CCJS450 exam 1

houses of refuge

institutions developed in the US in the early 19th centyrt to house children who were poot andsteer them away from pursuing a life of crime

moral panic

heightened concern over an issue that is not in line with its seriousness or frequency of occurence in the world

inductive reasoning

* specific to general (bottom up)
* often used in qualitative research

deductive reasoning

* general to specific (top down)
* often used in quantitative research

craniometry

the belief that the size or skull of the brain predicts criminality

endomorphic

a body type that is soft and round with small bones short limbs, and smooth skin

ectomorphic

a body type that is fragile, thin and delicate, with poor muscles and weak bones

mesomorphic

a body type that is muscled and strong with an upright haed sturdy physique

what body type was believed delinquents were most likely to be?

mesomorphic

positive reinforcement

a reward for behavior

ex: the pleasurable feeling people may get from doing a drug

negative reinforcment

occurs when something unpleasant or uncomfortable is removed or taken away in order to increase the likelihood of the desired behavior

positive punishment

a punishment that is introduced or added to decrease a behavior

negative punishment

something that is taken away as a punishment

attachment

the “emotional” component of the social bond that signifies that individuals care about what others think

commitment

the rational component of the social bond that signifies that individuals weigh the costs and benifits of their behavior

involvement

the component of the social bond that suggests the more time one spends engaged in conforming activites the less time they have to deviate

belief

the component of the social bond that suggests the stronger ones awareness, understanding and agreement wuth the rules and norms of society the less likley one will be to deviate

techniques of rationalization

denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, appeal to higher loyalties

denial of responsibility

the belief that outside forces compel a persons behavior and thus the person refurses to take responsibility for his or her actions

denial of injury

a person denies anyone has been harmed by their actions

denial of the victims

a person justifies their behavior by stating that the person who is victimized deserved it or that because of circumstances the delinquent act committed needed to occur

condemnation of the condemners

a person tries to turn the tables on those who condemn or disapprove of his or her behavior by condemning them

appeal to higher loyalties

a youth who has committed a delinquent act justifies it on the basis of a higher calling or purpose

transition

short term changes in social roles within long term trajectories such as dropping out of school

superpredator myth details

* “fatherless, godless, jobless”
* juvenile crime began declining in 1994
* misinterpretation cam from prior research and faulty statistical application
* 47 states amended their laws on juvenile crime to get tougher

juvenile crime began declining in…

1994

juvenile myths

* super predator myth claimed there would be 30,000 more violent juvenile offenders
* juvenile court was too lenient
* sanctions for juveniles were ineffective and treatment did not work
* longer mandatory penalties of incarceration would reduce juvenile crime

Myths:

* juvenile court was too lenient
* sanctions for juveniles were ineffective and treatment did not work

* neither myths supported by evidence
* many studies show the effectivness of treament responses for juveniles

myth: longer mandatory penalties of incarceration would reduce juvenile crime

* crime peaks at ages 16-17
* prevention and intervention are most cost effective
* risk of increased offending behavior

miracle cures

* scared straight
* boot camos
* placing youth in adult prisons (most destructive)

which miracle cure was most destructive?

placing youth in adult prisons

ideal goal of juvenile justice…

is to protect vulnerable children and build safer communities

public policy has been founded on

misinterpertation and mythology

status offenses

crimes that are only crimes because of a persons age

juvenile delinquency

* status offense
* normative conception of delinquency
* socially constructed (changes over time)
* chronic status offenders

normative conception of delinquency

assumes there is a general set of norms with which we can agree

socially constructed definition of delinquency

changes over time

* social, political and economic factors change over time

folkways

everyday norms that dont generate much uproar if violated

mores

moral norms that may generate more outrage if broken

laws

strongest norms since they are backed by official sanctions

social differentiation

* differentiation of people based on different categories


* ascribed and achieved

ascribed

born into

achieved

can change, you can move in and out of it

social inequality

* judgments of inequality


* unequal distribution

classist system

diffrent experiences in the system based on money

intersectionality

process of being impacted by racism, classism, sexism all at the same time

matrix of domination

system of power exists allowing some to hold more power than others based on the social groups they identify with

americas children: key national indicators of well being tracks 7 key areas of well being

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* family and social environment
* economic circumstances
* health care
* physical environment and safety
* behavior
* education
* health

americas children key national indicators of well being: SIGNIFIGANT RESULTS

* the percentage of kids living in poverty has increased in the last decade from 16% (2000-2001) to 20% (2013)
* poverty rate is 3.5 times higher for black than white youth and almost 3 times higher for latino children than white children
* inadequate housing has increased
* education increase for all racial groups
* cradle to prison pipeline

cradle to prison pipeline

* black boys have 1 in 3 chance of going to prison


* latino 1 in 6 chance
* white 1 in 17 chance

poverty rate is how many times higher for black youth than white youth and how many times higher for latino youth then white youth

poverty rate is 3.5 times higher for black than white youth and almost 3 times higher for latino children than white children

ancient times and Middle Ages

poor treatment of youth

* treated as property
* corporal punishment
* abuse/neglect
* short life spans

considered an adult be 7

during the Middle Ages what age was someone considered an adult?

age 7

the colonial and revolutionary period

* labor shortage led to youth working at a young age
* gender based differences developed
* English common law = focused on whether youth were capable of mens rea

English common law

focused on whether youth were capable of mens rea (guilty mind)

the child saving era and the creation of juvenile court

* religious social reformers focused on creating better lives for kids
* formed houses of refugee
* parens patriae= state as parent
* ideas about race and juveniles varied
* industrial revolution
* progressive movement

1850 Philadelphia

first house of refugee for black children

parens patriae

state as parent

progressive movement

* modernization, immigration and technology increased


* creation of separate systems

the child saving era and the creation of the juvenile court

* first juvenile court in 1899 Cook County IL
* rehabilitative philosophy
* different language was created for juveniles to reduce stigma (juvenile taken into custody)

first juvenile court

1899 Cook County IL

hypothesized causes of juvenile delinquency in 1859

most common cause was naturally ugly

where does moral panic come from

news

historical panics

* music
* comic books
* video games

current view of delinquency may be shifting back to…

progressive era

statistical literacy

better understanding data and if it is reliable

quantitative

numbers, deductive

qualitative

descriptive, inductive (bottom up)

most of our juvenile data comes from

UCR, NIBRS, NCVS, self reports

UCR

* FBI collects data from police departments
* part 1 and 2 offenses

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strengths

* longitudinal data

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limitations

* underreporting
* measures law enforcement practices
* leaves out dark figure of crime

UCR Strengths

longitudinal data

UCR limitations

* underreporting
* measures law enforcement practices
* leaves out dark figure of crime

Part 1: 8 index crimes

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* murder
* assault
* rape
* robbery (force)
* burglary
* larceny/theft
* motor vehicle theft
* arson

Part 2

everything else (21 other offenses)

NIBRS (National incident based reporting system)

* reports on 46 offenses (updated 52)
* attempted crimes vs committed crimes
* no hierarchy rule
* what we use now

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strengths:

* more detail

limitations

* similar to UCR

NIBRS strengths

more detail

NCVS

* designed to collect data on both household and personal victimization

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strengths

* victim more inclined to share unreported crime

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limitations

* reliability
* focuses on victimization not delinquency and crime

NCVS limitations

* reliability
* focuses on victimization not delinquency and crime

Self report surveys

* focuses on offending behaviors

strengths: focuses on actual behavior of youth

limitations: reliability

self report survey strengths

focuses on actual behavior of youth

self report surveys limitations

reliability

UCR trends

black youth more likely to be arrested for violent crimes than white youth

NCVS trends

* juveniles are safer now than prior to 1975
* decrease in violent victimization

self report surveys trends

illicit drug use trends very similar for both boys and girls

what happens in juvenile cases?

* police typically refer 2/3 of arrests to juvenile court
* about 7% are referred to criminal courts
* remaining cases are handled informally
* community welfare agencies
* family members
* police vary with their preferences of handling juvenile cases
* limits the ability to utilize police data to compare policies and programs

how many juvenile arrests do police refer to juvenile court

2/3

self report surveys have been utilized since the…

1970s

self report surveys conducted in…

school or home setting

examines delinquent behavior, drug use, and sexual behavior

* national youth survey
* monitoring the future

surveys reveal…

higher rates of delinquency than reports to police

in self reports differences in race age and crime patterns are…

diminished (most juveniles engaging in same behavior yet are treated differently)

correlate age

strongest

correlate gender

strong

correlate race

most controversial

correlate class

most complicated

ecological fallacy

the mistake of making an inference about an individual based on aggregate data for the group; the notion that applying what we know at macro level (neighborhoods) to the micro level (individuals); inaccurate

classical/rational choice theory

* beccaria
* rational thinking and free will
* swift certain severe punishment

biological theories

* Lombroso and Sheldon
* criminals are physically different= not as evolved
* body types (somatotypes)
* biosocial theories (neurological deficits, diet, hormones)

biosocial theories

neurological deficits, diet, hormones

psychological theories

* Freud
* personality
* mental process and how that shapes your behavior