Treatment versus Punishment - That is the Question!
When looking at the relationship between social justice and juvenile justice, there are two over arching concepts when addressing juvenile delinquency - treatment and punishment. These two concepts have driven a cycle of changes in the juvenile justice system over the years. Your task is to support your premise that your state or city should either implement a philosophy of treatment or punishment for juvenile offenders for a specific crime or criminal justice issue identified in your paper.
- Explain the differences between the treatment and punishment concepts. Build the case for which one you believe has the stronger position based on your research and the crime or criminal justice issue you selected to study.
- Review the juvenile crime statistics between three cities or states in three different parts of the country (e.g., Boston, Chicago, and Seattle) for a crime or criminal justice issue. Incorporate a graphic display to present your findings. Be sure to include at least three demographic items, such as gender, ethnicity, race, education, or socio-economic status, in your analysis. Ensure you standardize your data (i.e., 1:1000; 1:10,000; or 1: 100,000) and incorporate the scale in a key for each chart.
- Identify the prevailing thought in the city or state: Is it treatment or punishment? Analyze the differences in the recidivism rates between the cities or states you have selected? Is recidivism the best indicator of success or failure or should we use a different indicator?
- Author addresses biological, psychological and sociological theories to help explain juvenile delinquency. Evaluate which of these theories would best support your thesis.
- Support which juvenile justice intervention strategy would be effective to counter the crime or criminal justice issue based on your research?
- Conclude with a summary of which concept (treatment or punishment) best supports the over arching concept of social justice?