Chapter 5 youth and delinquency

Social reaction theory

Society creates deviance through a system of social control. Agencies that designate (or label) certain individuals as delinquent, thereby stigmatizing youths and encouraging them to accept this negative personal identity

•Involves symbolic interaction and status symbols. explains how sustained delinquent behavior stems from destructive social interactions and encounters, also called labeling. The definitions of crime and delinquency are extremely subjective

Concept of symbolic interaction

Holds that people communicate via symbols—gestures, signs, words, or images—that stand for or represent something else.

Status symbol

Something, such as a possession, rank, or activity, by which one's social or economic prestige is measured. (ex. A gold watch)

Interpreting deviance

definitions of crime are subjective and change from place to place and year to year (ex. marijuana)

Primary deviance

norm violations that have very little influence on the actor and can be quickly forgotten and/or overlooked.

Secondary deviance

Deviant acts that define the actor and create a new identity.

Can be the same action with a different outcome

Howard Becker's model of labeling

Howard S. Becker recognized that four possible outcomes develop in the relationship between labeling and delinquent or other deviant behaviors.

•Pure deviant

•Secret deviant

•Falsely accused

Conformist

Retrospective reading

An attempt to explain present misbehavior with behavior from the past.

Steps in the labeling process

•Reshaping identity

•Retrospective reading

•Dramatization of evil

•Self-fulfilling prophecy

Dramatization of evil

The process of social typing that transforms an offender's identity from a doer of evil to an evil person. This can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy which means deviant behavior patterns that are a response to an earlier labeling experience; youths act out these social roles even if they were falsely bestowed.

Becoming labeled

labels help to not only define one trait but the whole person, kids labeled "at risk" are also assumed to be dangerous, dishonest, unstable, violent, and strange

Stigmatize

To mark someone with disgrace or reproach; to characterize or brand someone as disgraceful or disreputable.

Degradation ceremony

Going to court, being scolded by a judge, or being found delinquent after a trial are examples of public ceremonies that can transform youthful offenders by degrading their self-image.

Differential labeling

labels can be formal or informal depending on whether they originate from parents, peers, or the justice system. Labeling in the education system is racially charged usually and a higher percentage of black students in a school translates into a greater use of disciplinary tactics. Processing through the juvenile justice system seems to unleash the labeling process and create secondary deviant identities

As the label "juvenile delinquent" is conferred on offenders, their identities may transform from "kids who have done something bad" to "bad kids."

Kids enter the system as people in trouble with the law but emerge as bearers of criminal histories, which are likely to reinvolve them in illegal activity. Although substantive and procedural laws govern almost every aspect of the American justice system, discretionary decision making controls the operation of the juvenile justice system so differential labeling is allowed to take place

Race and the legal process

Race and status greatly influence the legal process because children from affluent families who break the law cna hire private counselors and therapists, attorneys, and there is less need for state intervention

The opposite is true for less well off children, which are normally children of color

Consequences of labeling

Becoming labeled can have significant consequences

Kids who are picked on by peers at school and labeled weak or cowardly. Bullied students are more likely to be truant, miss school, face disciplinary problems, and feel strain and social anxiety.

Also can produce social and psychological harm

Outside of school, those adolescents who engage in law-violating behavior risk acquiring a lengthy arrest record. This record will keep many teens from obtaining current or future employment, even if they have paid their dues, are qualified for the job, and are unlikely to reoffend

Reflected appraisal

The process in which a person's awareness of how other people see them becomes the basis for self-perception.

Labeling alienates parents from their children, and negative labels reduce children's self-image and increase delinquency

Labeling and future success

labels can influence future opportunities and it can be hard to shake the stigma

They may have a damaged identity and join deviant cliques

All of these conditions eventually mesh, transforming a youth from someone who has "messed up" to someone on the verge of a delinquent way of life that will segue into adult criminality.

Processing through the juvenile justice system seems to unleash the labeling process and create secondary deviant identities.

Kids now realize that authority figures consider them incorrigible outcasts who must be separated from the right-thinking members of society

Criticisms of the labeling theory

stems from its inability to specify the conditions that must exist before an act or individual is labeled deviant, there are questions about the labels cost, and some people found that youths assigned to a program designed to reduce labels were more likely to commit delinquent acts than a comparison group

Support of the labeling

oLabeling theories identify the role of social control agents in delinquency causation

oRecognizes that delinquency is not a disease or pathological behavior

oDistinguishes between delinquent acts and delinquent careers and shows these two should be interpreted and treated differently

3 reasons why why social reaction may help understand a delinquent career

1. The labeling perspective identifies the role of social control agents in delinquency causation. Delinquent behavior cannot be fully understood if the agencies and individuals empowered to control and treat it are neglected.

2. Labeling theory recognizes that delinquency is not a disease or pathological behavior. It focuses attention on the social interactions and reactions that shape individual behavior.

3. Labeling theory distinguishes between delinquent acts (primary deviance) and delinquent careers (secondary deviance) and shows that these concepts must be interpreted and treated differently.

Labeling outcomes

Being institutionalized as an adolescent predicts precarious, premature, unstable, and unsatisfied life conditions in adulthood.

Deinstitutionalization

Removing juveniles from adult jails and placing them in community- based programs to avoid the stigma attached to these facilities.

3 main events that show that modern culture is shaped by conflict not consensus

the killing of George Floyd, January 6th riot, and Russia-Ukraine war

Social conflict theory

•Asserts that society is in a state of constant internal conflict and focuses on the role of social and governmental institutions as mechanisms for social control.

Law and justice

social conflict theorist view that law and justice system as vehicles for controlling the have-not members of society

These theorists warn that the new technology is now being used to monitor those threatening the status quo

Critical race theory

According to the CRT, legal institutions are inherently racist because they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political control of people of color for the benefit of the White majority.

CRT advocates believe that racial bias is present in almost every phase of the juvenile justice system.

It begins with the disproportionate processing of children of color confronted by police who routinely use racial profiling and continues through arrest, prosecution, and sentencing

Intersectionality: An analytical framework for understanding that people's social and political identities combine to create different forms of discrimination and privilege.

Critical race theorists believe that social liberals, though they proclaim to be race sensitive, are still incapable of understanding and neutralizing the racial injustice that pervades American society

Intersectionality

An analytical framework for understanding that people's social and political identities combine to create different forms of discrimination and privilege.

Critical race theorists believe that social liberals, though they proclaim to be race sensitive, are still incapable of understanding and neutralizing the racial injustice that pervades American society

Critical feminist theory

views gender inequality as stem- ming from the unequal power of men and women in a capitalist/postmodern society.

Some of the most important issues focused upon by critical feminists include the role of masculinity in creating female victimization, the exploitation of women in the workplace, and the unequal treatment of men and women in the justice system

Critical feminists also show how sexual and other victimization of girls is a function of male socialization because so many young males learn to be aggressive and exploit women

Social conflict theorists

view delinquency as a normal response to the conditions created by capitalism and view the law and the justice system as vehicles for controlling the have-not members of society

Globalization, Economy, and Delinquency in Contemporary Society

•Technological advances have aided the growth of illicit transnational activities; advances include efficient and widespread commercial airline traffic, improvements in telecommunications, and the growth of international trade.

•These changes have facilitated the cross-border movement of goods and people, conditions exploited by criminals who now use Internet chat rooms to plan their activities.

•Globalization has allowed individual offenders and criminal gangs to gain tremendous operational benefits while reducing the risks of apprehension and punishment.

The covid-19 pandemic

At its height, the COVID pandemic had a devastating effect on the economy and hit teens especially hard. According to the Pew Research Center, during the pandemic summer of 2020, teen summer employment in the United States plunged to its lowest level since 2008's Great Recession

Restorative justice

Using humanistic, nonpunitive strategies to right wrongs and restore social harmony. System has grown out of a belief that the traditional justice system has done little to involve the community in the process of dealing with crime and wrongdoing.

Shame

The feeling we get when we don't meet the standards we have set for ourselves or that significant others have set for us.

Reintegrative shaming

Techniques used to allow offenders to understand and recognize their wrongdoing and shame themselves. Shaming must be brief and controlled, followed by ceremonies of forgiveness, apology, and repentance to be reintegrative.

Process of restoration

Offender must recognize the harm caused and take responsibility, ideally with remorse, to be restored as a productive community member.

Justice should focus on healing rather than retribution.

Reconciliation is key, as many offenders and victims had prior relationships; addressing the root conflict is more productive than assigning blame.

Justice effectiveness depends on a person's stake in the community—those invested are more likely to accept responsibility and make amends.

Restitution should include both material (monetary) and symbolic (apology) reparation.

Community support and assistance must be provided for both victim and offender.

Basic principles of restorative justice

•Crime is an offense against human relationships.

•Victims and the community are central to justice processes.

•The first priority of justice processes is to assist victims.

•The second priority is to restore the community to the degree possible.

•The offender has a personal responsibility to victims and the community for crimes committed.

•The offender will develop improved competency and understanding due to the restorative justice experience.

•Stakeholders share responsibilities for restorative justice through partnerships for action.

Sentencing circle

A peacemaking technique in which offenders, victims, and other community members are brought together in an effort to formulate a sanction that addresses the needs of all.

Ways that restorative justice is embraced

Community: Isolation fosters delinquency, while dialogue and restorative justice can reduce violent crime.

Schools: Some use restorative practices to address substance abuse without expulsion, focusing on repairing relationships.

Police: Community policing incorporates restorative justice by involving citizens in policy decisions.

Courts: Restorative programs divert cases from formal court, using mediation, advocacy, and sentencing circles to help offenders make amends and reintegrate.

Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ)

Gordon Bazemore has argued that restoration programs should focus on the concept of balance.

Holding offenders accountable to victims. "Offender accountability" refers to the requirement that offenders make amends for the harm resulting from their crimes by repaying or restoring losses to victims and the community.

Providing competency development for offenders in the system so they can pursue legitimate endeavors after release. Competency development, the rehabilitative goal for intervention, requires that people who enter the justice system should exit the system more capable of being productive and responsible in the community.

Ensuring community safety. The community protection goal explicitly acknowledges and endorses a longtime public expectation—a safe and secure community.

Program completion

Higher when there is a strong focus on restoration.

The likelihood of completion, particularly for restitution and community service, may be related to the level of supervision and time for program completion

Program satisfaction

Perceived fairness of the process and outcome increases satisfaction.

Satisfaction with mediation activities is related to the mediator's attitude, increasing when activities occur in person.

Voluntary participation by the victim affects satisfaction with the program. Though victims' desire to participate in BARJ programs is widespread,

a small but substantial proportion prefer that the offender be processed through traditional juvenile justice means. Victim satisfaction with the pro- gram decreases when participation is mandatory.

Mentoring programs

Mentoring has now become one of the most widely used restoration programs. The goal is to link at-risk adolescents with a caring and responsible adult role model who can make a positive impression and provide the guidance which may be lacking in their lives

Mentoring programs have been proved to be effective