Learning Resources

Please read and view (where applicable) the following Learning Resources before you complete this week's assignments.

Readings

Course Text: Juvenile Delinquency
Chapter 12, "Juvenile Justice Process"
"Diversion from the Juvenile Justice System"
"The Juvenile Justice System Today"
Chapter 13, "Police and the Juvenile"

"Introduction"
"Juveniles' Attitudes Toward the Police"
"Processing of Juvenile Offenders"
"The Legal Rights of Juveniles"

Chapter 14, "Juvenile Court"
Chapter 15, "Community Based Corrections"
Chapter 16, "Juvenile Institutions"

Website
Website: National Center for Juvenile Justice. State Juvenile Justice Profiles.

This Web site contains information on individual state's juvenile justice systems, including criteria for trying and sentencing juveniles as adults.

http://www.ncjj.org/Publication/Guide-to-the-State-Juvenile-Justice-Profiles.aspx
Media
Interactive Module: "Difference between Adult and Juvenile Justice System," Copyright (2008) by Pearson Learning Solutions. Used with the permission of Pearson Education. Boston, MA.

http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pls/pls_mycoursetools/fufillment/mct_94735_laureate/adult_vs_juv/index.html

Interactive Module: "Transfer to Adult Court," Copyright (2008) by Pearson Learning Solutions. Used with the permission of Pearson Education. Boston, MA.

http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pls/pls_mycoursetools/fufillment/mct_94735_laureate/trans_adult_court/index.html

Optional Resources
Article: Weekly Reader Corporation. (2003). The case of Gerry Gault. Current Events (Teacher's Edition), 103 (1), 3.

Use the Education Research Complete database, and search using the article's title.

Online Audio: NPR. (2007). Crisis-prone Texas juvenile facilities look to reform [Audio file]. Audio retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=15822844&m=15817012

Online Audio: NPR. (2007). Missouri sees teen offenders as kids, not inmates [Audio file]. Audio retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=15784264&m=15785013

Online Presentation: Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report. Graphs from Chapter 6: Juvenile Offenders in Court.

http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/nr2006/downloads/NR2006.pdf

This presentation quantifies the flow of cases through the juvenile court system.

Website: The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). http://www.aecf.org/MajorInitiatives/JuvenileDetentionAlternativesInitiative.aspx

This is the official Web site of JDAI, which focuses on the detention component of the juvenile justice system.

Website: FRONTLINE. Juvenile Justice: Adult Time for Adult Crimes? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/bench/adulttime.html

This Web page contains interviews with experts who discuss whether or not kids belong in adult court for adjudication.

Website: Police Athletic League NYC.

http://www.palnyc.org/800-PAL-4KIDS/Home.aspx

The Police Athletic League (PAL) is New York City's largest nonprofit, independent youth organization. This Web site provides information on recreational, educational, cultural, and social programs that PAL provides to the children of New York City.

The Police and Juvenile Corrections

When processing juvenile offenders, police have discretion because they can issue a warning to a juvenile offender or bring the juvenile offender into custody. Often this discretion depends on factors such as the seriousness of the crime and the offender's age and prior record. Police, in essence, serve as gatekeepers to the juvenile justice system because they often control how juvenile offenders are categorized. This discretion of the police in processing juvenile offenders may not always coincide with public opinion. Regardless, the police must consider how their actions might influence the future of juvenile offenders. The solution to juvenile delinquency is not always to incarcerate juveniles, but to determine the right course of action, given the circumstances of each case. In some cases, juvenile offenders will benefit more from diversion programs, in which they do not go through adjudication. In other cases, community corrections programs or incarceration may be more beneficial.

To prepare for this assignment:

Review the assigned pages in Chapter 13 of the course text, Juvenile Delinquency. Pay attention to factors that influence police discretion when processing juvenile offenders. Then consider how the processing of juvenile offenders might affect how they are categorized.

Review the assigned pages in Chapter 12 of the course text, Juvenile Delinquency. Focus on the concept of recidivism as it applies to juvenile offenders.

Review the assigned pages in Chapter 12 of the course text, Juvenile Delinquency. Focus on diversion programs and the degree to which they might reduce recidivism.

Review Chapter 15 in the course text, Juvenile Delinquency. Focus on community corrections and incarceration programs and their effectiveness in terms of reducing recidivism.

Select a specific diversion, community corrections, or incarceration program to use for this assignment. Note: You may select a program from the Learning Resources this week or you may use the Internet to find other programs of interest to you.

Consider the effectiveness of the program you selected in terms of reducing recidivism of juvenile offenders.

The assignment (1-2 pages):

Explain the discretion of the police in processing and, thus, categorizing juvenile offenders. Justify your explanation by using specific examples.

Briefly describe a specific diversion, community corrections, or incarceration program. Then, explain the degree to which you think it is effective for reducing recidivism. Be specific.

Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the Learning Resources for this course.