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Juvenile Justice in America

This article explores the early beliefs about delinquency, including demonology and deterministic approaches, as well as the classical and positive schools of criminology. It also discusses biological, psychological, and sociological theories of delinquency, emphasizing the importance of understanding the complex factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency.

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Juvenile Justice in America

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  1. Juvenile Justice in America SOC 106 Parts 3 and 4: Individual Views of Delinquency: Choice and Trait

  2. Early beliefs - reasons for crime - scholars of the time a. Demonology - early attempts - dark ages / medieval England / Salem witch trial (1) Accused individuals for anything: - cannot explain - we fear - that is wrong

  3. (a) Person possessed - evil spirits (b) Food during a famine - witches / evil spirits (c) Always have good luck - witches / evil spirits (2) “Deterministic approach” - forces beyond control - pre-determined by evil within

  4. (a) Driven from body - beat severely / torture - drive evil out (b) Trephining - drill holes in head - let evil escape (3) Cults today - United States - children starved / beaten / mental abuse - drive evil out

  5. b. Classical theory (1) People make choices - free will / rewards - “pleasure / pain principle” - controlled crime - threat of punishment (2) Classical School of Criminology – 1760s - Cesare Becarria - study of crime / criminals - Voltaire / Montesquieu

  6. (a) Beliefs: - presumption of innocence - punishment is retribution - severity limited - correspond to crime - written laws - certainty of punishment (b) Neoclassical School – early 1800s - moral ability to choose - mentally retarded - juveniles

  7. (2) Positive School – late 1800s - Italian School (a) Cesare Lombroso - “father of modern criminology” - “determinism” (b) Individual - underlying problem - hereditary - environment - criminals = throwbacks (atavistic)

  8. Explaining delinquency -theories - integrated set of ideas - ideas used to explain facts - beliefs at that time - experience - new experience / new idea / new theory a. Biological theories - scientific study of crime - shifted from act - to actor

  9. (1) Charles Darwin - Origin of Species / Descent of Man (a) God did not create all - humans evolved - few differences - controlled by same set of laws (b) No free will / choice (2) 19th century criminologists - Auguste Comte / Cesare Lombroso

  10. - individual trait - Positivists (3) Physical appearance /crime - early theory - atavistic (a) Resemble ape-like ancestors - traits / abilities / dispositions - commit crime (b) Criminal features = anomalies

  11. - something unusual / different - from what is expected (c) Physiognomist - placement of facial features - tell if criminal (d) Phrenologist - bumps on skull - psychological tendencies (4) Body type /crime

  12. - body type / personality related - Ernst Kretschmer – 1925 - 4 body types (a) Athletic - muscled - violent crime (b) Pyknic - short / fat - deception - fraud / forgery

  13. (c) Leptosome - tall / thin - petty thievery (d) Dysplactic - mixed body type - crimes against decency / morality (5) William Sheldon – 1949 - body type / delinquency - affects personality / temperament - 3 types

  14. (a) Endomorph - round / soft - short arms / legs - extroverted (b) Mesomorph - athletic / muscular - aggressive (c) Ectomorph - skinny / lean / fragile body - introverted

  15. (6) Heredity /crime - criminality inherited - Greek belief (a) “Eugenics” - improving human race - better breeding (b) Eugenicists / hereditarians - mental, moral, physical characteristics - predetermined - Hitler: super-soldier

  16. (7) Antisocial Personality Disorder / crime - psychopath / sociopath (1968) - irresponsible / antisocial behavior (8) Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - inattentiveness / impulsive behavior - studies continuing (a) Serious crimes - 25 times as likely - institutionalized - anti-social behavior

  17. (b) 64 % - California Youth Authority (9) Biochemical factors / crime - do not cause - affect indirectly (10) Chromosomal abnormalities / crime - DNA structure - xx / xy / xxy / xyy

  18. Psychological theories a. Psychoanalytical theory - unconscious motives / drives - Sigmund Freud: emotional development - ID / Ego / Superego b. Behaviorism - environment shapes - forces outside child (1) Live in crime area

  19. - accepted - wrong: if caught c. Social learning - reflection of people observing / imitating - learn criminal behavior = associating d. Moral development - perceptions of fantasy / reality - TV = fantasy - back next week

  20. Sociological Views of Delinquency a. Strain - basically good - crime: confront stress / extreme pressue b. Social control - amoral / need controls - poor parental supervision / major risk c. Labeling - leads to deviance

  21. - stigmatize by labeling e. Conflict - society held together - force / coercion / intimidation - law: those in power • Causes of delinquency - numerous reasons - more accepted causes a. Social disorganization theory

  22. - social structure - ecological character of neighborhood - deterioration / crime / unemployment / gangs / single-parent (1) Permanent underclass - biased society - look down on poor - label (2) Stratified society / class - wealthy / upper / middle / lower / under

  23. (a) Minorities less opportunity - escape / rise above - primarily African-American (b) Police training - lower / under-classes (3) Delinquency - conditions in urban area - membership: ecological conditions (4) New class into area

  24. - treat all same (a) Concentric zone theory - Parks / Burgess (b) Central business district (zone 1) (c) Transitional zone - immigrant groups - deteriorated housing - factories - abandoned buildings

  25. (d) Working class zone - single family tenements - projects (e) Residential zone - single family homes - yards / gardens (f) Commuter zone - suburbs b. Cultural deviance theory

  26. - poor adhere to independent subculture - observe rules of lower-class - accepted / enforced by that culture (1) Culturally same middle-class - working class families - enforce own rules (2) Juveniles - violated law = subculture - pimp / drug dealer = role models - obey lower class rules

  27. - police / teachers / social service workers - outsiders / middle-class c. Learning theory - learn to be good / to be bad (1) Formative years - attitude / morals / skills / behavior - to be delinquent (2) Criminal behavior learned - peers / TV / movies / society

  28. (a) Education - learn from others (b) Sports - learn from others (c) Crime - learn from others (3) Learn attitudes / morals - parents / teachers / community / peers - parents / peers / teachers / community

  29. d. Biosocial theory - interaction: biological / social factors - traits: not necessarily - circumstances: not necessarily - together: create population / responsible (1) Social factors - poverty / unemployment / school dropout - lack social services / community decay - crime / gangs (2) Biological factors

  30. - genetics / low IQ / poor motor skills - criminals made or born? e. Choice theory - adaptation: classical criminology - choice = benefit - pleasure / pain principle (1) Consider - excitement / money / prestige - arrest / humiliation / parent’s anger

  31. (2) Not born - product of environment (a) Rational choice - think out before acting - few minutes / weigh consequences (b) Choose to be delinquent - to commit crime - not consider criminal - unless caught

  32. f. Social forces theory (1) Age / delinquency - major concern - commit more crime - inversely related (2) Juvenile crime - 15 to 18: 6% population - 25% index crime (a) Peak property crime: 16 years

  33. (b) Peak violent crime: 18 years - followed closely: 17 years g. Statistical overview - murder: 18 years - rape: 18 years - robbery: 18 years - assault: 19 years - burglary: 18 years - theft: 16 years - auto theft: 16 years - arson: 15 years

  34. Differential Association - Criminologist Edwin Sutherland (1939) - proposed theory / revised: 1947 a. Criminal behavior is learned - social interaction with others (1) Attempted to explain: - individual behavior - societal behavior (a) Mere association

  35. - not lead to criminal behavior (b) Differs from person to person - social environment - individuals within - gain from significant others b. Nine beliefs (1) Criminal behavior is learned (2) Learned in interaction with others

  36. (3) Principal part of learning - intimate personal groups (4) When learned - includes techniques of committing crime - sometimes complicated / simple - motive / drive / rationalization / attitude (5) Motives / drives - learned from definitions of legal code - favorable / unfavorable

  37. (6) Become delinquent - more definitions favorable - over definitions unfavorable (7) Differential associations may vary - frequency / duration / priority / intensity (8) Association: criminal / anti-criminal patterns - same mechanisms - any other learning (9) Expression of general needs / values

  38. - not explained by those needs / values - non-criminal behavior expression of same needs / values

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