SOCI 3070 - Course Overview

The juvenile justice system, including the measurement of delinquency, contexts of adolescent socialization, and techniques of evaluation research.

Text: Jensen, Rojek, and Rojek, Delinquency and Youth Crime, 3rd ed., Waveland Press, 1998; Rojek and Jensen, eds., Exploring Delinquency: Causes and Control (An Anthology), Roxbury Publishing, 1996.

Course Overview

Introduction

Compared to the adult criminal justice system, which dates back hundreds of years, the juvenile justice system is still in its infancy. Due process of law considerations have been applied with great rigor for adults, the Supreme Court has handed down myriad decisions regarding the rights of criminal defendants, and the public has a decent familiarity with criminal law and procedure. However, the world of the juvenile courts is quite murky. The first juvenile court appeared in 1899, and one hundred years later it still is not clear whether this court is a social agency or a court of law. Thus, the objective of this course is to show the student the philosophical and legal foundation of the juvenile court and how ambiguous the juvenile court is compared to the precision and rigor of the adult criminal justice system.

Secondly, we need to examine what the "facts" are about juvenile delinquency. Unfortunately, this is not a simple matter, since we have different techniques for measuring delinquency. Police statistics are usually the most common approach to the measurement of crime, but problems arise in the use of police data. Self-report surveys became an alternate method of measuring delinquency and have provided a wealth of information but there are many shortcomings with self-reports. Finally, victimization data is the newest way to assess the magnitude of crime and delinquency in a community, but this approach is not perfect. Thus, we need to look at the three data sources for juvenile delinquency and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

The process of assimilating numbers of offenders or categorizing offenders into specific types becomes a rather mindless process unless some sort of organizing scheme is created. In the third section of the course, we will explore various theories of delinquency. A theory helps to organize and clarify the driving forces behind delinquency. Some theories have been severely criticized, but it is important that we have some knowledge of them because it is helpful to know why a theory was created and in some instances why it was rejected. We will examine two broad schools of thought in relationship to delinquency: the biological/ psychological school and the sociological school. The first set of theories in biological/psychological school will look at the individual in order to explain delinquent behavior; the second set, the sociological school, will look at society and the social environment for explanations of delinquency.

Having examined the relative strengths and weaknesses of various theories of delinquency, we will turn next to the contexts of adolescent socialization. That is, how does the social environment or society impinge on adolescents. We will look at the role of the family, schools, friends, television and the media, and religion as possible controlling factors in the lives of the adolescent. In this section of the course, we will attempt to apply the theories we discussed earlier and apply them to the daily lives of adolescents.

The next section of the course will look at the debate that has emerged between the deterrence school and the labeling school. The deterrence doctrine argues for harsher treatment of juvenile offenders and has been the forerunner of what has become known as the "get tough" doctrine. The labeling school takes the opposing perspective, arguing that the processing and labeling of juvenile offenders by the juvenile court can have negative consequences. We will briefly examine the pros and cons of capital punishment.

The final three sections of the course will examine what programs currently exist to deal with juvenile offenders. We will first examine the issue of juvenile imprisonment and the outcomes of imprisonment. In recent years, the "get tough" approach from the deterrence school has been advocating more and longer imprisonment of juveniles. However, imprisonment is costly and the outcomes are quite disappointing.

Four alternatives to traditional juvenile imprisonment will be examined: diversion, restitution, scared straight, and boot camps. Diversion programs began some twenty years ago, but the concept has proven to be vague and, in some instances, problematic. Restitution programs seem eminently reasonable in juvenile court, but they are not heavily used. Scared Straight, a very popular approach in the 1980s, confronted juveniles with the stark reality of prison life, but this approach produces some negative outcomes. Finally, boot camps are the current rage and have a lot of political appeal, but this approach is also being questioned.

The final section of the course will look at the concept of prevention. Few prevention programs actually exist, because they call for radical change. Along with a discussion of prevention, we will conclude the course with a brief introduction to evaluation research and look at scientific ways of measuring the relative effectiveness of delinquency programs.

The Textbooks

Two books will be assigned: Delinquency and Youth Crime by Gary F. Jensen and Dean G. Rojek and Exploring Delinquency: Causes and Control by Dean R. Rojek and Gary F. Jensen. The first book will be referred to as the text and the second as the reader. The text will cover in detail each of the sections of the course outlined in the overview. The reader contains abbreviated articles on controversial topics. Each section in the reader has a brief introduction and attempts to spell out what the issues are in the readings contained in that section. The text will convey the impression that many issues are somewhat settled in delinquency research, while the reader will convey far more controversy and confusion in current research. The text and the reader complement each other.

Self-Assessment Questions

Each lesson contains a set of multiple choice questions to help you gauge your comprehension of the material. The answers are provided in the appendix to this course guide. Do not submit your answers for grading.

Course Requirements

Following each section of the course, "reaction questions" will be listed from which you must choose one and respond to it. The objective is for you to evaluate the material in each section and then formulate your own reaction to the material. There is no right or wrong answer. You are free to attack the issue from any perspective, but the objective of each assignment is to defend a particular perspective and to use the text and the reader to build some convincing cases. You are encouraged to cite material from the text and the reader as a way of demonstrating that you understand and can use the reading material. These reaction questions should be in the range of five to seven pages, typed double-spaced. It is not necessary to footnote or to have a reference page unless you feel a need to do so. In citing or making a reference to any material in the text, simply use the following format: Jensen and Rojek, p. ____ or, if citing the reader, Rojek and Jensen, p. ____. The object of each reaction paper is to take a stand on a particular subject, state a clear case for your views, and document your arguments by using material from the text or the reader. There will be a total of twelve reaction papers that will be worth 70 percent of the final grade.

Once you have submitted all twelve written assignments you may take the final examination. This exam will cover the entire course and will consist of multiple choice, short definitions, and discussion questions. You will have three hours to complete this final examination.

You must pass the final to pass the course, regardless of grades earned on lessons. You are responsible for knowing and abiding by Independent Study policies and procedures. See your Student Handbook for detailed information.