Lecture 3: Societal Response to Youth Crime Flashcards
The debate of children going wayward is a modern phenomenon. True or false?
False, the notion of the “good old days” is a myth.
Myth of the “Good Old Days”
The idea that children were not a problem in the past, but are increasingly going wayward.
Why would people propagate the myth go the “Good Old Days?”
Because romanticization of the past has a feel good effect.
In the very beginning, youth were not giving any lenient treatment when it came to justice. True or false?
True.
What are some ways in which youth were punished in the very beginning?
In spectacular ways to make a statement. Spectacle had to be made, and young offenders were not excluded from the harsh environment of the treatment of criminals.
What was the distinction that was made between adult and young offenders in the beginning of youth justice?
There was no distinction.
In the very beginning, youth justice focused mostly on which group?
Boys.
“Boy Problem”
The idea that young boys were problematic when it came to criminality, and it warranted a severe response.
Conceptions of ___ and ___ contributed to the “Boy Problem.”
Masculinity, femininity.
The idea of “youth” and “childhood” are very old concepts, dating back to the very early years of human existence. True or false?
False, they are fairly recent constructions.
Originally, the discourse of juvenile delinquency considered children as “___ ___” who learned and took on adult roles.
Little adults.
When did the idea of juvenile delinquency materialize?
When childhood was recognized as a distinct stage of development.
Why was there originally an indifference to children?
Because of high mortality rates. People tended to disengage themselves emotionally from their kids.
The chances of children dying off in today’s society are relatively ___.
Low.
Recognition of juvenile delinquency was influenced by the social change in the…
Late 19th Century.
What change came about in the late 19th Century?
Children were recognized as distinct social stages that individuals went through. Correlated with specific chronological ages, and we comet expect a certain level of behaviour from them.
Social Reformers
Mainly upper-middle class business, political, and male elites.
Social Reformers were mainly what religion?
Protestant.
What did the Social Reformers do?
- Questioned the use of a generalized system.
- Argued that juvenile offenders should be treated differently using to a distinct set of laws.
- Encouraged informal governance: church discipline, shaming, and other community strategies.
In informal governance, do you put youth through the court system?
No, rather you use measures such as church discipline, shaming, and other community strategies.
Objectivist Perspective on Youth Crime
Youth crime constitutes ap problem and actual danger to society.
Social Constructionist Perspective on Youth Crime
Youth crime becomes a problem when it is defined as such.
Which perspective would argue that there is a palatable thing that constitutes youth crime, and that it is a real phenomenon?
Objectivist Perspective.
Symbolic Interactionist theories on youth crime would subscribe to which perspective on youth crime?
Social Constructionist,
What perspective on youth crime would say that it is real to the extent that we perceive it to be real, and that youth crimes become a problem when we treat is as such?
Social Constructionist Perspective.
Name some characteristics of Classical Legal Governance of youth.
- Little to no distinction between adult crimes and those of your persons.
- Actus reus and mens rea.
- Notion of “doli incapax.”
- Punishment to ensure retribution and deterrence.
- Housing adult and young offenders together.
- No immunity from prison discipline like flogging.
What element of crime is questioned and challenged by those who think youth and adult crime should be separated?
Mens rea.
Why do people question children’s ability to commit mens rea?
The wonder whether children have the mental capability to think of and plan crime, fully aware of their consequences.
NCRMD exists when it is not possible to determine ___ ___ due to a mental disorder.
Mens rea.
Doli Incapax
Means incapable of doing wrong.
When did Doli Incapax apply under Classical Legal Governance up until 1982/1983?
Children under the age of 7. Presumed at
The MACR in Canada was raised to __ years in 1984, where it still is today.
12.
Which type of youth justice ensured punishment was to ensure retribution and deterrence?
Classical Legal Governance.
True or false? Youth were housed separately from adult offenders in Classical Legal Governance.
False.
What was the turning point in youth justice where Classical Legal Governance became outdated?
When the Brown Commission reported on the Kingston Penitentiary in 1849.
What did the Brown Commission find concerning the treatment of youth prisoners at Kingston?
- There was beating of children for behaviour like laughing.
- Flogging children for doing things that were expected of children.
What were factors in the formation of a distinct juvenile justice system?
- Working class “menace.”
- “Derelicts” from all over the world.
- The growth of factories and wage labour.
- Family disorganization as a result of urbanization.
What were the socio-economic conditions leading to the formation of a distinct juvenile justice system?
Immigration, urbanization, and industrialization.
Social Reform Movements drew from findings by the…
Brown Commission.
How did the social reform movements influence the formation of a distinct juvenile justice system?
- Call for compulsory and free education.
- Reformatories and refuges.
How did Social Welfare influence the formation of a distinct juvenile justice system?
- Rise of the welfare state.
- Legal doctrine of parens patriae.
When the state began to develop its capacity to the point where it began to cater to people’s welfare, it becomes tied to the rise of the ___ ___.
Welfare state.
Parens Patriae literally means…
Parent of the nation.
Parent Patriae means the state…
Must act in the child’s best interest when parents fail.
Anti-Institutional Discourse came about as a result of…
Widespread dissatisfaction with institutional governance and calls for deinstitutionalization.
How did Anti-Institutional Discourse influence the formation of a distinct juvenile justice system?
- Contact of young persons with hardened recidivists.
- Failure at reforming.
- Encouraged sexual relations.
What is the current age of consent?
16.
What was the backdrop to the emergence of modernist governance?
- Prevailing attitudes towards children brought into Canada.
- Huge number of orphans, homeless children, and child-indentured servants.
- Delinquent children seen as mini-criminals.
- Children not seen as high priority.
- Children as young as 7 could be executed.
What role did the Enlightenment play in the emergence of modernist governance?
Brought in notions of equality before the law, due process, etc.
Enlightenment
Movement that said that what was not scientifically verifiable did not exist.
When was the Enlightenment?
Late 17th and 18th Centuries.
Give examples of important figures in the Enlightenment.
Thomas Hobbes, Jeremy Bentham, and Cesare Beccaria.
What did Cesare Beccaria say in his “An Essay on Crimes and Punishment?”
Society needed a system of punishment that was severe enough to deter, but not so harsh that rights were violated.
According to Beccaria, there was a breach of ___ ___ when punishment was doled out arbitrarily.
Social contract.
How does Modern Governance differ from Classical Legal Governance?
- Particularistic (treats each case as unique).
- Knowledge-based (offender is investigated as a subject of knowledge).
- Interlocking system of social controls: a more inclusive system (state, families, communities, etc.).
How does Modern Governance use an interlocking system of social controls?
Brings together constellation of experts working together to make a person a subject of knowledge, but also make a calculation of the individual. Uses communities and NGO’s.
When did the term “juvenile delinquent” become popular?
In the late 19th Century.
What was the first law relating to young offenders, passed in 1894?
Youthful Offenders Act.
What are the precursors to the JDA?
- Use of the term “juvenile delinquent.”
- “Trial of Juvenile Offenders for Indictable Offences.”
- “Youthful Offenders Act.”
When was the JDA passed?
1908.
What was the first indication of a shift from classical to modernist governance of youth crime?
JDA.
Who was the main proponent of the JDA?
W.L. Scott.
What were the influences of the JDA?
- Crime was a result of social influences.
- Rebuttal of Lombroso’s determinism.
- Criminological literature.
- Developments in the U.S..
When the JDA was enacted, was it a commonplace idea that crime was a result of social influences?
No, it was a departure from the pervasive beliefs of the time.
Lombroso’s Determinism
Said that certain features were indicative of criminal behaviour.
What part of criminological literature led to the JDA?
People began to see patterns and trends.
What was happening in the U.S. with youth justice at the time of the JDA?
There was inroads towards dressing juvenile delinquents.
The JDA was undergirded by which orientation?
Social welfare.
What were the 3 philosophical ideas of the JDA?
- Parent patriae.
- An interventionist state,
- Best interest of the child.
Status Offences
Offences based on age. Can only be committed by younger people.
Give examples of status offences.
Drinking and promiscuity.
Status offences first came about as a result of which act?
The JDA.
Which act came up with the principle of indeterminate sentencing?
The JDA.
Indeterminate Sentencing
You can be held for an indeterminate period of time.
True or false? The JDA was highly intrusive into the lives of youth.
Truth.
True or false? The JDA was gendered.
True.
How was the JDA gendered?
Criminality of girls was tied to sexuality. Not unusual that a girl was accused by theft, and one measure would be examining the hymen.
The JDA can be considered a technique of normalization, as…
- Intrusive to lives of youth.
- Gendered nature.
- Shift fromoffence to offender.
- Use of “experts.”
Which act incorporated the use of “experts?”
The JDA.
This act shifted the focus from the offence to the offender. Which act is this?
The JDA.
What were some criticisms of the JDA?
- Informality of the court process.
- Indeterminate sentencing.
- Provincial variation in age jurisdiction.
- Too soft on some and too harsh on others.
- Status offences.
- Inconsistencies across Canada.
- Tensions between child welfare and legal principles.
- Little protection of young offender’s rights.
What year was the YOA passed?
1982.
JDA
Juvenile Delinquents Act, the first act concerning youth crime in Canada.
YOA
Young Offenders Act, the second act concerning youth crime in Canada.
What act introduced the 12-17 age jurisdiction?
YOA.
The number of incarcerated young persons increased after this act. Which act is this?
The YOA.
What were the principles of the YOA?
- Crime prevention.
- Accountability and responsibility by young persons.
- Protection of society.
- Limited maturity and special need of young persons.
Which act was the first to look at the rehabilitation of young offenders?
The YOA.
Which act said we needed to exercise restraint in the application of the law?
The YOA.
Why did the YOA say we needed to exercise restraint in how we apply law?
We want to try not to interfere with children’s freedom.
Which act looked at the primary responsibility of parents for their children?
The YOA.
Which act was convincer that the state cannot do its job as nicely as parents?
The YOA.
What are some criticisms of the YOA?
- Contradictory principles.
- Not tough enough and lacked deterrence.
- Not effective in curbing violent crimes.
Which part of the YOA was deemed to be contradictory?
Cannot consider the youth’s limited maturity while aiming for accountability.
Why did the YCJA come about?
- Palpable fear of youth crime in the mid-nineties.
- Need to fine tune the YOA.
- Impact of media sensationalization of youth justice.
- Influence of moral entrepreneurs particularly victim’s families.
- The need to “do something.”
How is the impact of media sensationalization counterintuitive?
Obama used the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting to try to change gun laws. However, people tried to get their hands on weapons, as there was a proposal to outlaw guns.
Which act came about partly because “aesthetics is more important than action?”
The YCJA.
The YCJA mainly combatted the ___ ___ ___ under the YOA.
High incarceration rate.
Under the YOA, Canada’s incarceration rate for youth was…
Twice the American figure, and one of the highest rates in the Western world.
What were the principles of the YCJA?
- Target responses to the seriousness of individual offences.
- Clarifying the principles of the YCJS.
- Ensuring fairness and proportionality in sentencing.
Which act is most likely to implement an individualized plan to rehabilitate offenders?
The YCJA.
Which act is concerned with respecting and protecting rights of youth?
The YCJA.
Which act is concerned with enabling meaningful consequences aimed at rehabilitation?
The YCJA.
Which act supports reintegration after custody?
The YCJA.
The New Zealand model is a…
Restorative justice model.
The restorative justice model is also known as…
The New Zealand model.
What is the main point of the restorative justice model?
Getting rid of oppositional, conflict based model. Allowing for harmony, and not an adversarial approach.
The restorative justice model turns to the ___ through a ___ ___ approach.
Community, bifurcated system.
Bifurcated System
Two-pronged approach, where non-serious offenders are put in diversionary programs, while serious offenders are dealt punitive measures.
Two-pronged approach, where non-serious offenders are put in diversionary programs, while serious offenders are dealt punitive measures.
Bifurcated System
Which approach encourages governing through the community?
Restorative justice.
Which act led to new forms of surveillance and control?
The YCJA.
YCJA is often criticized by law enforcement, who satirically cite the acronym is for…
“You Can’t Jail Anyone.”
