents become delinquent? Do you agree with this interpretation? A: Labeling theory contends that society creates deviant youth by labeling those who are apprehended as “different” from others, when in reality the youths are different only because authorities “tagged” them with a criminal label. Edwin Lemert and Howard Becker are the chief proponents of the view that formal and informal societal reactions to criminal behavior can influence the subsequent attitudes and behaviors of criminal and delinquent youth.
2.
Which of the three integrated theories makes the most sense to you? What are the advantages of integrated theory? What are its disadvantages? A: Answers will vary
3.
Should poverty exclude an adolescent from responsibility for delinquent behavior? Why or why not? A: Answers will vary
4.
Why have the juvenile courts been so quick to apply the concept of free will and rationality to violent juvenile criminals? A: By applying the concept of free will, it allows courts the option of punishing offenders and not be constrained to rehabilitation. Although it can be harsh and demeaning, punishment of violators is believed to create benefits from all abiding citizens. Both the threat and application of criminal punishment are cost-effective means to an end: protecting the public, preventing disorder, and reducing social harm.
5.
To what extent do you believe juveniles are rational in their behavior? What are the implications of your answer for the justice system? A: Answers will vary
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CHAPTER 4 Gender and Juvenile Justice CHAPTER OVERVIEW The theories reviewed in Chapter 3 largely reflect social thought from the late 1800s up into the 2000s. Throughout much of that time period, boys were considered the primary culprits in committing crime and delinquency. Critics of these early opinions, however, had their doubts because they recognized that different explanations could be applied to why girls, delinquent youth in the lower classes, and members of various racial and ethnic groups got involved in juvenile delinquency. As the collection of data and consideration of the social circumstances of different groups involved with delinquency increased, attention shifted. Social observers began calling attention to extreme social circumstances, such as poverty or violent neighborhoods, as possible contributors to delinquency. Other observers noted the possible effects of social values and norms that led to discrimination against girls, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and youths of the lower class. Research began in an effort to sort out the basis for the differences among these groups and started becoming more nuanced in its observations and thinking. This chapter on causation begins to sort through those issues. The chapter initially compares the explanations of why boys and girls become involved in antisocial behaviors and presents a feminist theory of delinquency. The next section considers the various types of female delinquent offending. The final sections investigate the influence of class, gender across the life course, and how gender affects the processing of the female delinquent. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Describe the social context of gender roles and delinquency LO#2: Outline the various explanations for why adolescent females become involved in offending LO#3: Describe a feminist theory of delinquency LO#4: Identify the relationship between adolescent male and female offending LO#5: Describe how gender affects the processing of adolescent females in the juvenile justice system LO#6: Identify the relationship between class and delinquency LECTURE OUTLINE Social Context of Delinquency: Gender Roles and Delinquency • Understanding gender-based roles involves a look into how children are socialized. • Children are socialized into preexisting gender arrangements and construct understandings of themselves in these lenses. • Although there has been a recent resurgence in recognizing the importance of biology in determining sex-linked behavior, children in today’s society continue to be effectively socialized into gender roles. a. The Female Delinquent o The middle-class male youthful offender typically is treated very differently by the police and court officials than is his lower-class counterpart. 16 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
There is mounting evidence of unfair treatment of Black, Native American, and Hispanic adolescent boys and girls. o Researchers generally believe that the first step along girls’ pathway into the juvenile justice system is victimization, the second step involves substance abuse and the step involves girls acting out at home, in school, in sexual activity, in law-violating acts, and in gang involvement. b. Differences Between Male and Female Delinquency o Girls run away from home more frequently than boys do. o Girls become involved in sex work more frequently than boys do. o Girls and boys are equally involved in the use of drugs and addiction to drugs. o Girls are less violent in their behavior than boys, although there is some evidence that they are becoming more aggressive. o Boys tend to spend more time in prison than girls. o Aggressive gang behavior is more typical of boys than girls. Why Do Adolescent Females Become Involved in Offending? • One of the research questions frequently raised is whether female delinquency has different explanations than does male delinquency. a. Biological and Constitutional Explanations o There are five biopsychological vulnerability factors related to girl’s delinquency: Stress and anxiety Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder Intellectual deficits Early pubertal maturation Mental health issues. b. Psychological Explanations o Early studies addressed the “innate” female nature and its relationship to deviant behavior, but more recently the focus has been on psychiatric disorders and female delinquency. c. Sociological Explanations o General Strain Theory (GST): boys may be more likely to become involved in delinquency than girls because boys tend to experience strains such as high aspirations but poor schools and a lack of opportunity. o Blocked Opportunity Theory: perception of limited opportunity was more strongly related to female delinquency than it was to male delinquency. o Social Learning Theory: boys have higher rates of delinquency than that of girls primarily because boys tend to be associated with delinquent peers and belong to gangs more often than do girls. o Social Control Theory: girls are less involved in delinquency than are boys because gender-role socialization results in more social bonds for girls than for boys. o Masculinity Hypothesis o Power-Control Theory: as mothers gain power relative to their husbands, usually by employment outside the home, daughters and sons alike are encouraged to be more open to risk taking. o Labeling Theory: boys are more likely to be labeled as delinquent than are girls. o
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o o
•
Interactionist Theory of Delinquency: delinquency for girls and boys occurs through a process of role taking. Deterrence, Rational Choice, and Routine Activities Theories: girls have a higher level of supervision, more self-control, less time spent in unstructured and unsupervised activities, and less prior delinquency, and these factors make them less vulnerable to delinquency than boys.
MOVIE NOTES:
Go to YouTube and search for the clip “The Wire: Avon and Stringer Bell Exemplify Merton’s Strain Theory.” o Watch the movie Mean Girls (2004) to exemplify application of social learning theory. Mean Girls offers a comedic take on problems that teens face throughout high school. The movie shows the inner workings of social learning theory throughout the film. o The Netflix TV series 13 Reasons Why can be applied to routine activity theory, with each episode describing a character that plays the role of each element within the theory. d. Evaluating Explanations of Female Delinquency o The discussion of female delinquency readily leads to the conclusion that biological explanations are the less predictive factors. What Is a Feminist Theory of Delinquency? • The feminist theory of delinquency argues that girls’ victimization and the relationship between that experience and girls’ crime are largely ignored. a. What Are the Most Important Dimensions of Female Delinquent Behavior? o Feminist theory of delinquency addresses childhood victimization and the ways in which discrimination and oppression, based on a juvenile’s race or gender, can shape experiences, options, and identity. Relationship Between Male and Female Patterns of Adolescent Offending • Gender still shapes the lives of adolescents in powerful ways. • The second Philadelphia cohort study examined all girls and boys born in 1958 in that city. It found that boys were two and a half times more likely than girls to become involved in delinquent acts. Law-violating girls were much more likely to be one-time offenders and less likely to become chronic offenders. a. Female Use of Drugs and Alcohol o Boys are more likely to become involved in delinquent behavior, but female adolescents are also involved in the use of alcohol and drugs, especially alcohol and marijuana, at about the same rates as male high school seniors. b. Adolescent Females and Prostitution o Girls who engage in sex work are likely to be victimized at home. c. Adolescent Females and Violent Behavior o The data do not show that girls are becoming more violent. o
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Gender Inequality and Processing of the Female Delinquent •
Female adolescent offenders have been treated unfairly, particularly those who end up in juvenile institutions because of: o Society’s disapproval of sexual activity o The tendency to give girls longer sentences than boys, under the guise of “protecting” the female juveniles o The juvenile justice officials sometimes redefine girls to make them eligible for the kinds of protectionist sanctions that have been traditionally applied Class Oppression • Class oppression is another form of exploitation experienced by an adolescent female. a. Prevention of Delinquency o Girls Inc. is a nonprofit organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through a network of local organizations in the United States and Canada. b. Gender Across the Life Course o Longitudinal studies usually reveal that delinquent careers differ by gender. o Male careers usually begin earlier and extend longer into the adult years. o Studies of youth gangs reveal that female members are more likely than male members to leave the gang if they have a child. Also, conventional life patterns— particularly marriage, parenting, and work— draw people of all genders away from gangs and offending behaviors but do so more completely and quickly for female members. c. Social Policy and Juvenile Justice o Female offenders represent one of the least-serviced juvenile justice populations. o There are only a few effective gender-specific programs nationally. o A gender-responsive policy approach calls for a new vision of the juvenile justice system. LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE •
New section on LGTBQ youth
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1.
Group Work: All members of the class should look up what is meant by the social definition of reality. Then, probably the next day, form small groups or whatever works best to discuss whether the differences among boys, girls, people of various racial and ethnic groups, or social classes are real or are the result of a social definition of reality based on social values.
2.
Writing to Learn: Write three fairly long paragraphs of about half a page each that describe the biological, psychological, and sociological causes of the behavior of delinquent girls.
3.
Class Presentations: Break the class up into groups for presentations on gender, social class, and race/ethnicity. Have each group summarize what the book—and outside sources if time permits—states about each. What are the unique problems faced by each social construction?
4.
Group Work: Have students discuss what the social definition of reality was like in their family, neighborhoods, schools, and communities concerning the behavior of girls, members of various racial and ethnic groups, and social classes. In other words, what were the social realities that everyone grew up with? How about at their current college or university? 19 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
5.
Writing to Learn: Have each member of the class write a paragraph on the area of causation on which they are the weakest and then, in small groups or before the class as a whole, read their answers and revise them on the basis of suggestions made by other students.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
How has the social context affected the legal context in terms of female delinquency? A: Gender shapes the lives of adolescents in powerful ways. Feminist theory starts with the assumption that girls are positioned in society in ways that produce vulnerability to victimization by boys and men, including abuse and the negative effects of poverty. Little disagreement exists on whether adolescent girls experience life differently than adolescent boys. Feminist theory of delinquency examines adolescent girls’ sexual and physical victimization at home and the relationship between these experiences and their crimes. This position argues that the structural categories of gender, class, and race are more helpful than individual or socio-psychological explanations in understanding women’s involvement in crime.
2.
How is an understanding of gender learned? A: Research Triangle Institute (RTI) formed the Girls Study Group with the goal of developing a research foundation that will enable communities to make sound decisions about how best to prevent and reduce delinquency and violence by girls. The work of the Girls Study Group is guided by the following research questions: • Who is the delinquent girl? • What are the risks and protective factors associated with girls’ delinquency? • What are the pathways to girls’ delinquency? • What programs can prevent girls from becoming delinquent? • What are the system responses to girls’ delinquency? • What are the life consequences of girls’ delinquency? The Girls Study Group is currently involved in giving presentations and authoring papers about the issue of female delinquency and promises to be helpful in better understanding the female delinquent in the future.
3.
Has your experience led to the conclusion that social class matters in the way individuals are perceived and handled in this society? A: Answers will vary
4.
What are the main explanations of female delinquency? A: The first step along girls’ pathway into the juvenile justice system is victimization. Parents, siblings, or relatives may have sexually abused them at home, and the girls run away. The second step along girls’ pathway into the juvenile justice system involves substance abuse. Substance abuse is highly correlated with early childhood sexual victimization, especially among White girls. The literature also consistently reports a strong link between childhood abuse and the later development of alcoholism and other drug problems. Significantly, at about the same age as the victimization occurred (usually when the girls were between thirteen and fourteen years old), the girls started using addictive substances. A third step along girls’ pathway into the juvenile justice system involves girls acting out at home, in school, in sexual activity, in law-violating acts, and in gang involvement. Emotional 20 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
problems and drugs tend to influence their negative behavior and, as a result, girls do poorly in school, are sometimes suspended or expelled, or drop out and often runs away from home. Once caught, the girls come before the juvenile court, or they are referred to the court for their involvement in gangs or delinquent behaviors. 5.
What is the feminist theory? A: Feminist theory of delinquency examines adolescent girls’ sexual and physical victimization at home and the relationship between these experiences and their crimes. This position argues that the structural categories of gender, class, and race are more helpful than individual or socio-psychological explanations in understanding women’s involvement in crime. The feminist theory of delinquency argues that girls’ victimization and the relationship between that experience and girls’ crime are largely ignored. It has long been understood that a major reason for girls’ presence in juvenile court is their parents’ insistence on their arrest. Those who study female offending, as well as those who work with female offenders, have discovered that a substantial number are victims of both physical and sexual abuse.
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CHAPTER 5 The Prevention of Delinquency CHAPTER OVERVIEW One of the major questions is how to prevent behavior before it becomes solidified or set in a negative path. The prevention of delinquency is certainly a desirable, yet complex, goal. An emphasis on prevention was written into federal law in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 and the Juvenile Justice Amendments of 1977 and 1980. Despite this federal emphasis, prevention has been largely ignored in the study of delinquency. Yet, there is evidence that the declining but still disturbing levels of teenage violent behavior and use of firearms, the continuing problems with drugs and alcohol, and the emergence of nationwide gangs still call for the development and evaluation of delinquency prevention programs. Delinquency prevention is a complex term that has impacted youth in a variety of ways. Three different levels of delinquency prevention have been identified: •
Primary prevention programs are focused on modifying conditions in the physical and social environment that lead to delinquency.
•
Secondary prevention programs are interventions in the lives of high-risk juveniles or groups identified as being in circumstances that dispose them toward delinquency. Secondary prevention also takes place in diversionary programs in which youngsters in trouble are diverted from formal juvenile justice programs.
•
Tertiary prevention programs are directed at the prevention of recidivism among youth with a delinquent history. Tertiary prevention also takes place in traditional rehabilitation programs.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Explain the historical importance of delinquency prevention programs and summarize their effectiveness LO#2: Summarize the various components of the alternative prevention paradigm project LO#3: Summarize environmental and institutional prevention programs LO#4: Describe the role of diversion LECTURE OUTLINE A History of Delinquency Prevention Efforts • Delinquency prevention is defined as any attempt to thwart youths’ illegal behavior before it occurs. • The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 and the Juvenile Justice Amendments of 1977, 1980 • Three different levels of delinquency prevention have been identified: primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention. • Some of the better known efforts have been the Cambridge Somerville Youth Study in Massachusetts, the New York City Youth Board, The Mobilization of Youth in New York 22 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
City, the Boston Midway Project, Walter C. Reckless and Simon Dinitz’s self-concept studies in Columbus, Ohio, and the Playa in Puerto Rico. They have, with the exception of the Chicago Area Projects, been found ineffective. a. Promising Prevention Programs o The Blueprint for Violence Prevention identified 11 model programs and 21 promising violence and drug abuse programs. o The 11 model programs include Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Bully Prevention, Functional Family Therapy, Incredible Years, Life Skills Training, Midwestern Prevention Project, Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care, Multisystemic Therapy, Nurse-Family Partnerships, Projective Toward No Drug Abuse, and Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies. b. Violent Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention Programs o The belief emerged in the 1990s that the most effective strategy for juvenile corrections is to place emphasis on high-risk juveniles who commit violent acts. o The general characteristics of these programs is that they (1) address key areas of risk in youths’ lives, (2) seek to strengthen the personal and institutional factors that contribute to the development of a healthy adolescent, (3) provide adequate supervision and support, and (4) offer youths a long-term stay in the community. c. Wilderness Programs o Outward Bound is the best-known wilderness/survival program. o All of the outdoor wilderness programs claim that the completion of a seemingly impossible task is one of the best means to gain self-reliance, to prove one’s worth, and to define oneself as a person. Alternative Prevention Efforts • The Positive Youth Development (PYD) efforts challenge the traditional way of focusing on the deficit-based perspective traditionally used with delinquent youth. • This approach argues that approaches to youth’s development and behaviors address their resilience and competencies. • Adolescents are seen as self-directed independent individuals who will develop and flourish when they are connected to the right mix of relationships, opportunities, and social assets. a. Exhibit 5-1: The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence • Founded by Sister Ann Keefe and Father Ray Malm in response to number of youth killed by gang violence, the ISPN seeks to embrace the principles and practices of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s theory of nonviolence. It has become a national model and been implemented across the country. b. Persons Who Believe in Kids o People who Believe in Kids rests in the countless examples of those youth who have been touched and changed by adults in the communities who believe in them, support them, give them hope, and stand by them as they travel the journey between adolescence and adulthood. c. “I Have A Dream” Foundation • The “I Have A Dream” Foundation was first developed in 1981 by Eugene Lang, who returned to his elementary school and found that more than 75 percent of these students were estimated to drop out of school.
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•
The IHAD Foundation supports and mentors children of color as they proceed throughout the school experience. Environmental and Institutional Prevention Programs • Parental training and family-based intervention programs are now used as a means of preventing delinquency in the family. a. Family Programs o Parental Training: The most common form of parental training is parent management training (PMT). The goals of PMT are to improve parental control and monitoring as well as to improve the quality of the parent–child relationship. o Family-Based Intervention Programs: Nurse–Family Partnership (NFP), Perry Preschool, PeaceBuilders. b. School Programs include alternative schools, mentoring, parent training, school classroom engagement, community awareness models, drug/alcohol therapy and
education, truancy prevention, and aftercare. •
TEACHING TIP: Have students work in groups to explore the website of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at https://ojjdp.ojp.gov. Each group should discuss questions such as: What is OJJDP and what does it do? What is the main function of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention? What programs are working in delinquency prevention? What are other initiatives it takes to prevent juvenile delinquency? What Is the Role of Diversion? • Diversion programs provide an alternative means for dealing with the case and are usually operated by the police or the courts. a. Youth Courts o Youth courts, also known as teen courts, peer courts, or student courts, are juvenile justice programs in which youths are sentenced by their peers. o Most youth courts are used as a sentencing option for first-time offenders ages eleven to seventeen who are charged with misdemeanor nonviolent offenses. o There are four possible case-processing models are used by these courts: adult judge, youth judge, tribunal, peer jury. b. The Juvenile Drug Court Movement o By 2007, approximately 2,000 juvenile drug courts had opened. o The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 authorizes the attorney general to make grants to various agencies to establish drug courts. o Unfortunately, little research exists today that addresses how successful youth courts are in reducing drug use and criminal recidivism. o The programs are cost-effective because successfully treated offenders remain free from law enforcement activities, judicial case processing, and the victimization that occurs as a result of repeat criminal activity. c. Juvenile Mental Health Courts (JMHCs) o Juvenile mental health courts (JMHCs) are voluntary diversionary programs, which address the needs of children with mental health needs. o These courts rely on cooperation and collaboration among members of a multidisciplinary team. 24 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
d. Juvenile Mediation Program o The purpose of the Juvenile Mediation Program is for all involved parties to join together to resolve differences without court involvement. LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE •
New Exhibit 5-1: The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1.
Group Work: First, identify Ann Newton’s three levels of delinquency prevention. Then develop the specific kinds of variables identified by Newton’s three types of delinquency.
2.
Group Work: Describe all of the different programs implemented in community-based corrections. Which of Newton’s levels does each program represent and why?
3.
Writing to Learn Exercise: Write approximately two paragraphs that identify the different model prevention programs and their rates of success—with the textbook closed. Critique and revise after reviewing the rates of success of each of the programs as cited in the text.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
Why have delinquency prevention programs generally been so ineffective? A: Not enough focus on primary prevention programs.
2.
Describe some of the characteristics of three different promising prevention programs. A: The general characteristics of these programs is that they: • address key areas of risk in youths’ lives • seek to strengthen the personal and institutional factors that contribute to the development of a healthy adolescent • provide adequate supervision and support • offer youths a long-term stay in the community
3.
Of the programs discussed in this chapter, which do you feel is the best for helping offenders reintegrate into the community? A: Answers will vary
4.
Describe the approach that Positive Youth Development takes to prevent delinquency. A: PYD uses the term resilience to describe the qualities that support healthy adolescent development in the face of adversity. From the perspective of PYD, adolescents are seen not as objects that need to be acted upon, but as self-directed, independent individuals who may deserve special care and who merit the autonomy and dignity accorded to other members of the community. The concepts of PYD propose that youths will develop and flourish when they are connected to the right mix of relationships, opportunities, and social assets.
5.
Describe an environmental prevention program for girls. A: The HBI Project CRAFT Okeechobee Girls’ Academy is the only juvenile justice residential program in Florida that provides career and technical education to young women.
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6.
In what ways do training schools act as prevention programs? A: The Life Skills Training (LST) is a three-year intervention curriculum designed to prevent or reduce the use of “gateway” drugs, such as tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. The lessons emphasize social resistance skills training to help students identify pressures to use drugs. Studies found LST to reduce tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use by 50 to 75 percent in intervention students compared to control students.
7.
How are juvenile drug courts different from traditional courts? A: • Much faster and much more comprehensive intake assessments • Much greater focus on the functioning of the juvenile and the family throughout the juvenile court system • Much closer integration of the information obtained during the assessment process as it relates to the juvenile and the family • Much greater coordination among the court, the treatment community, the school system, and other community agencies in responding to the needs of the juvenile and the court • Much more active and continuous judicial supervision of the juvenile’s case and treatment process • Increased use of immediate sanctions for noncompliance and incentives for progress for both the juvenile and the family
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CHAPTER 6 The Police CHAPTER OVERVIEW In the chapter-opening quote, the veteran police officer makes a passionate statement about the joys of becoming a police officer. He clearly sees policing more as a calling than as a job or a set of bureaucratically defined duties. He believes that policing demands the very best that a person has to offer. Once it gets into your blood, he warns, it will change your identity and self-image and will stay with you for the rest of your life. This officer, despite his positive attitude about a police career, has little interest in working with juveniles. With him, as well as with many officers, many problems exist in policing juveniles. Juvenile crimes are viewed as minor, and the arrest of a juvenile is not considered a real arrest. The due process rights accorded to juveniles in recent decades also make the police feel that their crime-fighting hands are tied. Furthermore, many juveniles, some of whom view the police as the enemy, distrust police officers. The police, then, must deal with juveniles’ hostile attitudes, which can become explosive and violent at a moment’s notice. Finally, the nature of juvenile crime is changing; the spread of malls, the explosion of drug use, and the proliferation of gangs have complicated the lives of police officers across the country. Police officers are faced with juveniles whose misbehaviors range from drinking in parks to murder. At one end of the spectrum are status offenders who have conflicts with their parents, schools, and community but who are not true criminals in either behavior or intent. At the other end are the violent, repetitive offenders. These youths commit murder, aggravated assault, rape, and grand theft; some are in organized crime, and some deal in drugs. Between these extremes are varieties of youth with mental illness, youth who have run away from home, and dependent, neglected, abused, victimized, and delinquent youths. The history of police–juvenile relationships in the United States is reviewed in this chapter, followed by juveniles’ attitudes toward the police, the cycle of alienation, factors that influence police discretion, the informal and formal dispositions of juvenile offenders, and the changing legal rights of juveniles. The final sections of this chapter consider police organizations and functions as they relate to juveniles, as well as the special challenges that juveniles’ drug use, gang involvement, and gun possession bring to community-based policing. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Summarize the history of police–juvenile relationships LO#2: Summarize the police’s attitudes toward juveniles LO#3: Summarize juveniles’ attitudes toward the police LO#4: Describe police discretion and the factors that influence discretion LO#5: Summarize how police process juveniles LO#6: Describe the legal rights of arrested juveniles LO#7: Describe how police agencies are structured to deal with juvenile crime LO#8: Summarize developing trends in how police deal with juveniles
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LECTURE OUTLINE What Is the History of Police–Juvenile Relations? • In the early 1900s, police became concerned about the problem of juvenile crime. • In the 1920s and 1930s, the Police Athletic League and other prevention programs were formed. • In the 1950s and 1960s, juvenile police officers’ associations were formed and became active. • In the final decades of the twentieth century, budgetary restrictions forced many departments to restrict juvenile programs. • In the past decade or so, the police have focused on gang control. Police Attitudes Toward Youth Crime • The police have more positive attitudes toward juveniles today than in the past. • Three occupational determinants work against even more positive attitudes toward youth crime. One of the most serious occupational determinants is that experienced officers are aware that they must be guarded in police–juvenile relationships. The recent negative mass media coverage of police–juvenile interactions makes this even more mandatory. • Juvenile officers and detectives who work with juveniles on a day-to-day basis are more service-oriented than patrol officers. • MOVIE NOTE: Kids in the Crossfire is about youth in Chicago—the murder capital of the U.S.—where almost half of those killed in 2013 were under 25. What Are Juveniles’ Attitudes Toward the Police? • • •
Younger children, White children, girls, and children of the middle and upper classes have more favorable attitudes toward the police. Older children, Black children, boys, and children of the lower class have less favorable attitudes toward the police. Many juveniles claimed they had experienced police harassment on a regular basis and police brutality on occasion.
How Does Police Discretion Affect the Police Response to Juveniles? • •
Police discretion can be defined as the choice between two or more possible means of handling a situation confronting the police officers. The police officer’s disposition of the juvenile is largely determined by nine factors: a. The nature of the offense b. Citizen complainants c. Gender d. Race e. Socioeconomic status f. Individual characteristics of the juvenile g. Police–juvenile interaction and demeanor h. Departmental policy i. External pressures in the community
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•
MOVIE NOTE: Crime + Punishment (2018) is a documentary that explores the NYPD’s ongoing but concealed use of quotas and their effects on the citizens of New York—and officers in the police department. How Do Police Process Juveniles? a. Informal Options: On the Streets o Example: An officer might talk to a youth bullying others and suggest that the bully change their ways. b. Informal Options: At the Station (Station House Adjustment) o Example: Youths are taken to the police station where their situation is discussed with them and their parents; the youths are then sent home with their parents. c. Combined Informal and Formal Processing o Example: Youth is taken into custody or arrested and booked, and then released with the firm warning that any further problems will be dealt with by arrest and prosecution. d. Formal Processing: At the Station o Example: The parents of arrested youths are called to the police station and, after booking, have their child released to their care and supervision. The case may end at that point or may be referred to juvenile court for further consideration. What Legal Rights Do Juveniles Have with the Police? a. Search and Seizure o The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects citizens from unauthorized search and seizure. o Juveniles must be presented with a valid search warrant unless they have either waived that right, consented to having their person or property searched, or been caught in the act. o Officers cannot pull over youths driving a vehicle and search the vehicle without a reason. o Once a car is pulled over, officers may look into it from the outside for anything that is illegal and “in plain view,” particularly weapons. o Police may enter a home if they legally see illegal drugs, evidence, or contraband “in plain view.” b. Interrogation and Confession o The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution address standards of fairness and due process in obtaining confessions. o If juveniles are in custody or arrested, their strongest option is not to say anything or answer any questions until their parents or a lawyer is present. At this point, the Miranda warnings are relevant. c. Fingerprinting o The fingerprinting of juveniles is a controversial practice. o Some states have passed statutes that prohibit the fingerprinting of juveniles without a judge’s permission. d. Lineups and Photographs o A lineup consists of the police placing a number of suspects in front of witnesses or victims, who then try to identify the person who committed the crime against them.
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A problem with photographs is their permanency and potential stigmatizing effect on youths in the community. Social Context of Juvenile Crime: The Police and the Prevention of Juvenile Offenses • Police are attempting to implement juvenile policing in community-based, school-based, and gang-based interventions. a. Community-Based Interventions o Community relations are a major focus of police officers who work with juveniles. o Juvenile police officers must develop good relations with the parents of youthful offenders as well as with the offenders themselves. b. School-Based Interventions o Community pre-delinquent programs have included courses in high school, junior high school, and elementary school settings. c. Gang-Based Interventions o Police generally have three types of intervention units to work with gangs: A youth service program is formed to deal with a specific gang problem and is not a permanent unit within the department The gang detail, in which the officers are generally pulled from detective units or juvenile units The gang unit, a permanent unit in which the officers see themselves as specialists d. Gun-Based Intervention o Effective gun-based interventions use problem-oriented policing techniques to reduce juvenile gun violence. Operation Ceasefire in Boston during the 1990s developed a comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence. It used a “pulling levers” approach that utilized the police, prosecutors, probation, and community agencies to fight gun crime. The Ceasefire intervention was found to be successful. There was a 63 percent reduction in youth homicides following the intervention. Formalizing Police Referral Programs • The police continue to support prevention and referrals to community agencies. • Today federal, state, and local police departments are beginning to address childhood development and delinquency. o
LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE • •
New Section in Police/Public Contact New Section in Gun-Based Interventions
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ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Group Work: Many members of the class have experienced contact with police officers traffic tickets, alcohol or drug queries, or other “events”) or know close friends who have. Discuss the nature of those contacts, the attitudes and behaviors of the police, and whether you (usually the women in class) “got off” because you cried. What were the attitudes and feelings after that contact and how do you evaluate those experiences? After small group discussions, “report out” to the class to determine what patterns existed in the observations. 2.
Group Work: Discuss each of the factors that influence police discretion. Which of those factors are legitimate factors that police should take into consideration and which are not? Should any special circumstances be taken into consideration when examining these factors? All groups should report out to the class as a whole for further discussion.
3.
Writing to Learn Exercise: Everyone should write for about twenty minutes on the following topics: The nature of police–juvenile relations in the community; and the different ways police can formally or informally process youths upon contact.
4.
Writing to Learn Exercise: All class members are to write two to three paragraphs on the search and seizure requirements of the police. Critique and revise.
5.
Class Debate: Split the class into two groups. Charge one group to develop the topic, “Resolved: the police function with juveniles should be limited to order, societal protection, and control of juveniles through legal processing.” Charge the other group with the topic, “Resolved: the police should focus on prevention and the referral of juveniles to appropriate community agencies.” Give each group sufficient time to develop its arguments and have the groups debate the two topics in class. After one debate, have the groups switch arguments.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
What could be done to improve police acceptance in the lowest income communities? A: Positive contacts tend to neutralize the effect of negative contacts.
2.
Should the police be more responsible for intervening in the lives of infants and children? A: Answers will vary
3.
What are the most important legal rights of juveniles? A: Search and Seizure: Juveniles, like adults, are protected from unauthorized search and seizure. Interrogation Practices: Police must adhere to standards of fairness and due process in obtaining confessions. Fingerprinting: Police handle the fingerprinting of juveniles in a wide variety of ways; however, there is more consistency in how they destroy the records after their purpose has been served. Pretrial Identification Practices: The photographing and placing of juveniles in lineups are controversial but are more frequently taking place today than in the past.
4.
How would you evaluate the police’s attempts to prevent and deter delinquency? A: Answers will vary
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CHAPTER 7 The Juvenile Court CHAPTER OVERVIEW The purpose of the court, as expressed in the Commonwealth v. Fisher decision in 1905, “is not for the punishment of offenders but for the salvation of children, whose salvation may become the duty of the state.” It is this type of statement that resulted in the juvenile court receiving fanatical support from its followers. Ever since the turn of the twentieth century, supporters have argued that the informal setting of the juvenile court, coupled with the fatherly demeanor of the juvenile judge, enables children to be treated, rather than punished, for their problems. The state, the argument goes, rescues these youths from a life of trouble on the streets, rehabilitates them, protects them from placement with adult criminals in correctional facilities, and saves them from a life of crime. According to Judge Leonard P. Edwards, what is implicit in this position is that “children are different from adults, that they have developmental needs which they cannot satisfy without assistance, and that care and supervision are critical to their upbringing.” He then argues, “If children were no different from adults, the juvenile court would be unnecessary.” Critics of the juvenile court sharply challenge these idealistic claims. They argue that some cases are far beyond this permissive and rehabilitative approach of the juvenile court, such as the murder cited in the opening quote. Critics also argue that the juvenile court has not succeeded in rehabilitating juvenile offenders, in reducing or even stemming the rise of youth crime, or in bringing justice and compassion to youthful offenders. The juvenile court, they argue, acts in an arbitrary and whimsical fashion. It selects whom it “saves” on the basis of their sex and race, not on the basis of justice. The court harms children by processing them through its system, offering them inadequate programs, and labeling them as they return to the community. Thomas F. Geraghty and Steven A. Drizin, in the introduction to a symposium on the future of the juvenile court, suggest that the future of the juvenile court “is less secure than at any point in its history.” They state that part of the problem relates to the perceived seriousness of juvenile crime, and part of the problem is found in a “get-tough” attitude that is affecting the handling of juvenile as well as adult crime. This chapter describes the changing legal norms of the juvenile court, the social control of status offenders, what the juvenile court looks like today, the pretrial procedures of its proceedings, other stages of juvenile court proceedings, the rights to juveniles on appeal, and the juvenile sentencing structure. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Summarize the development and legal norms of the juvenile court LO#2: Describe the social control of the status offender LO#3: Explain the structure and key players of the juvenile court LO#4: Describe pretrial procedures and decisions of the intake officer LO#5: Describe the other stages of the juvenile court LO#6: Explain plea bargaining LO#7: Describe the various sentencing alternatives for juveniles
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LECTURE OUTLINE How Have Legal Norms Changed? • A number of cases resulted in the development of the juvenile court, ensuring that juveniles would have more constitutional rights accorded to them at the time of judicial proceedings: a. Kent v. United States: At the time of transfer, juveniles are accorded an evidential hearing. b. In re Gault: This is a U.S. Supreme Court case that brought the process and constitutional procedures into juvenile courts. c. In re Winship: Juveniles are entitled to proof beyond a reasonable doubt during the adjudication proceedings. d. McKeiver v. Pennsylvania: Juveniles are not guaranteed the right to a jury trial. e. Breed v. Jones: A juvenile court cannot adjudicate a case and then transfer it over to the criminal court for adult processing on the same offense. How Is the Status Offender Controlled? • There are two major decisions in terms of status offenders: o Whether to deinstitutionalize them o Whether the juvenile court should retain jurisdiction of status offenders—nearly all states have agreed that they should. a. Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders o As a condition for states to continue receiving federal funding for juvenile justice programs, the JJDP Act required that status offenders be kept separate from delinquent offenders in secure detention and institutionalization. b. Jurisdiction over Status Offenders o Nearly all states have agreed that the juvenile court should retain jurisdiction of status offenders. o Juvenile court judges challenge the movement to strip the court of jurisdiction over status offenders. They claim that status offenders will have no one to provide for them or to protect them. c. Crossover Youth o Juveniles in the child welfare system often cross into the juvenile justice system and therefore are sometimes called “crossover youth.” o Crossover youth often move back and forth between a child welfare system in which they are looked on as victims, and a juvenile justice system that sees them as offenders. What Does the Juvenile Court Look Like Today? • The structure of the juvenile court varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. • Courtroom Team: The key players of the juvenile court are the judge, the referee, the defense attorney, the prosecutor, the probation officer, and nonjudicial support personnel. What Are the Pretrial Procedures of the Juvenile Court? • The jurisdiction of the juvenile court, despite variations among and even within states, generally includes delinquency, neglect, and dependency cases. • The pretrial procedures consist of the detention hearing, the intake process, and the transfer procedure. 33 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
a. Detention Hearing o The detention hearing must be held within a short period of time after arrest. o Detention is then used as a sanction, in which juveniles serve their “sentence” in detention and are released afterwards. o Bail is not a form of punishment. Rather, its purpose is to ensure that the defendant will show up at their adjudicatory hearing. b. Intake Process o The intake process has several purposes: Screens cases to determine whether children need the help of the juvenile court Controls the use of detention Reduces the courts’ overwhelming caseloads Keeps inappropriate cases (e.g., minor cases) out of the juvenile court Directs children to appropriate community agencies o An intake officer reviews all cases brought before the juvenile court. o Case dismissal may happen at this stage for various reasons; youth sent home with parents. o The juvenile judge may decide to grant the youth an informal adjustment, informal probation, consent decree, or the youth may be required to appear in court for an adjudicatory hearing. • MOVIE NOTE: When They See Us (2019) is a four-episode miniseries about the infamous case of the Central Park Five, in which five Black boys aged 14 to 16 were coerced into confessing to raping a jogger. What Are Other Stages of Juvenile Court Proceedings? a. Adjudicatory Hearing o The adjudicatory hearing for juveniles is equivalent to the trial in adult court. o It is the point at which the judge reviews the charges as described in the petition, hears testimony from the parties involved, and decides whether the youth committed the offense. o All juveniles now have the right to a hearing. b. Disposition Hearing o Disposition hearings, which are equivalent to sentencing hearings in adult courts, are of two basic types: The first type occurs at the same time as the adjudicatory hearing. The judge decides what disposition would be most effective for the youth. The second type of disposition hearing occurs following the adjudicatory hearing. o Predisposition reports are essential to defendants, defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation departments, and judges. c. Judicial Alternatives o Dismissal o Restitution o Outpatient psychiatric therapy o Probation o Foster home placement 34 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
o Day treatment programs o Community-based residential programs o Institutionalization in a mental hospital o Institutionalization in a county or city institution o Institutionalization in a state or private training school o Institutionalization in an adult facility or youthful offender facility What Right Does the Juvenile Have to Appeal? • Plea Bargaining: o A plea bargain is a deal made between the prosecutor and the defense attorney. o The defense attorney, after consultation with their client, agrees that the client will admit to committing a lesser offense if the prosecutor will drop the more serious charge. What Is the Juvenile Sentencing Structure? • Determinate sentencing is a new form of sentencing in juvenile justice and in some jurisdictions is replacing the traditional form of indeterminate sentencing. • Increasing numbers of juvenile courts are using a “blended” form of sentencing. • The proposed guidelines represented radical philosophical changes and still are used by proponents to attempt to standardize the handling of juvenile lawbreakers. a. Social Policy in Juvenile Justice: Toward Excellence in the Juvenile Delinquency Court o The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges has identified the functions of the court and its judges. o They made recommendations in 2005 to promote the best practices of the juvenile court and its personnel across the country. LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE •
No significant changes to this chapter
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1.
Writing to Learn Exercise: Write two or three paragraphs on the nature of adjudicatory hearings today, including the reasons for the way hearings are set up and the nature of predisposition reports. Critique and revise.
2.
Group Work: Drawing on your personal experience as a youth, “think through” the characteristics of different types of juveniles who might come into the juvenile court. Then, discuss the judicial alternatives group members would recommend to judges for the juveniles who have engaged in different types of misbehavior.
3.
Writing to Learn Exercise: Write two paragraphs, one on “Geraghty believes that adult courts are not appropriate places to try juveniles” and another on “how Geraghty believes the juvenile court could guarantee justice for juveniles.” Critique and revise.
4.
Group Work: Spell out in detail the assumptions and procedures of the original juvenile court. Then, each group must go through the cases highlighted in the chapter to develop the due process requirements asked for in the various court decisions.
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5.
Writing to Learn Exercise: Either after completing Exercise 4 or in place of it, have each student identify the court cases most relevant to the juvenile court and write up the due process requirements for juveniles involved in each type of circumstance.
6.
Writing to Learn Exercise: Write one or two paragraphs identifying and describing the roles of different juvenile court personnel. Critique and revise.
7.
Group Work: Discuss the pretrial procedures of the juvenile court, including the general process, detention hearings, bail for juveniles, and preventive detention, and the different legal issues found in each.
8.
Group Work: Discuss the intake process and the different outcomes possible for juveniles processed through the intake process.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
What is an adjudicatory hearing and what procedures does it follow? A: The adjudicatory hearing for juveniles is equivalent to the trial in adult court. It comes after the pretrial procedures.
2.
What are the basic arguments in favor of and in opposition to the retention of the juvenile court? A: The purpose of the court, as expressed in the Commonwealth v. Fisher decision in 1905, “is not for the punishment of offenders but for the salvation of children whose salvation may become the duty of the state.” It is this type of statement that resulted in the juvenile court receiving fanatical support from its followers. Ever since the turn of the twentieth century, supporters have argued that the informal setting of the juvenile court, coupled with the fatherly demeanor of the juvenile judge, enables children to be treated, rather than punished, for their problems. The state, the argument goes, rescues these youths from a life of trouble on the streets, rehabilitates them, protects them from placement with adult criminals in correctional facilities, and saves them from a life of crime. According to Judge Leonard P. Edwards, what is implicit in this position is that “children are different from adults, that they have developmental needs which they cannot satisfy without assistance, and that care and supervision are critical to their upbringing.” He then argues, “if children were no different from adults, the juvenile court would be unnecessary.” Critics of the juvenile court sharply challenge these idealistic claims. They argue that some cases are far beyond this permissive and rehabilitative approach of the juvenile court, such as the murder cited in the opening quote. Critics also argue that the juvenile court has not succeeded in rehabilitating juvenile offenders, in reducing or even stemming the rise of youth crime, or in bringing justice and compassion to youthful offenders. The juvenile court, they argue, acts in an arbitrary and whimsical fashion. It selects whom it “saves” on the basis of their sex and race, not on the basis of justice. The court harms children by processing them through its system, offering them inadequate programs, and labeling them as they return to the community. Thomas F. Geraghty and Steven A. Drizin, in the introduction to a symposium on the future of the juvenile court, suggest that the future of the juvenile court “is less secure than at any point in its history.” They state that part of the problem relates to the perceived seriousness of juvenile crime, and part of the problem is found in a “get-tough” attitude that is affecting the handling of juvenile as well as adult crime.
3.
How did the juvenile court get to where it is today? A: In the past, constitutionalists have argued that the juvenile court was unconstitutional because under its auspices the principles of a fair trial and individual rights were denied. This group primarily was concerned that children appearing before the juvenile court were 36 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
denied their procedural rights as well as the rights to shelter, protection, and guardianship. The constitutionalists proposed that the procedures of the juvenile court be modified in three ways: (1) by the adoption of separate procedures for dealing with dependent and neglected children and those who are accused of criminal behavior; (2) by the use of informal adjustments to avoid official court actions as frequently as possible; and (3) by the provision of rigorous procedural safeguards and rights for children appearing before the court at the adjudicatory stage. A series of decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1960s and early 1970s rapidly accelerated the influence of the constitutionalists on the juvenile court. The five most important cases were Kent v. United States (1966), In re Gault (1967), In re Winship (1970), McKeiver v. Pennsylvania (1971), and Breed v. Jones (1975). 4.
What is preventive detention? What is your evaluation of this movement in juvenile justice? A: This happens when the intake personnel decide that the youth needs to be detained either for the youth’s own protection or for the protection of society. Preventive detention raises several controversial questions. First, laws are not supposed to be enforced against people unless some sort of overt act has occurred that violates the juvenile or criminal code. To put a youth in preventive detention under the assumption that they might commit an offense runs counter to the intent and, supposedly, the practice of the law. Second, preventive detention is experienced by the detainee as punitive confinement, regardless of the stated purpose of the practice. Finally, the propriety of incarceration before the determination of guilt and the procedural safeguards that must accompany such a practice are major issues to be considered.
5.
Do you think the juvenile court should be changed? Why? How? A: Answers will vary
6.
Which of the methods for appointing judges is the best? Why? A: Answers will vary
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CHAPTER 8 Juveniles in Adult Court CHAPTER OVERVIEW The mission of the juvenile court, as previously discussed, is debated hotly today. Proponents contend that its original mission was to deal with all juvenile crime, from minor misbehaviors to assault, robbery, and murder. The rise in violent youth crime during the past decades, however, has increased the public’s fear of juvenile crime. In addition, the emergence of a “hard line” since the late 1970s has increased the willingness of others to question the juvenile court’s original mission. The result of this get-tough policy is that numerous proposals are being made that increase the chances that juvenile lawbreakers, even very young ones, will be punished with the same severity, as are their adult counterparts. This chapter examines some of the issues involved in ensuring justice for both juveniles and society. Beginning with the issue of immaturity and responsibility, this chapter considers the transfer to adult court, the 2005 Roper v. Simmons case that led to the abolishment of the juvenile death penalty, the sentence of a juvenile to a youthful offender system or to an adult prison, and a proposed adult court for juveniles. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Explain the differences in maturity between juveniles and adults LO#2: Explain how transfers to adult court take place as well as the different types of waivers LO#3: How does the youthful offender system work? LO#4: Summarize the debate about juveniles receiving a sentence of life without parole LO#5: Discuss the death penalty for juveniles LECTURE OUTLINE Children or Adults? • Defining when childhood ends and adulthood begins is problematic; no objective tests are available to help society draw the line. • The result is much confusion from state to state over the ways in which youths and adults are defined. • The basic issue is one of deciding the elusive concept of responsibility and of defining the relationship between age and mental and emotional maturity. • “Maturity” is a psychological term that is used to indicate when a person responds to the circumstances and environment in an appropriate manner. How Does Transfer to Adult Court Take Place? a. Judicial Waiver o Judicial waiver is the most widely used transfer mechanism. o It involves the actual decision-making process that begins when the juvenile is brought to intake. o The mechanisms that are used vary by state. 38 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
b. Prosecutorial Discretion o Prosecutorial discretion occurs in states with concurrent jurisdiction statutes. o These laws give prosecutors the authority to decide whether to try juveniles in either juvenile or adult court. c. Statutorial Exclusion o Some states have a statutorial exclusion of certain offenses from juvenile court, thereby automatically transferring youths with those offenses to adult court. d. Reverse Waiver and Blended Sentencing o In reverse waiver, some state laws permit youths who are over the maximum age of jurisdiction to be sent back to the juvenile court. o This can happen if the adult court believes the case is more appropriate for juvenile court jurisdiction. o Defense counsel and prosecutors make their case for their desired action. o A blended sentence is a sentence imposed by a juvenile court that blends a juvenile disposition and an adult sentence for certain serious offenders. o Some states permit juvenile court judges at the disposition hearing in the delinquency court to impose both an adult and a juvenile sentence concurrently. e. Changing Criteria for Waiver o In the past, youths were waived to adult court without hearings, without sufficient factfinding on the part of the court, without reasons being given for the waiver, and without the youth having the benefit of an attorney. o Critics argue that the decision to waive juveniles to adult court was a serious matter and that youths should be entitled to due process rights. o Two key cases were Kent v. United States and Breed v. Jones. f. What Happens in the Transfer or Waiver Hearing? o Once a prosecutor has decided that a juvenile is beyond the help of the juvenile court, he/she files a motion to send the youth to adult court. o This motion requires a probable-cause hearing by a juvenile judge. o These hearings are required for both a mandatory judicial waiver and a discretionary judicial waiver. g. Waiver to Criminal Court o Once the waiver decision is made, the juvenile’s case is transferred to the adult court prosecutor. o The legal process starts all over again with the same people present, with the result that some juveniles are put on informal or formal probation and others are tried in adult court. o The case now usually is tried in front of a jury, and the youth has the potential of receiving the same sentence as an adult. h. Evaluation of Waiver o Although waivers are still relatively infrequent and have recently increased slightly in number, they are an important issue in juvenile justice. o Juveniles waived to adult court are not always the most serious and violent offenders. o Even when waiver does occur, some evidence exists that waiver may have the effect not of deterring crime by juveniles, but of increasing it.
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•
MOVIE NOTE: 13 Going on Life: Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults? is a notable, relevant TED Talk by Michele Deitch. How Does a Youthful Offender System Work? • Juveniles sentenced in adult courts are subject to the same range of dispositions as are adults. • Given the dangers of placing juveniles who are waived to adult court and found guilty in adult correctional institutions, youthful offender systems have been developed to deal with youthful offenders who need placement in an institution. • In a youthful offender system, programs emphasize work readiness, job training, and work experience. They also attempt to establish close ties to the community to which the youth would return. • The current get-tough mood of society does not seem to be one in which the development of youthful offender systems will be viewed as an attractive option to policy makers in many states. MOVIE NOTE: Prison Kids: A Crime Against America’s Children (2015) offers an indepth look at the country’s broken juvenile justice systems. It examines how the United States incarcerates children at a higher rate than any other developed country and travels across the country to look at the stories if kids who grew up behind bars. What Is Life Like for a Juvenile Sent to Prison? • In 2009, state prisons held more than 2,700 juveniles. About 46 percent of these inmates were held in prisons in southern states. • Forty-two states presently allow life without parole for minors. • There are currently 2,390 people in this nation who are serving life sentences (LWOP) for crimes they committed before they turned 18. There are 73 juveniles who have committed crimes when they were 13 or 14 and were given this sentence. • Nationally, 59 percent of the juveniles serving life without parole sentences had no prior criminal convictions before being placed in prison for life. • In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, by a 5-to-4 vote, that juveniles may not be sentenced to a life in prison without parole for any crime short of homicide. • In 2012, Jackson v. Hobbes and Miller v. Alabama, the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of life without parole for juveniles. • In some states, judges opt for the life without parole sentence to incarcerate juveniles for the rest of their natural lives. • MOVIE NOTE: Stickup Kid, a Frontline digital exclusive, tells the story of Alonza Thomas—sent to adult prison in California at age 16—and how spending over a decade behind bars affected him. Should teens who commit serious crimes be sentenced as adults? What happens when we lock up juvenile offenders in adult prisons? The Juvenile Death Penalty: Three Decades of Change • The constitutionality of the death penalty was decided in Gregg v. Georgia in 1976. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty did not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. • Historically, few juveniles were ever executed for their crimes. Georgia leads all states with forty-one juvenile executions. • Up to the Roper v. Simmons decision, which outlawed the death penalty for juveniles for crimes committed under the age of eighteen, the most serious consequence for juveniles was the possibility of being sentenced to the death penalty. •
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LIST OF CHANGES/TRANSITION GUIDE • •
New section on juvenile waivers across the fifty states New discussion of blended sentencing
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES 1.
Group Work: Discuss the different types of waivers found throughout the states and how those waivers work.
2.
Writing to Learn Exercise: As an alternative to Exercise 1, have all students identify and describe each of the different types of waivers and then critique each others’ answers for style and substance.
3.
Group Work: Discuss the stages, issues, and court decisions involved in the evolution of the juvenile death penalty.
4.
Class Debate: Divide the class into two groups, one of which is to argue, “Resolved: Juveniles receive sufficient due process, and more juveniles should be sent to communitybased corrections for rehabilitation and treatment.” The other is to argue “Resolved: Juveniles should be treated as adults, sanctions against them strengthened, and more youths should be sent to the adult court for prosecution and punishment.”
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS 1.
At what point are children considered adults by society today? When do different state and local organizations in the United States consider you an adult? A: In terms of wrongdoing, the elusive concept of responsibility has its roots in the notions that individuals know right from wrong, have developed a social conscience, feel guilty or remorseful over their actions, are mentally sharp enough to know the rules, do not have any disease that reduces their ability to get along in society, fully understand that their actions are harming others, and are emotionally mature. Maturity is a psychological term that is used to indicate when a person responds to the circumstances and environment in an appropriate manner. The fact is that this response is typically learned rather than instinctive and is determined by one’s age. Maturity is involved with being aware of the correct time and place to behave and with knowing when to act appropriately, according to the situation and the culture in which a person lives. States vary widely in the criteria they use in making the waiver decision. Some states focus on the age of the offender, and others consider both age and offense. For example, some states such as Kansas, Vermont (age ten), Georgia, Illinois, and Mississippi (age thirteen) and others transfer children at very young ages. More states transfer juveniles at fourteen than at any other age; seven states transfer juveniles at either fifteen or sixteen years of age.
2.
What are the main types of waiver to the adult court? A: Judicial waiver, prosecutorial discretion, Statutorial exclusion, reverse waiver, and blended sentencing
3.
Why is waiver such a controversial matter in juvenile justice? A: In the past, youths were waived to adult court without hearings, without sufficient fact finding on the part of the court, without reasons being given for the waiver, and without the youth having the benefit of an attorney. Critics fought these procedures. Their essential argument was that the decision to waive juveniles to adult court was a serious matter and 41 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.
that youths should be entitled to due process rights. On reviewing two cases in particular, Kent v. United States and Breed v. Jones (see Chapter 6), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that traditional juvenile court procedures for waiver were inadequate and that juveniles were guaranteed many of the same due process rights as were adults. Since Kent and Jones, most states now require that waiver hearings be held before transferring juveniles to adult court. Yet these hearings are not required in all states; some states permit prosecutors to make the waiver decision. In addition, states that provide for mandatory legislative waiver do not have to hold such hearings. 4.
What is your stand on the death penalty for juveniles? Do you support it or oppose it? Why? A: Answers will vary
5.
When is treatment in the juvenile system no longer desirable for a juvenile? A: Where juvenile courts are responsible for making the waiver decision, the Supreme Court stated in Kent that they must use the following criteria: 1. The seriousness of the alleged offense to the community and whether the protection of the community requires waiver 2. Whether the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated, or willful manner 3. Whether the alleged offense was against persons or against property, greater weight being given to offenses against persons, especially if personal injury resulted 4. The prosecutorial merit of the complaint, that is, whether there is evidence on which a grand jury may be expected to return an indictment 5. The desirability of trial and disposition of the entire offense in one court when the juvenile’s associates in the alleged offense are adults who will be charged with a crime in the criminal court 6. The sophistication and maturity of the juvenile as determined by consideration of his home, environment, emotional attitude, and pattern of living 7. The record and previous history of the juvenile 8. The prospects for adequate protection of the public and the likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation of the juvenile (if he [or she] is found to have committed the alleged offense) by the use of procedures, services, and facilities currently available to the juvenile court.
6.
Should any juvenile be confined for life? If so, who and why? A: Answers will vary
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CHAPTER 9 Community Corrections CHAPTER OVERVIEW Youth violence is a serious national concern, and probation officers, who can be called the “workhorses” of the juvenile justice system, have an important role in monitoring and controlling youth misbehavior, including violence. Juvenile probation officers have contact with juveniles from the time they come into the system until they are either released from the jurisdiction of the system or are sent to an institution. This chapter focuses on community corrections, especially probation services and residential programs. Residential services include day treatment programs and group homes. Chapter 5 previously discussed wilderness programs, primarily Outward Bound, and diversionary programs that are often not administered by criminal justice officials, and in this chapter, the focus will be on services provided by correctional officials. Probation is a correctional service allowing an offender to remain in the community under supervision by an officer of the court. Each state has different requirements for juvenile probation, and each county frequently has different expectations. County juvenile probation has always referred to nonpunitive legal disposition for delinquent youths and has emphasized treatment without incarceration. The probation officer assists offenders in their efforts to meet the conditions of the court. The basic goal of probation—beyond giving troublesome youths a second chance—is to provide services that will help offenders stay out of trouble with the law. Probation is the most widely used judicial disposition of the juvenile court. The use of probation has increased significantly since 1993 when around 224,500 adjudicated juveniles were placed on probation. The word probation is used in at least four ways in the juvenile justice system. It can refer to (1) a disposition of the juvenile court in lieu of institutionalization, (2) the status of an adjudicated offender, (3) a subsystem of the juvenile justice system (the term’s most common use), and (4) the activities, functions, and services that characterize this subsystem’s transactions with the juvenile court, the youthful offender, and the community. The probation process includes the intake phase of the juvenile court’s proceedings, preparation of the social investigation for the disposition stage, supervision of probationers, and obtaining or providing services for youths on probation. Probation is considered a desirable alternative to institutionalization for several reasons: First, it allows offenders to retain their liberty but provides society with some protection against continued disregard for the law. Second, it promotes the rehabilitation of offenders because they can maintain normal community contacts by living at home, attending school, and participating in community activities. Third, it avoids the negative impact of institutional confinement, and furthermore, it costs less than incarceration. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES LO#1: Describe probation LO#2: Explain how probation is administered LO#3: Explain the functions of probation services LO#4: Summarize the roles and responsibilities of probation officers LO#5: Describe programs that engage in risk control and crime reduction LO#6: Explain how probation can be revoked and the rights of probationers LO#7: Summarize juvenile probation’s effectiveness 43 Copyright © 2024 Pearson Education, Inc.