Assignment: Setting Minds at Ease

Here's What Happened . . .

On the first of May this year, Centervale Police Officer Smith arrested Rosie Greene, a 15-year-old, for stealing several items from a local convenience store. This was just one of several incidents Rosie has been involved in this year. The majority of Rosie's incidents have been centered on her schoolwork, fights, loitering, and truancy.

The principal has suspended Rosie several times from school. However, Rosie continues to engage in delinquent behaviors. Rosie's arrest has been widely publicized in the newspaper and on television because Rosie ran from the police after they caught up with her while being truant from school and smoking behind a pizza shop.

You have been working with Centervale's City Government to propose a plan to reduce juvenile delinquency and prevent further incidents of younger children becoming involved in delinquent behaviors as they grow up.

The principal has asked if you would help the School Board understand more about juvenile delinquency, the juvenile justice system, and particularly Rosie Greene's situation to help them appropriately respond to parent's questions and create a new policy. He has asked you to prepare a presentation for the Centervale City School Board's next meeting.

Here's What You Need to Do . . .

You are required to develop a 10-15 slide PowerPoint presentation with script for the Centervale City School Board. Use APA in-text citations and external sources that are referred to on a corresponding references slide and include the following:

• Differentiate between the juvenile and adult justice systems by first defining the terms crime, delinquent act, and status offense. Because of the School Board's familiarity with Rosie's juvenile case, discuss the nature of her offenses by identifying which ones are crimes, delinquent acts, or status offenses.
• Explain to the School Board the origin of juvenile rights and the process of juveniles' rights while in custody. Address the concerns raised by the school board member who wondered what would happen to Rosie because she ran from the police. Did Rosie's choice change her rights?
• Compare and contrast juvenile rights to the rights of an adult under similar circumstances. Use Rosie's case to illustrate to the School Board the similarities and differences of the juvenile and adult justice systems.
• Summarize the juvenile courtroom process using Rosie's case. Include Rosie's rights, and identify the courtroom parties who will be present: lawyers, judge, etc. Predict a probable series of events for Rosie's case and describe how the outcome might be different if Rosie were an adult.
• Integrate in your presentation to the School Board your proposed Juvenile Delinquency Reduction Plan from LASA 1. Describe how the plan might address one or more of the issues presented in Rosie's situation. Explain the steps in your plan that the School Board may find helpful in their plight to reduce juvenile delinquency throughout the Centervale School System.