Juvenile Delinquency Paper Instruction
Use the conceptual tool teamed from this course to critically analyze the story "There are no children here: The story of two boys growing up in the other America" (Kotlowitz 1992). Focus your discussion on three aspects.
11) Delinquency
a) Provide a summary of Kotlowitz's book (ICs book).
13) Discuss 3-4 factors in K's book that constitute important risks for juvenile crime.
c) Address how juvenile crimes in K's book are consistent and inconsistent with what you learn in the course (in reference to age, gender, race, class, offender vs. victim etc.)
2) Causes of Delinquency,
a) Select 2 crime theories (one from each group below):
Group A: Routine Activity; Social Disorganization; Anomie: Cultural Deviance, Critical
Group 13: General Strain; Leaming Diff Association; Social Bonds/Self-Control, Labeling
b) Describe your chosen theories in detail (who, when, where, what etc.) (Additional references other than your book/lecture notes are desirable).
c) Address how each theory explains & fails to explain K's book (justify your claims with details). di Compare and contrast the two theories: address how they complement each other (how they are similar/different: what one does while the other fails to do etc ). Discuss in reference to K's book.
a) Describe 2 programs or policies (check notes & Chapters 3-4 and 1 l-14 of J. Delinquency textbook HINT: Programs must be tied to chosen theories).
b) Describe the programs' strengths and limitations (Additional references other than your book/lecture notes are desirable).
c) Address whether there are hopes to reduce crime in this community, which program may be more or less effective for this community and why.
Integrate your discussion into a coherent paper. Papers must be between 6 - 10 pages (not counting cover and reference pages), typed, double-spaced, and with 1" margin (use 12 font size). Please check grammar and typos carefully.
Papers are evaluated based on understanding of the theories, and the ability to connect the conceptual tool with the life story. Clarity of ideas, insights, presentation style, as well as organization and formatting all contribute to the evaluation.
1) When quoting exact words, use quotation marks, with the author's last name, year of publication, and the page number of the source attached.
Example: As Kotlowitz (1992, p. 13) reported, "Residents felt disconnected from one another; there was little sense of community at Homer."
2) When paraphrasing, omit the quotation marks and reference it with a bracket that includes the name(s) of the author and the year of publication.
Example: Family disruption may contribute to criminal involvement by reducing networks of informal social control (Sampson and Groves 1989).
3) List your references alphabetically on a separate page titled, "References":
a) Referencing a book:
List Author's Last name, First name. Date. Book Title. Place of Publication: Publishing Company.
Example: Kotlowitz, Alex. 1992. There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys
Growing Up In The Other America. New York: Anchor Books.
b) Referencing an article (with multiple authors):
List Author #1's Last name, First name and Author #2's First name Last Name. Date.
"Article Title." Journal Title volume #: page #.
Example: Hirschi, Travis and Michael Gottfredson. 1983. "Age and the explanation of crime." American Journal of Sociology 89: 552-584.
c) Referencing an Internet document:
List Author's Last name, First name. Date. "Article Title" Journal Name. Vol.#. Retrieved
Example: Currie, Elliott. 1999. "Reflections on crime." Western Criminology Review 2.
d) Referencing class notes:
Example: Liu, Ruth. Spring 2018. Juvenile Delinquency Class Notes. SDSU