Chp 1 - Toward Understanding Youth Crime

Question 1

What is the Myth of the good old days?

Answer 1

a time when Youth Crime wasn’t a problem

Question 2

What is the Al Bundy Effect

Answer 2

Always complaining about society and how it is crumbling - He scored 8 touchdowns in one Football Game in HS, his claim to fame, or his reason to keep going, when things get bad there is always a time he can go back to.

Question 3

The news tends to project stories that are..

Answer 3

Eye-catching stories, the more extreme: heinous crimes and injustices, however our society is improving and there is less violence overall… even though it is not made widely known (his opinion) –> even though things are better they are

Question 4

Although the world has changed the institutions that our society is based upon hasn’t, why?

Answer 4

Because those in power benefit from how society is structured, we don’t give those in power a lot of time for large structural changes - smaller changes are easier, it would be difficult to change the whole system or find a way that works more efficiently, it is familiar to us, our society isn’t organized in a way that is conducive to change – People don’t like change they love habit and routine

Question 5

While particular concerns change, the overall concern for youth remains. Why have adults been so preoccupied with children?

Answer 5

Perhaps because they are the future generation, they are a direct reflection of their parenting, we recognize their vulnerability: they are products of their environment and we want to protect and shape them

Question 6

Myth: Youth is an out of control crime problem, do youth commit the most amount of crime? Why?

Answer 6

Adult charges accounted for 83%, youth 16% - so no. Young offenders are 12-17.
Often the media has a large/foundational impact on what we know.

Question 7

How has the crime rate changed over the last 20 years?

Answer 7

The national crime rate has been falling steadily for the past 20 years and now is at the lowest level since 1973.

Question 8

Are crime statistics a good representation?

Answer 8

Not Great, -> Why?? Lots goes unreported, Administrative impacts (legalization), Economy, Societal responses, Demographics and Population

• -> Certain types are well reported: Car Crimes
• -> Sexual Assault tends to go underreported as well as crimes that occur in the home

Question 9

What is a dark figure of crime?

Answer 9

Crime that goes unreported

Question 10

What is more likely - Stranger crime or crime committed by someone we know?

Answer 10

Stranger crime is less likely

Question 11

Who is most at risk for committing crimes?

Answer 11

16-24 is most at risk for committing crimes, the older you get the more commitments you have and your lifestyle changes (family, kids, job)

Question 12

Do adults trust youth, why/why not?

Answer 12

Not so much, This is shown by parents unwillingness to let their kids go out alone or ever be unsupervised because of the evils out there

• Youth are alien, they have their own way of being in the world that adult’s don’t trust
• As a result of this mistrust, we want youth to grow up very quickly and become a part of normalized society

Question 13

What is “curling syndrome” and helicopter parent syndrome”?

Answer 13

Parents ‘hovering’ over their children and wanting to sweep all the harm out of the way for their children so they have a very smooth transition into adulthood

Question 14

Age in our society is a form of..

Answer 14

currency up to a certain point, those who are older are taken more seriously than those who are younger. (Most assume because you’re young you don’t have life experience)

Question 15

Myth of Violent Crime: is violent crime the most prevalent of crimes?

Answer 15

No, - Theft under 5000$/Petty crime/Shoplifting is the most common crime among young people. Other common crimes Vandalism, Property crimes, Underage drinking, mischief (loud music, stealing signs), drug offences, administration of justice issues (fail to comply with probation conditions: curfew, community service), common assault-level 1 (most minor assault: pushing etc…)

Question 16

Is Violent Crime and Epidemic?

Answer 16

No, In 2014 police-reported violent crime continued to decline in volume and severity

Question 17

Myth of Incarceration at “the” solution: Why isn’t incarceration the best solution?

Answer 17

We weren’t incarcerating young people for violent crimes but for property related crimes, administrative offences etc…
the idea that was being put out there was that young people were out of control and the only solution was jail. This wasn’t being done at the expense of the most violent offenders but those committing petty crimes.

Question 18

Myth of Young Offenders always being bad kids: true?

Answer 18

False. Youth involved in crime are multidimensional individuals, each with their own story. Their experiences are much more varied than the homogenous label “young offender”

Question 19

Youth are responsible for most of the violence in society, true?

Answer 19

False, Youth are disproportionately represented as victims of violent crime. They are much more likely to be involved in property crime than violent, and their crimes of violence are typically relatively minor.

Question 20

What are the main arguments of Youth Crime we focus on?

Answer 20

1. ) The way a social problem is defined has profound implications for how individuals, groups, and social institutions react and respond to it
2. ) The main issue to be addressed is not youth crime per se, but the relationships between youth, crime and society

Question 21

Which Praxis do the Authors use?

Answer 21

Social Justice Praxis: (Critical Approach) aimed at addressing the systemic conditions of marginalization, exclusion and social inequality that lead to the involvement of youth in crime in the first place

Question 22

What are the 2 categories of Media Discourse?

Answer 22

1. ) News and Information

2. ) Entertainment

Question 23

What are the 2 forms of Popular Discourse?

Answer 23

1. ) Gossip

2. ) Urban Legend

Question 24

Since the YCJA act was introduced have we seen an increase or decrease in youth charges?

Answer 24

we have seen a reduction in the proportion of youths formally charged by police

Question 25

What is the most common Youth crime?

Answer 25

Property crimes

Question 26

What does Youth Crime refer to?

Answer 26

All young persons aged 12-17 accused of committing a crime, whether they were formally charged by police or dealt with by other means such as warning, caution, or referral to a diversionary program

Question 27

The Youth Crime rate measures

Answer 27

Only measures instances of youth crime that have come to the attention of police, whether youth crime is rising or lowering depends on how we look at the data

Question 28

Since 1999, has youth crime been rising or lowering?

Answer 28

Since 1999 youth crime has been rising and lowering by a few %’s each year (less than 10)

Question 29

What are the differences in numbers of male and female youth offenders?

Answer 29

The “nasty girl” phenomenon has been at the centre of debate - claims that girls are getting worse because of an increase in violent female youth crime of 81%, however the numbers are still relatively low as there was almost no female crime before and male youth crime is still 3x higher (& has been declining rapidly). Males outnumber females at all levels.

Question 30

What is the importance of the Ted Talks video??

Answer 30

Preventing crime by taking high risk kids in the Bronx and getting them interested in school. The program changed the kids own expectations of themselves, gave them hope.
Allows them to reinterpret their communities. Connecting kids to school takes a step forward and showing positive influences. meaningful connections - sense of belonging and purpose