Final examination
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CRJ2353N1DelinquentBehaviorJasonDevauxSU21-852021-1236PM.zipPresentation 3.pptx
Conflict versus Empathy
Chapter 5
Juvenile Delinquency
Case Study in Crime
Sam Houston High School is located in inner-city Houston, Texas. The school’s demographics are as follows:
68% of Student families receive government economic assistance
18% of students have been identified as having a gang affiliation
Four Year Graduation Rate – 18%
56% of students have an immediate family member incarcerated
87% of students live in a single parent household
Racial 22% Caucasian
54% African American
26% Hispanic
2% Other
The Analysis
Sam Houston High School has been plagued by significant numbers of teen crimes. The school is most concerned with four specific crimes:
The possession of weapons on campus
The presence of narcotics on campus
Sexual assaults between students
Violent confrontations between students
The Assignment
Looking at these four criminal activities, identify:
What do you believe are the primary sources for these specific crimes?
What can the school do to prevent each criminal behavior?
What can the local government do to prevent each criminal behavior?
What can the community do to prevent each criminal behavior?
The Competing Theories
Social Reaction Theory
Social Reaction Theory holds the viewpoint that human interaction is defined by labels. People strive to either avoid labels, or embrace them, as part of establishing their identity.
When a person embraces a label, whether it be positive or negative, they instinctively begin to mold the expectation of the label.
The Interaction
Social Reaction Theory begins with the identification of Symbolic Interactions.
For a label to attach, there must be a way this label is communicated. This communication is the Symbolic Interaction.
Symbols can be material (such as jewelry or clothing), an organization, gestures, status symbols, or anything else that distinguishes someone form another.
What makes a label
Labels are completely subjective. They can change from generation to generation, while others remain a societal constant.
Positive labels are defined as those which the majority of society finds acceptable. Adherence to these labels reinforces a sense of contribution to society
Negative labels are those which society has deemed deviant. Adherence to these labels stigmatizes people, and pushes them as outcasts to society
Consequences of Negative Labeling
Labeling does not necessarily attach to a criminal act. When a person commits an isolated crime, but does not identify with the act ( by socialization, personal accountability or being caught by society), there is little long-term effect on the individual. This is called primary deviance, and is considered the best hope for rehabilitation.
Labeling attaches when a person begins to identify themselves by their actions. This is called secondary deviance. Secondary deviance is much harder to break, as it involves a stigma.
Those Outside the Norm
People who commit deviant acts but are never socialized, are certainly criminals. However, because they have never accepted a label, their criminal behavior is purely for personal gain or enjoyment.
Some people are falsely accused of a label, when they do not identify with it. This conflict may cause someone to begin to identify with the label, or adopt an opposite label, to fight the identification.
Effects of Labeling
So what happens when a person accepts a negative label? Here are some of the examples:
Self-Fulfilling Actions
Destruction of the personal identity
Outcast Ceremonies
Retrospective Reading and obliteration of the past
Social Conflict Theory
This theory follows the following principles:
Those in control of the economic power in society control the laws and law enforcement.
The law is administered in unequal ways to different members of society, based on their wealth or social class
The rebellious nature of youth is controlled by the government, and is a natural response to capitalism.
People not willing to conform are reduced to the role of menial labor in society
Having a suppressed economic class is necessary in a service based economy, and generates criminals.
The Outcome
While this theory may seem to be an indictment of modern society, there are two competing political outcomes of this theory:
1) Social Justice – This approach says the redistribution of wealth is the best way to reduce social conflict
2) Restorative Justice – This approach does not deal with wealth. Rather, as a means of reducing conflict, empathy is proposed between criminal and victim.
Our Focus
We will be analyzing the issue of Restorative Justice.
So how does Restorative Justice work? By creating empathy. The presumption is that all people are good, and want to do good in society. By removing conflict between people and society, crime can be reduced and mitigated.
Restorative Justice also relies on the presumption that every person is connected to a community of some sort, and those connections can be used as leverage to prevent crime.
The Models
Restorative Justice can be implemented in many forms. Some include:
Reintegrative Shaming – Every person in every society has peers to which they feel responsible. By utilizing those peers that have a positive influence on individuals, shame can be used to change behavior. However, shame cannot be permanent. There must be an avenue for re-integration
More Models
Offender apologies to the community
Making the justice system into a healing process with the community
Removing labels of “criminal” and “victim”, and instead resolving conflict between people
Giving people a vested interest in their community
Using community assistance programs
Yet More
Sentencing Circles (Teen Court as an example) – where sentencing is committed by peers
Victim Impact Panels – where offenders are asked to empathize with the people they have disaffected.
Community Service – as a method the offender making restitution for their actions and being reaccepted into the community.
Back to our Case Study
We will now break into small groups
The object of your group is to formulate an approach to the crime problem at Sam Houston High School
You are to formulate two proposals, which must address all four target crimes. One proposal must focus on the concept of Restorative Justice, and the second must utilize Social Conflict.
Can a balanced approach using both methods work? Which proposal do you believe would be most effective?
Finally, how does your approach mesh with the delinquency theory you prefer from last chapter?
Assignment
There is no class next week. The assignments due on D2L and through the discussion boards have been extended two weeks.
In two weeks, in ADDITION to your regular assignment, your group is required to present a 5-7 minute presentation on Restorative Justice and Social Conflict.
All members of the group must participate, and the assignment will count the same as one week’s worth of scores.
Juvenile Powerpoint 4.pptx
Chapter 6
The Psychological Theories
The second category of delinquency theories are those in the Psychological category. Before we discuss these theories, we need to understand what psychological theories are NOT:
A replacement for sociology. Psychology does not deny there are social factors that influence criminal behavior. Rather, they claim that psychological issues give people the propensity to commit crime.
Psychology is not necessary biological. Psychological problems may arise from genetic factors, but are more often a result of impacts on life, which create personality disorders.
Psychology does not hold that all problems may be corrected with behavioral therapy or prescription. Many issues are ingrained at too early an age to change.
Psychological
IF we know that Psychology is NOT, we also need to understand what psychology is:
While Sociology focuses on negative factors influencing a person from the outside, psychology addresses how a person deals with their problems internally (in their thought process)
Psychology holds that all behavior is quantifiable and purposeful. The theories are based on specific thinking disorders.
Psychology is seen as significantly more effective in treating juveniles than adults, as the rigid thinking patterns of adulthood have not manifested themselves in the child’s mind.
Psychology
Latent Trait Theory
This theory holds that people are born with certain propensities that will cause them be more likely to conform or conflict with the society they are raised in. These dispositions are called latent traits. Examples include:
- level of intelligence
- impulse control
- artistic ability
- predisposition for chemical dependency
- Anger control and emotional insecurity
The Biological Theories
The key to a latent trait, is that it is not alterable. Meaning, it is an inherent part of the person. Latent traits are developed from two specific sources:
Genetics
Characteristics developed during early formative years (0-3 years of age, generally)
Latent traits may are not criminal. Rather, if the traits manifest behavior that society has identified as deviant, conflict arises.
Latent traits are best dealt with by teaching people coping mechanisms, to make their traits into productive mechanisms.
Crime is more prevalent in juveniles, as they have more opportunities to conflict with authority and control
What does latent mean?
The General Theory of Crime
If you remember two weeks ago, we discussed the Social Control Theory of Crime. This theory held that criminal behavior could be predicted from a person’s bond and connection to the four pillars of society.
The General Theory of crime combines the Social Control Theory with the Latent Theory, to attempt to propose a combined sociological and psychological theory of crime
Working with Sociology
This theory starts with the premise that some people are raised with behavioral deficiencies that limit their ability to perform self control. They are impulsive by nature.
Low self control can be genetic, a result of parenting, or damage done to the psyche during the formative years.
When a person with these propensities is exposed to a weakening or disruption of social bonds, and negative or criminal opportunities are present, the result is deviant behavior.
General Crime
Analyzing the Theory
Proponents of the Theory
Effective Parenting studies show their effect on the impulsiveness of a child
Strong social bonds can be shown to overcome impulses
Everyone has impulses. Society determines what is deviant.
Opportunity for crime is influenced by economics.
People in lower economic classes usually live in situations with poor social bonds.
Criticisms
Self Control is not a constant in a person’s life
People can change
Why do crime rates differ by race, gender, and economics
There is no such thing as moral truth
Not all crimes are the result of impulse
Some delinquents are not impulsive
Life Course Theory
This theory runs counter to the General Crime Theory.
People have three basic traits that contribute to the personality: social, psychological and economic
A person’s propensity to crime centers around major events in our growth. These are called “life-course” experiences.
Negative disruptions in life-growth experiences, affecting the three basic traits of a person, are the primary causes of crime.
An Alternative
So what are the major life-changing milestones in a person’s life?
The formative years
Initial Peer Exposure
Entering Adolescence
Graduation
Career choice
Marriage (and divorce)
Having Children
Death of immediate friends and family
Major Incidents
Life Course Theory ascribes to the theory of Tabula Rasa. People are born as a blank slate.
This theory also holds that people can change over the course of their life, if positive or negative events impact their basic traits, in one of eight areas listed on the previous slide.
Not everyone has the same life-changing milestones. Some people may be impacted by different things. However, the key is that we ALL have life-changing milestones that impact out basic personality traits.
Not a constant
The key to Life-Course Theory is the concept of Problem Behavior Syndrome.
Helping to correct delinquent behavior requires therapy, to held a child (or adult) identify the negative influences situations had on life-changing incidents, and form a different response.
The earlier the onset of negative life influences, the more difficult it is to correct the behavior
Gender has no impact on deviance. Society simply places different expectations on gender.
Problem Behavior
Life Course Theory also attempts to integrate with sociological theories.
Life Course Theory is also commonly paired with Social Learning Theory.
Social Learning Theory holds that a person’s behavior is learned from critical elements in the community.
When combined together, these theories would hold that when a person experiences a life-changing event, they react to it in a way that is learned from their peers.
Deviance is learned by repeating negative reactions to life-events.
Integration
Age Grading and Life Course
Because personality is solely attributed to life-changing events, personality cannot change without either:
New life-chaining events and a different response
Psycho-Therapy
People who continue in a rut without change, will follow the same behaviors, until a new event occurs
Because life-events can always occur, people’s personalities are apt to change many times over the course of their life.
Conclusion
Trajectory Theory
The last theory we analyze is Trajectory Theory
Trajectory Theory holds that there are multiple paths to crime.
All children are different and all children are affected differently by life changing events.
Social influences can influence a person just as easily as genetic and formative ones.
All theorists can do is identify the general paths that deviants take, and respond to them by changing their social influences and applying proper labeling.
Last Theory
All offenders are first classified as either
Adolescent-limited offenders, or
Life-Course Persistent Offenders
Adolescent-limited offenders are considered “typical kids”, simply testing the boundaries of society and their life.
Life-Course Offenders are children that have committed themselves to a type of behavior that runs deeper than simple deviance. A neurological shift has occurred in these children, which creates criminal behavior that will extend into adulthood
The definitions
Trajectory Theory holds that there are three neurological failings that lead children on a path to delinquency. They are:
Authority Conflict – Deviance begins at a young age with stubborn behavior, which is based on personality defects in trust, and established with inappropriate anger
Covert Pathway – Deviance is a pathological problem of a person desiring pleasure without limitation. Children will attempt to obtain what they want by any means possible, but also avoiding the negative stigma of being labeled deviant
Overt Pathway – Deviance stems from insecurity. The child will engage in behaviors to control, berate or subjugate others, as a way of compensating for a lack of sense of worth
Paths to Crime
As with the other two Psychological Theories, this theory is also paired with a sociological one.
Labeling Theory is the most common theory paired with Trajectory.
Combining these two theories demonstrates that deviance begins with a child being given a negative label.
The negative label causes a child to chose to either confront authority, avoid the label, or damage the child’s self-esteem by accepting the label.
Behavior that is not considered to be persistent is not true deviance, and is not addressed as a major concern.
Analysis
