Final Test! Policing Youth

Question 1

The Saints and Roughnecks (Chambliss):

Answer 1

The Saints and the Roughnecks (level 1 friendship groups rather than street gangs)

• Classic Study (criminology)
• Studied two gangs over a 2-year period: the Saints & the Roughnecks

Question 2

The Saints:

Answer 2

• The Saints: white upper-middle class boys, active in school affairs (had both parents,
  academic stream)
• Delinquency: (very delinquent) truant, drinking, wild driving, petty theft and vandalism)
  none of them have been arrested
• Activities: at school & weekends (driving them out of town, main. Goal at school was to get
  out of it)
• School cheated on exams/papers never reprimanded for cheating, teachers gave them befits
  of the doubt because they were “good” boys. Teacher would bump up their grades
• Police encounters: only 2
• Future: all but one went to college. 3 of them got advanced degrees

Question 3

The Roughnecks:

Answer 3

• The Roughnecks: working-class white boys
• History: trouble with police and community (many arrests) community said they weren’t
  well mannered and well dressed
• Delinquency: (was same or less) fighting, theft, siphon gas and drinking (not often) couldn’t
  leave town because no access to car so everyone would know them
• School: good attendance (no cheating) even if they did good, teachers would drop their
  grades because they were sus
• Police encounters: arrested- all of them
• Future: only 2 athletes went college (on scholarship)

Question 4

Why was there differential treatment between both groups?

Answer 4

Most obvious teachers, police and comunty members saw one groups based on social class
middle class boys as better behaved and lower class as problematic. Different futures because of
their high school years

• Visibility: greater to community & police (saints had access to vehicles to leave)
• Demeanour: towards authorities (saints were polite; Roughnecks were hostile)
• Bias: community and police (viewed roughnecks as troublemakers & saints as “good boys”)
• Reinforcement: selected finds to affirm self-image (“tough” kids will be noticed)
• Future: labelling from teachers, police & community became self fulfilling prophecy
  (labelling theory) it’s such a classic study because we see how class really affects their future

Question 5

Extrajudicial Measures (EM):

Answer 5

• Sec. 4: Principles
• (a) EM are most appropriate and effective way to address youth crime it’s enough to deter
  them
• (b) EM allow for effective and timely interventions focused on correcting offending
  behaviour the more timely the intervention is, the more meaningful is
• (c) EM presumed adequate to hold youth accountable for non-violent acts and not previously
  found guilty
• (d) EM precludes use of those previously dealt with use of EM or previously found guilty of
  an offence don’t have to use it if the youth has been found guilty/charged
• Sec 5: Objectives: EM should be designed to: *
• (a) provide effective and timely response how young people think and act with timely
  responses
• (b) encourage youth to acknowledge and repair harm caused to victim and community
• (c) encourage families to become involved in design of those measures it can included
  extended family if appropriate
• (d) provide opportunity for victims to participate & receive reparation
• (e) respect rights and freedoms of youth be proportionate of the seriousness of the offence. To
  make sure the law isn’t violated and help repair the harm in meaningful ways

Question 6

Extrajudicial Measures (EM)- YCJA:

Answer 6

• Laying charges: no charges are laid (except ON) most places in Ontario are done post charge.
  Other provinces, police will decide, BC; prosecutors gave more of a say
• May be used with prior record (depending on nature of offence)
• Restorative justice: take responsibility, engage with victims & community; acknowledge &
  repair harm
• Professionals: police and Crown (judges cannot refer) * Conferences* * Inspiration:
• “Family group conference” (NZ) & Australia make use of this as well. It was successful and a
  lot of them started in NZ.
• Canadian Aboriginal communities
• Restorative justice model: preparators, mediators
• Definition: Group of persons who are convened to give advice concerning a young person
  having difficulty with the law people who get together including the young person and we
  are going ot make it a community effort rather than solely a family one.
• Participants- family members, victim(s), supporters, community members

Question 7

Extrajudicial Sanctions (ES):

Answer 7

• (Sec 119) Provides 2-year “period of access” for records (date of consent)
• If charged/convicted w/in 2 years: pre-sentence report prepared for judge the judge uses this
  for sentencing and can be used as aggravated factor
• After 2 years: no use may be made and be accessible to anyone in the criminal justice system
• CPIC (Canadian Police Information Ctr) destroy records (including photos & fingerprints)
  when you get a criminal record check, they check CPIC. The idea is that they have turned
  themselves around and get that “clean slate”

Question 8

Police Culture and Young Offenders (Schulenberg, 2006):

Answer 8

• Influence decisions: 1) typification of delinquent typical delinquent and how police view
  them as typical delinquent (how often they are delinquent) this is an important element of
  how police deal with young people; 2) course of action; 3) policy of police dept
• Methods (surveyed 300 Canadian police officers [20% French]; ride-alongs) open ended mini
  interviews to police officers
• Likely to lay charges
• Delinquent identification (type of youth)
• Typification of delinquent- defined as “routine” who these kids are and how to be more strict
  with them

Question 9

Police discretion:

Answer 9

• Decisions made “police screening”- decide to move forward into CJS or not
• Discretions: decision to invoke (or not) legal sanctions- when circumstances are favorable
• Legal factors: bound by law (law dictates) policies of a department, what the police have to
  do. Ex. If a violence has happened whent ehy arrive on scene of domestic call, they are bound
  by law to arrest the person of interest
• Extralegal: outside formal legal process (non-legal reasons) age being one of the reasons o
  Play the role as well that infelucne the diecison outside the legal process

Question 10

Police contact and decision making

Answer 10

Section 6(1) Police have to consider this as a warning refering them to a program in the
community
they had something in the YOA but have to refer to this

Police actions to take:

• 1. Issue warning (formal or informal)
• 2. Parental involvement (take them home) talk to the parents and get them involved in the
     discipline and hopefully they take it from there. Sometimes that’s all that’s needed
• 3. Police station (questions and/or give warning) [report written as record] maybe they will
     understand if taken to the station and get talked to
• 4. Diversionary measures (extrajudicial measures, EM)
• 5. Arrest youth and/or lay charges [lay a charged: formal accusation] if they make a charge, it
     has to get thrugh a jucstice of a police before to make it officile
• 6. Hold in detention (“remand”)- for bail hearing if you get arrested on Friday, you will be
     held until Monday because the bail hearing is only then. For youth, it’s quicker because of
     their age

Question 11

Legal factors affecting police decision (discretion):

Answer 11

• Type of crime: seriousness of offence (more, less discretion)
• Prior police contact: known to police (less discretion)
• Prior record: have been convicted of crime previously (less discretion)
• Prior administrative offences: breaching order (less discretion) depending on jurisdiction,
  they have their different rules so it affects the decision

Question 12

Arrests:

Answer 12

• Defined: the constraint of a person’s freedom by physical coercion or implication of coercion
  (not in Criminal Code)
• Most obvious with police officers- take into custody to answer questions, charges aren’t
  necessarily laid
• To lay a charge: make a formal accusation (of law-breaking behaviour against someone) if
  police lays. Charge, it’s making a formal accusation from the state that you have broken the
  law in some way. Usually it’s not 1 charges so that your action may have broken other laws.
  The other charges usually get dropped that way you don’t go into court. Sworn into justice of
  peace and can’t lie or else they can get charged for that.
• Police complete form “Information” and JOP

Question 13

Extralegal factors (discretion): Race, age, and gender:

Answer 13

• Race &ethnicity: more likely stopped by police (Indigenous & black youth; more likely to
  take action/less discretion)
• Age of suspect: LT less than 25/30 (less discretion)
• Suspect’s attitude/demeanour: negative & belligerent (B&I youth are perceived to be “more
  difficult”; less discretion) police assessment so B&I. theres a note from police saying they have
  bad attitudes
• Suspect’s appearance: subjective view

Question 14

Canada- Racial Profiling, Youth by levels of deviance (chart, Wortley and Tanner):

Answer 14

• Survey with HS students- controlled for social class, leisure, gangs, crime
• Good behavior did not protect Black youth from police stops/ unwanted attention*