What is youth?
� Socially constructed identity
--Youth does not have the same meaning everywhere (cross culturally)
� School, have caretaker, less responsibility, less developed
� Society defines "youth" by what it needs from them and by how much responsibility they wan
Ego Identity
� Formed when persons develop a firm sense of who they are and what they stand for
� Occurs during ages 16 to 18
Role Diffusion
� Occurs when youths spread themselves too thin, experience personal uncertainty, and place themselves at the mercy of leaders who promise to give them a sense of identity they cannot develop themselves
At-risk-youths
� Young people who are extremely vulnerable to the negative consequences of school failure, substance abuse, and early sexuality
� Engage in dangerous/risky conduct, such as drug abuse, alcohol use, and precocious sexual activity
� Estimates = 25% of popu
At-risk-youths
(5 Problems Facing Youth)
� Poverty
� Health
� Family
� Living conditions
� Inadequate education
Poverty
(Problem Facing Youth)
� More likely in: young families, with children, non-white
� Negative effects on: cognitive achievement, educational attainment, nutrition, physical/mental health, social behavior
� Wealth of family is good determinant for high school & college success/gr
Health Problems
(Problem Facing Youth)
� Poor and unhealthy children are subject to illness & early mortality
� Prone to violent adolescent death (3,000 children/yr die from firearms)
� Many children do not achieve recommended amount of exercise, not all have health care coverage
Family Problems
(Problem Facing Youth)
� 50% of first marriages end in divorce, 23% live with only mother, 4% with no parents
� Children leaving foster care at age 18 at risk of becoming: homeless, unemployed, incarcerated
Substandard Living Conditions
(Problem Facing Youth)
� Negative influence on long-term psychological health
� Prevented from having productive/happy life
� At risk of: drug addiction, STDs
Inadequate Education
(Problem Facing Youth)
� Reading proficiency an issue; at risk for grad repetition & dropping out
� Poor, minority-group children more at-risk due to: underfunded schools, inadequate educational opportunities
� No high school diploma = earn 30% less money
Juvenile Delinquency
� Participation in illegal behavior by a minor who falls under a statutory age limit (commonly 17)
� 1.7 youths arrested per year, 800,000 youths in street gangs
� Affected by environmental and social issues
--Substance abuse, child abuse & neglect, educa
Delinquent
� Juvenile who has been adjudicated by a judicial officer of a juvenile court as having committed a delinquent act
Chronic Juvenile Offenders
� Youths who have been arrested four or more times during their minority and perpetuate a striking majority of serious criminal acts
� Engage in a significant portion of all delinquent behavior
� Do not age out of crime and continue as adults
� Cost socie
Juvenile Justice System
� The law enforcement, court, and correctional agencies designed to treat youthful offenders
Paternalistic Family
� Father is the final authority on all family matters and exercises complete control over his wife and children
� Children who disobeyed were subject to severe physical punishment or death
� Began working and developing adult social roles at young age
� P
Family Structure
� Middle Ages - paternalistic family
� Enlightenment - more affection, less physical punishment, schools continued to mistreat
Poor Laws
� English statute that allowed the courts to appoint overseers for destitute and neglected children, allowing placement of these children in the home of the affluent
Chancery Court
� Court proceedings created in 15th century England to oversee the lives of highborn minors who were orphaned or otherwise could not care for themselves
� Included safeguarding their property and inheritance rights & appointing a guardian until they reach
Parens Patriae
� The power of the state to act on behalf of the child and provide care and protection equivalent to that of a parent
Status of Children
(U.S.)
� Children came to colonies as indentured servants, apprentices, agricultural workers
� Poor Law legislation passed in VA (1646), CT & MA (1673)
� Parents apprenticing their children to a master for care & training
Controlling Children
� Early colonists viewed family violence as a sin, but moral discipline was still rigidly enforced
� Stubborn-child laws required children to obey their parents
� Children forced to attend public whippings/executions as moral instruction
� Few cases of ch
Juvenile Justice
(Beginning of 19th Century)
� Treated the same way as adult criminals (prison, corporal/capital punishment)
� Probation created in 1841 (Massachusetts) to help young avoid imprisonment
� No separate facilities/laws to control/help youth
� Urbanization - led to increased # of young p
Child Savers
� 19th century reformers who developed programs for troubled youth and influenced legislation creating the juvenile justice system
--Gave courts power to commit children to specialized institutions
� Today some critics view them as more concerned with con
House of Refuge
(1825)
� Care facility developed by the child savers to protect potential criminal youths by taking them off the street and providing a family-like environment
� Initially housed status offenders, later held criminal violators
� Placed here by court order, requi
Children's Aid Society
(1853)
� Child-saving organization that took children from the streets of large cities and placed them with temporary shelter (farm families on the prairie)
� Charles Loring Brace believed urban environment was injurious to children
Orphan Trains
(1854)
� Practice of the Children's Aid Society in which urban youths were sent west for adoption with local farm couples
� Families wishing to take children would meet at train and select child
Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children
(SPCC)
[1874]
� Concerned that boys become lower-class criminals, girls become promiscuous women
� Criminal penalties for neglect parents, provisions for removing children from home
Illinois Juvenile Court Act
(1899)
� Separate court for delinquent & neglected children
� Special procedures to govern adjudication of juvenile matters
� Children separated from adults in courts & institutional programs
� Probation programs developed to assist court in decision making for
Juvenile Justice System
(Reform)
� 1912: U.S. Children's Bureau (first child welfare agency)
--Investigate state of juvenile institutions & expose them
� 1962: Family court system established (NY)
--Responsible for all matters involving family life
--PINS & CHINS (person/children in need
President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice
� Organized by Lyndon Johnson
� Suggested the juvenile justice system must provide underprivileged youths with opportunities for success (education, jobs)
� Develop effective LE procedures for hardcore criminals, while following due process
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
(LEAA)
[1968]
� Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (1968)
� Administers grants and provides guidance for improving the adult & juvenile justice systems
--Amended in 1972 to focus on juvenile justice & delinquency
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP)
� Branch of the U.S. Justice Department
� Established through the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
� Charged with shaping national juvenile justice policy through disbursement of federal aid and research funds
� 2 goals:
--Remove juveniles
Parens Patriae
(U.S.)
� Minors who engaged in illegal behavior viewed as victims of improper care at home
� Illegal behavior as a sign that the state should act in the "best interests of the child
Best Interests of the Child
� Viewpoint that encourages the state to take control for wayward children and provide care, custody, and treatment to remedy delinquent behavior
Adults vs. Children
� Adults = tried in court; Children = adjudicated
� Adults = punished; Children = treated
� If treatment is mandated, children cannot be committed to adult prisons
--Must be sent to secure detention facility
� Children = usually charged with being juvenil
Legal Responsibility of Youths
� Legal action based on need for treatment
� Delinquent behavior treated more leniently because law considers juveniles less responsible for behavior
--Stronger preference for risk/novelty
--Less accurate in assessing potential consequences of risky condu
Need for Treatment
� Criteria on which juvenile sentencing is based
� Juveniles treated according to their need for treatment and not for the seriousness of the delinquent act they committed
Waiver
� aka: bindover, removal
� Transferring legal jurisdiction over the most serious and experienced juvenile offenders to the adult court for criminal prosecution
Status Offender
� Child who is subject to state authority by reason of having committed an act forbidden to youth and illegal solely because the child is underage
� Sheds noncriminal youth from stigma attached to "juvenile delinquent" and signify they have special needs
Status Offender vs. Juvenile Delinquent
� Either can be picked up by police, brought to station
� Same court, same judge, same probation staff
� Similar treatment in hearing
� Status offenders not usually incarcerated with delinquents, but can be if uncontrollable
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
(JJDPA)
� Major source of federal funding to improve states' juvenile justice systems
� In order to receive federal funds, states are required to remove status offenders from secure detention/lockups in order to insulate them from more serious delinquent offender
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
(RHYA)
� Provides funds for nonsecure facilities where status offenders who need protection can receive safe shelter, counseling, and education until an effective family reunion can be realized
Curfews
� Purpose: reduce opportunity to commit crime
� Research indicates that they increase crime during non-curfew hours
� Critics argue that it violates right to assembly
� Curfew violators cannot be charged with crime
Disciplining Parents
� Laws that discipline parents for "contributing to the delinquency of a minor"
� Ex: civil liability, criminal liability, general involvement
--Paying fines, restitution
� Critics argue that punishing parents can be detrimental to child
--Can leave child
Adolescent Risk Taking
� Part of being youth in our culture (and many others) is the amount of risk-taking behaviors that young people engage in
--Peer influence
--New opportunities
--Feel invincible
Minor Child
� An individual who falls under a statutory age limit
What is a Crime?
� Behavioral - the act was done and it is a delinquent act
� Legal - the act is illegal
Uniform Crime Reports
(UCR)
� Most widely used source of national crime & delinquency statistics
� Police departments (17,000) report to FBI the:
--# of criminal acts reported by citizens
--# of persons arrested
� Groups offenses into 2 categories: Part I offenses, Part II offenses
Disaggregated
� Analyzing the relationship between 2 or more IV's (such as murder convictions & death sentence) while controlling the influence of the DV (such as race)
� Used to estimate adolescent delinquency
Uniform Crime Reports
(Part I offenses)
� Offenses including homicide, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, arson, & motor vehicle theft
� Recorded by local LE officers, tallied quarterly, and sent to the FBI
Uniform Crime Reports
(Part II offenses)
� All crimes other than Part I offenses
� Recorded by local LE officers, tallied quarterly, and sent to the FBI
Cleared Crimes
(2 ways)
� When at least 1 person is arrested, charged, and turned over to the court for prosecution
� Exceptional means: some element beyond police control precludes the physical arrest of an offender
--Ex: offender leaving the country
� In 2010, 47% of violent c
Uniform Crime Reports
(Methods to Express Crime Data)
1. Raw Figures: # of crimes reported to police & arrests made
2. Rates per 100,000
3. Changes in crime rates over time
Uniform Crime Reports
(Strengths)
� Measures homicides & arrests
� Consistent, national sample
Uniform Crime Reports
(Weaknesses)
� Does not show unreported crime (50% unreported)
--Ex: domestic violence, theft/larceny, rape, hate crimes
� Does not count delinquents who aren't caught
� Victimless crime (drug use) is undercounted
� Discretion on who to arrest varies among LE agencies
National Crime Victimization Survey
(NCVS)
� Comprehensive nationwide survey of victimization in the U.S.
--Conducted by U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
� Over-reporting, under-reporting
� Considered more accurate crime reports/estimates
� Shows reported and non-repor
National Crime Victimization Survey
(Information Provided)
� Victims (age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status, income, education level)
� Offenders (approx. age, sex, race, victim-offender relationship)
� Crimes (time/place, weapon, injury, economic consequences)
National Crime Victimization Survey
(Strengths)
� Includes crimes not reported to police
--Estimates the total number of crimes, not just those that are reported
--Shows proportion between reported/not reported
� Helps understand why crimes are not reported and whether the nature of the crime influence
National Crime Victimization Survey
(Weaknesses)
� Relies on memory/honesty of victim
--Underreporting (due to embarrassment, fear of getting in trouble, forgetting)
--Overreporting (due to victims' misinterpretation of events)
� Omits personal criminal activity (drug use, gambling, murder)
� Sampling e
Sampling
� Type of survey research
� Selecting a limited number of people for study as representative of a larger group (population)
� Must be carefully selected sample to represent population
� Ex: convenience samples, self-report surveys
Population
� All people who share a particular characteristic, such as all high school students or all police officers
Convenience Samples
� Subjects are selected because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher
� Ex: schools (students would rather take survey than sit in class)
Self-Report Surveys
� Requires subjects to describe, in detail, their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts
� Given in small groups, respondents promised anonymity
� Mostly focused on juvenile delinquency (can be: prison inmates, drug users)
� Information on perso
Self-Report Surveys
(Strengths)
� Include unreported crimes
� Include substance abuse
� Include offenders' personal information
Self-Report Surveys
(Weaknesses)
� Rely on memory/honesty of offender
--Underreporting (adolescents unlikely/forget to admit their crimes)
--Overreporting (adolescents may exaggerate extent of their crimes)
� Surveys contain overabundance of trivial offenses (using fake ID)
� Missing Cas
Monitoring the Future
(MTF)
� Nation's most important ongoing self-report survey (conducted annually)
� Drugs/alcohol, etc.
� 8th, 10th, 12th graders
� Shows more crime than UCR
Primary Data Source
� UCR, NCVS, self-report surveys
� Data not always in synch, but crime patterns/trends quite similar
� Agree on characteristics of criminals, when/where crime occurs
� Reliable indicators of fluctuations/changes in yearly delinquency rates
Official Delinquency Trends
� In 2010, juveniles responsible for 14% of violent crime, 23% of property crime arrests
� Crime has decreased in almost every aspect
--Except simple assault, cuz we respond to them more (fights in school)
� UCR data continues to contradict MTF
Dark Figures of Crime
� Incidents of crime and delinquency that go undetected by police
� MTF shows that juvenile delinquency is stable, and not declining like the UCR indicates
Juvenile Delinquency
(10 Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Population Makeup
� Economy & Jobs
� Social Problems
� Abortion
� Immigration
� Guns
� Gangs
� Drug Use
� Media
� Juvenile Justice Policy
Population Makeup
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Teens commit more crime than adults, so more teens = more crime
� Increased population puts strain on educational & welfare systems
--Fewer services for at-risk kids
� Reduces likelihood of employment & college
--Making gangs/illegal activity an attract
Economy & Jobs
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Counterintuitively, kids with jobs are most delinquent
--Lack of supervision, greater freedom
� Unemployed parents have more time to supervise
� Less valuables to steal
Social Problems
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Teenage pregnancy increases = delinquency increases
� Racial conflict in neighborhoods increases = delinquency increases
Abortion
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Increased availability of legalized abortion = delinquency decreases
--Unintended child would likely become at-risk
Immigration
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Research shows immigrants less prone to delinquency
Guns
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Availability of firearms may influence delinquency
� Guns cause escalation in seriousness of delinquency
Gangs
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Criminal gangs commit 80% of crime in some communities
� Arms race: gang members heavily armed, causing non-gang members to arm themselves
Drug Use
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Crack epidemic (1980-1990) cause for increased delinquency
� Decreased crack use in recent years = delinquency deceased
Media
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Increased access to TV, video players, video games that displayed violence
� Research: kids who watch more TV, get into more violent encounters
Juvenile Justice Policy
(Factors Influencing Rates/Trends)
� Increased police presence
� Tough laws that send juveniles to adult courts & adult prisons
5 Correlates of Delinquency
� Time and Place
� Gender
� Race
� Class
� Age
Time and Place
(Correlates of Delinquency)
� After school (no supervision)
� Urban areas
� Summer months (teens out of school, homes left vacant)
Gender
(Correlates of Delinquency)
� Males most likely, but gender gap is closing
� Females more likely to be arrested as runaways
Race
(Correlates of Delinquency)
� Self-reports indicate that there is not a relationship between race and self-reported delinquency
--Except for: stealing more than $50, gang fights, using weapon to steal
� Explanations for disproportionate arrests/offenses
--Racial bias
--Heavier polic
Class
(Correlates of Delinquency)
� Correlation, not causation between class and delinquency
--Poverty linked to social problems, that are highly associated with delinquency
� Middle class = less serious nuisance crimes
� Lower class = serious delinquent acts
� Crime, drug dealing, gang l
Age
(Correlates of Delinquency)
� Youth ages 14 to 17
--6% of the population
--15% for all arrests
� Aging out process
Aging-Out Process
� aka: desistance from crime, spontaneous remission
� Tendency for youths to reduce the frequency of their offending behavior as they age
� Occurs among all groups of offenders, regardless of race, sex, social class, intelligence
Aging-Out Process
(Explanations/Causes)
� Growing older means having to face the future
� With maturity comes the ability to resist the "quick fix" to their problems
� Maturation coincides with increased levels of responsibility
� Personalities can change with age
� Young adults become more awa
Age of Onset
� Age at which youths begin their delinquent careers
� Early onset is believed to be linked with chronic offending patterns (aka: developmental view of delinquency)
Chronic Recidivist
� aka: chronic 6 percent
� Someone who has been arrested 5 times or more before the age of 18
� Small # of offenders, who commit significant portion of all serious crimes
� Many grow up to become chronic adult criminals
--Arrest/court/punishment does not
Juvenile Victimization
� NCVS data indicate that young people are more likely to be victims of crime than adults
� Male teenagers have significantly higher chance than females of becoming victims
� African Americans have greater chance that whites
� More dangerous lifestyle, ha
The Victims and Their Criminals
� Teens tend to be victimized by their peers
� Victimization is mostly intraracial (within a race)
--White on white, black on black
� Most teens are victimized by people with whom they are acquainted
Delinquents
(2 views that focus on the individual delinquent)
� React to individual circumstances in unique fashion
--Choice theory
--Trait theory
Choice Theory
� Juvenile offenders are rational decisions makers who choose to engage in antisocial/delinquent activity after weighing benefits/consequences
--Benefits outweigh the possible punishment
� Motivated by belief that crime can better their situation, make mo
Free Will
� View that youths are in charge of their own destinies and are free to make personal behavior choices unencumbered by environmental factors
� Those who violates law motivated by: greed, revenge, survival, hedonism
Utilitarian
� Those who believe that people weigh the benefits/consequences of their future actions before deciding on a course of behavior
Rational Choice
� What motivates a young person to commit crime?
� Why doesn't a young person commit crime, or more crime?
Classical Criminology
� now referred to as: rational choice theory
� Decisions to violate the law are weighed against possible punishments
� To deter crime, the pain of punishment itself must outweigh the benefit of illegal gain
� Led to graduated punishments based on seriousn
Choice Theory
(Choosing Delinquent Acts)
� Selective in their: targets & place of crime
� Not spontaneous or random, chosen based on potential gains/losses
Choice Theory
(4 Motivators for Delinquency)
� Economic Need/Opportunity
� Problem Solving
� False Expectations
� Opportunity
Economic Need/Opportunity
(Motivator for Delinquency)
� Delinquency to pay for drug habits
� Believe they have little chance of being successful in conventional world
--Drug dealing more attractive/regarding than minimum wage at fast food restaurant
Problem Solving
(Motivator for Delinquency)
� Delinquency may help kids overcome the problems and stresses they face in their daily lives
� Deviant lifestyles to: look tough/fearless to compensate for feelings of social powerlessness
� Risky behavior makes them feel alive/competent
--Many feel they
False Expectations
(Motivator for Delinquency)
� False belief that "crime pays", admire older criminals making money
� Financial rewards of crime are actually small
--Study found that drug gang members make $6-11 per hour
Opportunity
(Motivator for Delinquency)
� Lack of supervision, time to socialize with peers, increases risk of delinquency
� Jobs/working: more cash for drugs, unsupervised, socialize with deviant peers, pull kids away from school
Routine Activities Theory
� Predatory crimes can be expected if there is a:
--Motivated offender
--Suitable target (wealthy homes)
--Absence of capable guardians
----Police, neighbors, teacher, homeowners
Predatory Crimes
� Violent crimes against persons & crime in which an offender attempts to steal an object directly from its holder
General Deterrence
� Punishing one person for his/her criminal acts will discourage others from committing similar acts
� Purpose: convince law violators that pain of punishment outweighs benefit of criminal
� Punishment must be severe, certain, swift, for greatest deterren
General Deterrence
(How It's Used)
� Shift of emphasis from treatment to public safety
� Made easier to waive juveniles to adult court
� # of incarcerated juveniles increasing, juvenile crime decreasing
� Examples:
--Undercover officers in HS to identify drug dealers
--Proactive/aggressive
Specific Deterrence
� Individual offender will decide against repeating an offense after experiencing the painfulness of punishment for that offense
� Experiencing punishment may increase likelihood of recidivism
� Sentence length increases, chance of recidivism increases
Specific Deterrence
(Why It Doesn't Work)
� Creates defiance rather than deterrence ("The system can't break me")
� Stigma locks them into criminal career
� Believe it is unlikely they will get caught again
� Causes psychological problems
� Harsh punishments mix novice offenders with violent juve
Deterrence
(Effectiveness)
� 80% of youth rearrested after being released from custody, 45% of adults
� More effective on novice/petty offenders, than experienced/serious delinquents
� Some crimes more deterrable than others
Situational Crime Prevention
� Reducing opportunities to commit crime (rather than deter/punish) by making them more difficult to perform, reducing their reward, and increasing their risks
� Delinquency can be monitored if:
--Potential offenders are carefully monitored
--Potential ta
Situational Crime Prevention
(How It's Accomplished)
� Increasing the effort to commit crime
--Unbreakable glass, locking devices on cars
� Increasing the risks of crime
--Streetlights, security systems, increasing security guards
� Reducing rewards attached to crime
� Increasing the shame of committing cri
Co-Offending
� Committing criminal acts in groups
� Juveniles often commit crimes in groups, making peer pressure very influential
Criminal Atavism
� Created by Cesare Lombroso (father of criminology)
� Idea that delinquents manifest physical anomalies that make them similar to our primitive ancestors, savage throwbacks to an earlier stage of human evolution
� "born criminal" has enormous jaws, stron
Trait Theory
� Delinquency is a product of physical/psychological traits and/or conditions
� Delinquents acts are impulsive/instinctual, rather than rational choices
� Individual behavior patterns influenced by: personal traits & environmental influences
--Bad traits
Trait Theory
(Criticisms)
� Research methodologies
� Limited population
� Poor history of CJ response to these issues
Trait Theory
(2 Branches)
� Biosocial Theory
� Psychological theories
Contemporary Trait Theory
� Combination of personal traits and environmental factors lead to behavior patterns
Biosocial Theory
� View that both thought and behavior have biological and social bases
� Cause of delinquency found in child's physical/biological makeup
� Focuses on association between: biological makeup, environmental conditions, antisocial behaviors
Anti-Social Behaviors
� Not all illegal behaviors are dysfunctional, and not all legitimate behaviors are acceptable
� Behaviors that are not social acceptable
--Difficult temperament
--Impulsivity
--Poor academic achievement
--Manipulative
--Irresponsible
--Failure to conform
Biosocial Theory
(3 Concerning Areas of Biological Functioning)
� Biochemical Makeup
� Neurological Function
--MBD, ADHD, LD
� Genetic History
--Parental offending, twin studies, adoption studies
Biochemical Makeup
(Concerning Area of Biological Functioning)
� Maternal alcohol/drug abuse, environmental contamination (pollution), & poor diet can lead to antisocial behaviors
--Poor diet can compromise individual functioning (school performance), thus putting child at risk for delinquent behavior
� Increased hor
ADHD
(Correlation to Delinquency)
� Hard time paying attention, easily distracted, act without thinking
--Leads to: poor school performance, bullying, stubbornness, mental disorder, lack of response to discipline (conditions correlated to delinquency)
� More likely to: used drugs/alcohol,
Minimal Brain Dysfunction
(MBD)
� Damage to the brain itself that causes antisocial behavior injurious to the individual's lifestyle and social adjustment
� Can lead to reduction in executive functioning (EF)
--Linked to: ADHD, conduct disorder (CD)
� 20% of offenders report traumatic b
Learning Disabilities
(LD)
� Disorder in 1 or more of the psychological processes involved in understanding or in spoken/written language
--Neurological dysfunctions that prevent an individual from learning his/her potential
� Correlates with: antisocial behavior, deviance, arrests
Conduct Disorder
� Difficulty following rules & behaving in socially acceptable way
� Severely antisocial, bullying, fighting
Oppositional Defiance Disorder
� Uncooperative, defiant, & hostile behavior towards authority figures
Susceptibility Rationale
� Link between delinquency/LD is caused by side effects of learning disabilities, such as impulsiveness and inability to take social cues
School Failure Rationale
� Frustration caused by poor school performance will lead to a negative self-image and acting-out behavior
Parental Offending
� Significant number of delinquent youths have criminal fathers
� Crime is intergenerational (criminal fathers have deviant children, who produce deviant children)
--Ex: schoolyard bullying
Twin Studies
� Similarities between twins due to genes, not environment
Adoption Studies
� Adoptees share behavioral/intellectual characteristics with their biological parents
Delinquency
(3 Psychological Theories)
� Psychodynamic Theory
� Behavioral Theory
� Cognitive Theory
Psychodynamic Theory
� Fred: law violations are a product of an abnormal personality formed early in life
� Human personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes developed early in childhood
� Personality contains 3 major components: id, ego, superego
--All operate
Id
� Unrestrained, pleasure-seeking component with which each child is born
Ego
� Develops through the reality of living in the world and helps restrain the id's need for immediate gratification
Superego
� Develops through interactions with parents and others and represents the conscience and the moral rules that are shared by most adults
Identity Crisis
� Psychological state in which youths face inner turmoil & uncertainty about life roles
Behavioral Theory
� Study of observable behavior, rather than unconscious processes
� Individuals learn by observing how people react to their behavior
Social Learning Theory
� Behavior is modeled through observation, either directly through contact with others or indirectly through media
� Children model their behavior according to reactions they receive from others, and what they observe
--Rewarded behavior is copied, punish
Cognitive Theory
� Studies perception of reality and the mental processes required to understand the world we live in
� Stages of moral development that form basis for decisions
--Delinquents have lower level of moral reasoning
� Criminal behavior patterns change over tim
Nature Theory
� View that intelligence is inherited and is a function of genetic makeup
Nurture Theory
� View that intelligence is determined by environmental stimulation & socialization
Trait Theory
(Methods of Delinquency Prevention)
� Prevention efforts focused on: youth's home life & relationships
--Ex: alcohol/drug problem, child/sexual abuse
� Psychological counseling or psychotropic medication
Delinquency
(Social Factors)
� Interpersonal Interactions
� Community Ecological Conditions (deteriorated neighborhoods)
� Social Change (political unrest, economic stress, family disintegration)
� Socioeconomic Status
� Racial Disparity
Culture of Poverty
� View that lower-class people form a separate culture with their own values & norms, which are sometimes in conflict with conventional society
� Mistrust of institutions (police & govt.)
� Limited economic & social opportunities
Underclass
� Group of urban poor whose members have little chance of upward mobility or improvement
Truly Disadvantaged
� According to William Wilson, those people who are left out of the economic mainstream and reduced to living in the most deteriorated inner city areas
� Limited economic & social opportunities
--Poor schools, substandard housing, lack good health care, f
Social Structure Theories
� Tie delinquency rates to both:
--Socioeconomic structural conditions (poverty, chronic unemployment, neighborhood deterioration)
--Cultural values (e.g. gang culture, deviant cultural values)
� Delinquency related to a person's economic status
� Belief
Social Structure Theories (Problems/Issues)
� Fail to acknowledge middle-class delinquency
� Indigent people share same values as middle class
Social Disorganization Theory
� Crime is product of transitional neighborhoods that manifest social disorganization & value conflict
� Neighborhood/area marked by culture conflict, lack of cohesiveness, a transient population, and insufficient social organizations
� Influences on crim
Social Disorganization Theory (Shaw & McKay)
� Used zonal analysis
� Inner zones were "socially disorganized" and had higher delinquency rates
� When kids moves out of neighborhood, they desisted from delinquency
--Delinquency stayed in neighborhood
Cultural Transmission
� Process of passing on deviant traditions & delinquent values from one generation to the next
� Occurs in same areas of city (close to city's center, poverty stricken)
Social Control
� Ability of social institutions to influence human behavior
--Healthy, organized community has ability to regulate itself so common goals (living in crime free area) can be achieved
--Disorganized neighborhoods incapable of social control
� Formal source
Relative Deprivation
� Communities where poor & wealthy live close to each other, poor kids form negative self-feelings and hostility, a condition that motivates them to engage in delinquent/antisocial behavior
Gentrified
� Process of transforming a lower-class area into a middle-class enclave through property rehabilitation
� Neighborhood change can produce conflict
Neighborhood Change
(Effect on Delinquency)
� Affluent residents move out of inner-city, leaving behind high concentration of poor individuals (minorities)
--More than half are: fatherless, living on govt. aid
--More mobility, diverse minorities, neighbors don't know each other
� Manufacturing jobs
Fear
(Effect on Delinquency)
� Having parks near where teens loiter increases fear
o As fear increases, quality of life decreases
� Fear may convince youth to join gang for protection
� Word spreads, businesses relocate, lost respect for police, "legal cynicism
Poverty Concentration
(Effect on Delinquency)
� Affluent residents move out of city leaving behind the poor residents who cannot afford to move
--They take with them financial/institutional resources & support
--Reduces ability of city to regulate itself
� Undermines community functions (schools, rel
Collective Efficacy
� Mutual trust and willingness to intervene in the supervision of children & help maintain public order
� Utilize local institutions to control juvenile crime (business, schools, churches, social service/volunteer)
� Parents can call on neighborhood resou
Strain
� Suggested by Robert Merton
� Condition caused by the failure to achieve one's social goals
� To relieve strain, indigent people achieve goals through deviant methods (drug dealing)
� People who adopt goals of society but lack means to attain them seek a
Anomie
� Normlessness produced by rapidly shifting moral values
� Anomie occurs when personal goals cannot be achieved using available means
� People share common values/goals, but means for legitimate economic/social success are stratified by socioeconomic clas
General Strain Theory
� Suggested by Robert Agnew
� Links delinquency to the strain of being locked out of economic mainstream, which creates the anger/frustration that lead to delinquent acts
� Strain may result from: actual & anticipated experiences
General Strain Theory
(Sources of Strain)
� Failure to achieve positively valued goals
--Aspire to wealth/fame, assume it's impossible to achieve
--See peers doing better than themselves
� Removal of positively valued stimuli
--Loss of: gf/bf, death of loved one, moving to new neighborhood, divor
Negative Affective States
� Emotions that derive from strain: anger, depression, disappointment, fear
Cultural Deviance Theory
� Delinquency a result of the formation of independent subcultures with a unique set of values that clash with the mainstream culture
--Youths conform to lower-class neighborhood values that conflict with those of larger society
� Obedience to norms of lo
Culture Conflict
� Values of a subculture clash with those of the dominant culture
Social Process Theories
� Root cause of delinquency traced to: learning delinquent attitudes from peers, detachment from school, conflict at home
� Key determinant: socialization
� 3 branches (agree on elements, but affect socialization in different ways)
--Social Learning Theor
Socialization
� Process of learning the values/norms of the society or the subculture to which the individual belongs
--Process of guiding acceptable behavior patterns through: information, approval, rewards, punishments
� If process is incomplete/ negatively focused,
Socialization
(Major Influences)
� Family Relations
--Inadequate parenting = maturational process interrupted/damaged
� School
--Delinquency linked to: poor school performance & inadequate education facilities
� Peers
--Involvement with antisocial peers leads to delinquency
--Loyalty to
Parental Efficacy
� When parents are supportive and effectively control their children in a noncoercive fashion
Social Learning Theory
� Delinquency is learned through close relationships with others
� Children are born good and learn to be bad from others (parents, relatives, peers)
� Even most deteriorated areas can resist crime if learned proper values/behaviors
� Best known social le
Differential Association Theory
� Criminal behavior learned primarily in interpersonal groups and youths will become delinquent if definitions they learn in those groups that are favorable to violating the law exceed definitions favorable to obeying the law
� If pro-delinquency definiti
Differential Association Theory (Sutherland)
� Criminal behavior is learned
� Interactions with others (primary groups)
� Learn to obey or break the law
� Crime cannot be explained by needs
--Used to explain white collar crime
Social Control Theory
� Delinquency results from weakened commitment to the major social institutions (family, peers, school)
� Close relationships to parents, friends, teachers develops positive self-image, resist lure of deviant behavior
--If bond to society is broken, will
Hirschi's Social Control Theory
� All people have potential to commit crimes because they are pleasurable
� Kept in check by social bonds or attachments to society
� If social bonds weakened, kids able to engage in antisocial but personally desirable behavior
Social Bond
� Ties a person to the institutions & processes of society
� Also controls behavior
Social Bond
(4 Elements/Types of Controls)
� Attachment (to parents, peers, school)
--If not attached/not care what parents/teacher think, freely engage in delinquency (nothing to lose)
� Commitment (to pursuit of conventional activities�education, saving for future)
� Involvement (in conventional
Self-Control Theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi)
� aka: General Theory of Crime
� Low self-control
� Ineffective child rearing
--Lack of firm & fair discipline
Social Schemas
� Unique cognitive framework that shapes: behavioral choices & way kids look at world
� 3 schemas:
--Hostile view of relationships
--Immediate gratification
--Low commitment to social conventions
Labeling Theory
(Definition)
� Society creates deviance through a system of social control agencies that designate (or label) certain individuals as delinquent, thereby stigmatizing them and encouraging them to accept this negative personal identity
Labeling Theory/Social Reaction Theory
� May violate law for variety of reasons, but negative label/stigma follows them for life & transforms identity
--Without stigma, kid might return to conventional life style
--With stigma, kid locked into delinquent way of life (adopt/accept stigma)
� San
Stigmatized
� People who have been negatively labeled as a result of their participation, or alleged participation, in deviant/criminal behaviors
Self-Labeling
� Process by which a person who has been negatively labeled accepts the label as a personal role or identity
� May seek out others who are similarly labeled (joining delinquent gangs/groups)
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
� Deviant behavior patterns that are a response to an earlier labeling experience
--Youths act out these social roles even if they were falsely bestowed
� Conforming their behavior to negative expectations: become person others perceive them to be
Critical Theory
� Intergroup (social class) conflict, born out of the unequal distribution of wealth/power, is cause of delinquency
� Those with money/power shape the law to meet their needs/interests
--Those who cannot conform behavior to power elite are defined as crim
Social Structure Theory
(Delinquency Prevention)
� Attempt to remake society in order to provide alternatives to crime
� Revitalize distressed neighborhoods & improve quality of life in target communities
--Ex: economic opportunities for residents, improved housing conditions, enhanced social services,
Social Process Theories
(Delinquency Prevention)
� Attempt to strengthen socialization process
� Revamp damaged identities, desist from crime, create new identity
� Strategies:
--After-school programs (create positive peer associations)
--Programs to strengthen families
--Delinquency prevention programs
Deinstitutionalization
� Removing juveniles from adult jails and placing them in community-based programs to avoid the stigma attached to these facilities
� Nonintervention = avoid anything producing a stigma
Critical Theory
(Delinquency Prevention)
� Attempt to resolve conflict through conflict resolution (restorative justice)
Restorative Justice
� Nonpunitive strategies for dealing with juvenile offenders that make the justice system a healing process rather than a punishment process
� Focus is on welfare of victims in aftermath of crimes (not the law)
--Victim healing, offender reintegration, co
BARJ
(Balanced and Restorative Justice)
� Offenders take responsibility for actions to avoid counter-productivity of punishment
� Gives equal weight to:
--Holding offenders accountable to victims
--Providing competency develop (rehabilitation)
� Ensuring community safety