Juvenile Delinquency Fall 2020

CJS 220 – MWF – Remotely

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Instructor:
Dr. Regina E. Brisgone
Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice/SOC
Email: rebrisgone@nsu.edu

Office Hours:Wed. 10:15-12:30

Office:
Sociology: Brown Hall. 203.07.
Phone: 757 823-8436 (Main Number)
823-8931 (my direct number)
 The Cycle of Juvenile Justice

• Bernard, Thomas J. and Kurlychek, Megan C. 2010.

"The Cycle of Juvenile Justice, "2nd Edition. New
York: Oxford University Press.
• Chapter 1: The Ideas of the Cycle of Juvenile Justice
• Chapter 2: What Stays the Same in History

• This book is a critique of the way the Juvenile Justice System has swayed back
and forth from harsh treatment of juveniles to lenient treatment over 200 years.
 Monday Nov. 16, 2020

• Explain the Review Slides and the Test

• Please fill out the Course Evaluation for CJS 220 for this class. Attached to
that is a your request for Pass/Fail or to have a Letter Grade for you Final
Grade
PowerPoint Slide Creation
Assignment
• New due date is Sunday Nov .8, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.

• Dos and Don’ts:

• Plain Power points without black backgrounds and without moving or sliding effects
• These all make your power point no be able to upload to Blackboard.
• Place 3 ideas maximum per slide
• Spread your ideas over as many slides as you need
• Your assignment says 2 slides each from each chapter we have read

You can make more slides if it makes your idea more understandable

Still have problem with students uploading formats that Blackboard does not accept
• MS Word docs only – PowerPoint slides from MS Word that I will post a template for
Cycle of Juvenile Justice – Work Schedule _
Oct. 19 to Oct. 30
• Monday Oct. 19, 2020
• Reading Chapter 1 – and writing a 1 page paper that discusses the three most
important ideas from this chapter.
• Due Monday Oct. 19, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. with discussion

• Wed. Oct. 21, 2020 _ video – Ted talk.

“A prosecutor's vision for a better justice system.” | Adam Foss” A prosecutor's vision for a
better justice system | Adam Foss
https://youtu.be/H1fvr9rGgSg
• Discussion

• FRIDAY Oct. 23, 2020

• Reading Chapter 2 – and making an outline for the chapter that summarizes
the chapter in outline form.
• Due 8:30 a.m. on Friday Oct. 23, 2020
• 20 points
• Discussion in class.
Week 2 – Oct. 26-30 2020
Monday; Oct. 26, 2020 at class time
• Video screening of with guided questions that link what happens in the film to what you are learning in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.
• A reflection paper answering a series of five questions in-depth about how the video content illustrates the main points of the Cycle of Juvenile
Justice Ch. 1-2.
• Due Friday Oct. 30, 2020. 11:59 p.m.
• Discussion in class about upcoming work

Wed. Oct. 28, 2020. No class today – work on 2 assignments

• Reflection Paper Assignment Work on Reflection papers – due Friday Oct. 30 11:59 p.m.
• Assignment Come up with 4 power point slides – Due Sunday Nov. 1, 2020 11:59 p.m.
• 2 slides from Ch. 1 – and 2 slides from Chapter 2
Students with last names beginning with A-G – will do the following
• Make up 2 slides from Ch. 1 Ideas of the Cycle of Juvenile Justice Pages 1-3
• Make up 2 slides from Ch. 2 “What Stays the same in History” – pages 10-16
Students with last name beginning with H through “M – Mcoy
Make up 2 Slides from Ch. 1 Ideas of the Cycle of Juvenile Justice Pages 4-6
Make up 2 Slides from Ch. 2 “What Stays the same in History” – pages 17-22
Students with last name beginning wth M - Moody through Z _ Zimmerman
Make up 2 Slides from Ch. 1 Ideas of the Cycle of Juvenile Justice Pages 7-9
Make up 2 Slides from Ch. 2 “What Stays the same in History” – pages 23-29

•Monday Nov. 2 – Lecture and Review Slides will be combined and posted into a PowerPoint Slide Review for Ch.
1-2 “Cycle for Juvenile Justice

•Wed Nov. 4, NO CLASS – QUIZ – Cycle of Juvenile Justice Quiz – 25 questions _ 50 points.
Posts 8 a.m. Monday Nov. 2, 2020 to 11 a.m. Mon. Nov. 2, 2020
Over all statement for
Chapter 1

There are three ideas that drive the cycle of juvenile

justice, as listed:
1. Juvenile crime is at a skyrocket level
2. Present policies in place in the juvenile system
make matters worse
3. Changing policies will reduce juvenile crime.
Chapter 1: The Cycle of
Juvenile Justice

● “The cycle begins at a time when justice officials

and the general public are convinced that juvenile
crime is at an exceptionally high level and that
there are many harsh punishments but few lenient
treatments for juvenile offenders”.
Ch. 1 Important Statements

● The cycle begins at a time when justice officials and

the general public are convinced that juvenile crime is
at an exceptionally high level and that there are many
harsh punishments but few lenient treatments for
juvenile offenders
Important Statements
● Juvenile Crime is thought to be unusually high
○ Punishment is harsh
○ Few lenient options for rehabilitation or reform
○ Officials feel they are forced to choose harsh
punishment or nothing at all
■ This is known as the “forced choice.”
Chapter 1 Statement: Rational
Coherent Policy
● The most important statement that was made in chapter one
was that Ideas are elaborated into philosophies, in the sense
of their being rational, coherent, and organized ways of
understanding and interpreting the world. The philosophies
then form the basis for laws that define juvenile delinquency,
direct the juvenile justice system and determine juvenile
justice policies.

● That statement is so important because it is the foundation

of the way in which we perceive human behavior in deciding
what is right and what is wrong as far as social and
behavioral norms and it is the basis of how we form laws.
 Statement: Reformer
Philosophy

● The Idea of juvenile delinquency

explains why the reformer thinks the
new policy will work by proposing a
simple image of the kind of people
delinquents are.

200 year Cycle:
The Cycle of Juvenile
Justice
● The cycle begins at a time when
justice officials and the general
public are convinced that juvenile
crime is at an exceptionally high
level and that there are many
harsh punishments but few
lenient treatments for juvenile
offenders.
● Ideas that drive the cycle of
juvenile justice are (1) that
juvenile crime is at an
exceptionally high level, (2) that
presents juvenile justice policies
make the problem worse, and (3)
that changing those policies will
reduce juvenile crime.
1>
Juvenile crime is thought to be
unusually high. There are many
harsh punishments and few
lenient treatments. Officials often
forced to choose between harshly
punishing the juvenile offenders
and doing nothing at all 
^ 3
4<
Juvenile crime is thought to be
unusually high and is blamed on
the lenient treatment. Harsh
punishments gradually expand
and lenient treatments gradually
contract.
2>
Juvenile crime is thought to be
unusually high and is blamed on
the "forced choice". That is, both
harshly punishing and doing
nothing at all are thought to
increase juvenile crime.
A major reform introduces lenient
treatments for juvenile offenders.
This creates middle ground
between harshly punishing and
doing nothing at all.
Reform or Cry for help
● The idea of the juvenile justice system as a reform itself
provides a brief and readily understandable image of
polices that the reformer wants to implements.
● The system being a reform strives to help juveniles stay out
of jail, get good jobs and create a better future for
themselves.
● The person juvenile delinquency is a cry for help would
favor policies that respond to the juveniles plead for help,
either by aiding the juvenile directly or by addressing the
neglectful and abusive social environment in which the child
lives.
Chapter 2: “What Stays the same and
What Changes?”

What Stays The Same and What Changes?

There are 5 aspects of juvenile justice/delinquency that have in fact stayed
the same over the LAST 200 years
● Juvenile males commit more crimes than any other group
● Special laws are put into place for specifically juveniles to follow
● Current group of juveniles commit more crimes (serious) than juveniles in
the past
● People blame juvenile justice policies for the juvenile justice crime wave
because they are too lenient
● Juveniles are punished less severely than adults who commit the same
EXACT crimes as them.
What Stays The Same and What Changes?
As stated in the previous slide, The 5 aspects of Juvenile Delinquency
and Juvenile Justice have remained unchanged for the past two
centuries.
HOWEVER:
● At each point in time, people generally believed that were actually
different only thirty or forty years prior, thus they are often
associated with the “myth of the good old days.”
The 5 aspects are also associated with the view that the crime of
juveniles would conclude ONLY if juvenile justice policies had actually
been implemented during that time.
Behavior of Young Males

Young males commits a greater proportion of

crimes
● Statistics, Juveniles between ages 14 and 17
constitute about 3% of U.S population
according to 2006 estimates.
● Gang fights often viewed as a modern
phenomenon (Shakespeare’s play Romeo and
Juliet) in the fifteenth century Italy, involve
gang fights
● Juveniles are typically punished less severely
than adults.
Behavior of Young Males
● Young males be disproportionately involved
in criminal activities.
● Many people may argue that if we only
implement a particular policy , then
juveniles will stop committing more than
their share of crimes such as:
a)Death Penalty
b)Psychoanalysis
c)Lengthy prison sentences
d)Education
e)Employment training
Juvenile crime in earlier
times
● The cycle of juvenile justice has been around since the
beginning of time according to biblical documentation. The first
documented committed crime was the story of Abel and Cain .
They were the sons of Adam and Eve, it is told in the story that
Cain killed his younger Brother, Abel. Many people today think
that the juvenile delinquency crime rate has spiked and that in
the earlier days there was less crime but that is false.
● In Romeo and Juliet within the 15th century there were gangs.
The Montague family had a longstanding rivalry with the Capulet
family . One day members of each of the families had crossed
paths which led to a challenge to fight and resulted with two
deaths. The males at that time were around the ages of 16.
Juvenile crime in earlier
times

● It was also common for young man within the 1800s to walk
around and roam the wild west with guns strapped to their
hips looking for trouble.
● Within the 1800s in London most of the male prisoners 3000
to be exact were under the age of 21. The juvenile
delinquents ranged from as young as 6 to 17 according to a
commentator at the time.
● These examples that were listed in chapter 2 help describe
the cycle of juvenile justice and how early it had begun.
 Young Male Criminality

● Criminality of young people are usually young males, what

remains constant is that young people, especially young
males are disproportionally involved in these activities.
Most people would argue that if only we would implement a
particular policy, then juveniles will stop committing more
than their share of crime.
 Offenses in the past

● Originally, offenses that applied solely to youth were

focused on the duties that for their parents. In the code of
Moses in the bible, for example there were severe
penalties, including death, for striking or cursing your
parents, although these severe punishments were rarely
carried out.
alSpecial Laws for Juveniles:
Harsh to Lenient
● Status offenses in earlier juvenile systems were
mainly focused on how youth treated their parents.
● Justice systems are early as 1646 based their juvenile
system off the code of Moses which eventually lead to
the passing of the "stubborn child" law. This law states
that children's misbehavior toward their parents was a
punishable offense. These things included cursing
their parents, being defiant, and refusing to do work.
● Children in today's world are still institutionalized for
truancy but are no longer considered status offenses
and that school attendance may be added to
probation so it doesn't continue.
 Describing Status Offenses
in Earlier Times​

● Offenses that applied solely to youth were focused

on the duties that people held for their parents.​

● The Puritans made these biblical passages the

basis for a "stubborn child" law in 1646.​
Describing Status Offenses in
Earlier Times​
● That law “served as a direct or indirect model for
legislation enacted by every American state making
children's misbehavior a punishable offense.” ​It
was substantially modified through the years, but
the law remained in force in Massachusetts until
1973.
● Since the days of the Puritans, there has been a
continued expansion of attempts through legal
means to control the noncriminal but "offensive"
behavior of children​.
Decriminalization as it relates
to the cycle of juvenile justice
Decriminalization

○ Laws against these offenses should be

repealed.

○ Believe offenses are harmful and will only make

matters worse

○ Social service agencies not the courts should

be handled in juvenile cases.

○ This process is associated with leniency and

rehabilitation
 Deinstitutionalization as it relates
to the cycle of juvenile justice
● Deinstitutionalization

○ Believe juveniles who commit status offenses

should be handled in Juvenile courts.

○ However, they believe they should never be

locked up (The process of deinstitutionalizing)

○ This is associated with harsh treatment

because they do not get the full rehabilitation
experience.
Mitigation of punishments for
juveniles in earlier times, and
then mitigation in juvenile court

● Punishments for juveniles in earlier times were more

lenient than adults. There was no corporal punishment
before ages of puberty, which was set at 12 for females
and 13 for males. There was always absolute immunity for
punishing children below a certain age.
● The mitigation in A few states still practice the style of
English common law in juvenile courts. No matter the age
of the juvenile they can be trialed In adult courts for
serious offenses.
Adult Views of Juveniles in
Earlier Times

● Courts punished and confined youth in jails and

penitentiaries during the late 18th and early 19th
century.
● Gang fights are often viewed as a modern
phenomenon
● When juvenile arrest rates were low, people were
concerned about how much crime juveniles
committed.
Adult Views of Juveniles in Earlier Times

● In 1940, young people in the United States between

the ages of 15-21 constitute only 13% of the
population but the share of serious crime committed
exceeds their proportionate representation.
● In the 1800s, young men roamed the Wild West
with guns strapped to their hips
● In 1938, a report in England established that the
convictions of males peaked at the age 13 and that
the probability of conviction was greater from ages
11-17.
Documentary: Road to
Rehabilitation and Reform: Oak
Hill Youth Center
The problems that affected the youth in the documentary were:
● A dirty facility
● Broken windows
● Creaky walls
● A/C working sometimes and Heat rarely working at all

Most or ALL of the children were confined and:

● Were treated brutally by staff/guards
● Sexually abused
● Locked in their cells for long periods of time
● Given drugs from staff members/family members
 ● The staff see themselves as youth
development specialists. Their position

Documentary is to engage with the youth to them

help them learn how to problem-solve,
how to organize themselves to become

Conditions at
adults.
● New Beginning engages the young
“New people, has small classrooms, and

Beginnings”
every child must go to school five days
a week.

that reflect ● The average student improves their

reading and math scores by almost 1.5
reform years on annual basis.
● Many child say that New Beginning
is the first place that showed them
what school is like. 
 • Reflects the harsh part of the
● Dark and Dirty
cycle because they were treated
● Roaches and Rats unfair .
● Windows were yellow and • Harsh punishment expands.
broken. • “Forced choice” cause both
harshly punishing and doing
● Air condition worked nothing at all to increase
occasionally juvenile crime.
● Little to no EDUCATION
● Graduation rate: Low
● Didn’t receive the proper help :
Were basically taught how to
become a better criminal.
● Drug use: Staff and parents
bringing them in
● Sexual Abuse: Staff on Youth
and Youth on Youth
● Low Staff and Security
Why officials decided to make a
change at the oak hill youth center?

● Poverty and violence were huge problems that affected the youth who
were going to Oak Hill.
● The conditions of confinement were horrible. Oak Hill was a dirty, dark
and smelly place as they described in the documentary.
● Young men has always been a problem in the juvenile justice system.
Oak Hill Juvenile Justice Center did not help youths at all. When
youths got out of the Oak Hill Juvenile Justice Center they weren’t
back out into the streets and continued to do the same thing and end
up right back there. The center was not helping them, they were just
treating them like real inmates.
● Officials and Juvenile Justice officials wanted to improve conditions for
youths assigned to the Oak Hill Youth Center because youth are the
face of the future. The system was very corrupted and needed a
change.
Reform (after reform conditions)

● The conditions of the confinement after the reforms

began was way better, they cleaned up the school and
fixed anything that was damaged. They made the living
conditions better for the juveniles who lived there by
providing better living conditions such as modern
furniture and architecture . They also fixed the education
system within their staff which helped the staff take on
roles to influence the kids on having a positive outlook on
life . They even established a reward system within the
school which pushed the kids to work harder and do
better. They renamed Oak hill to New Beginnings Youth
Development Center .
The Road of Rehabilitation and Reform

● Juvenile justice officials feel like its hard to break the

cycle of harsh to lenient punishments. When the juvenile
is being punished harshly, they feel as though they are
making them worse and when they are being more
lenient towards them, they feel like crime is still being
done. Both the article and the documentary mention.
“When a juvenile is adjudicated for a crime, the
punishment is not as severe as when an adult is
convicted for the same crime.” Do nothing or be harsh; it’s
a forced choice.
The Road of Rehabilitation and
Reform: How documentary relates
to the Cycle of Juvenile Justice

● Juvenile justice officials feel like its hard to break the cycle
of harsh to lenient punishments. When the juvenile is
being punished harshly, they feel as though they are
making them worse and when they are being more lenient
towards them, they feel like crime is still being done.
● Both the article and the documentary mention. “When a
juvenile is adjudicated for a crime, the punishment is not
as severe as when an adult is convicted for the same
crime.” Do nothing or be harsh; it’s a forced choice.