Criminal Justice

1-. In your original discussion post, I require that you cite at least two pieces of concrete evidence. This means that you need to cite, at least twice, from a source in this class: the textbook, media shared in “Connecting it to the real world” or optional articles in “Connecting it to research.” I require this because I want your discussions to be based on evidence – I want your responses to be substantive. Further, this is a 400-level class where we are reading, writing, and thinking about research in a concrete manner. When asked to support your positions, please cite correctly to avoid plagiarizing and to receive full credit.

This assignment aligns with all Module 3 and 4 learning objectives.

2- We have now learned about lots of ecological systems that children are embedded in – families, schools, peer groups/gangs, neighborhoods, and larger communities. All of these can contribute to delinquency and juvenile offending. If you had to choose one ecological system as the most predictive of delinquency, what would you pick and why? Please support your claims with evidence. Then, I want you to play devil’s advocate – what are the shortcomings of using only this ecological system to predict delinquency? What challenges did you experience when trying to pick just one ecological system?

ANSWER

Predictive Delinquency

Children are embedded in different ecological systems. Delinquency can sprout from any of these systems, including the school and the family. Neighbourhoods are, however, affect and shape the behaviour of juveniles the most. Delinquency can be predicted depending on the neighbourhood of a child (Graif, 2015). Low-income neighbourhoods are more likely to produce delinquents compared to high income and middle-income neighbourhoods. Low-income neighbourhoods tend to be the breeding grounds for gangs and gang violence due to the tough living conditions (Siegel & Welsh, 2016). Teenagers from low-income neighbourhoods end up being delinquents as their living conditions push them into committing petty crimes to survive. One example of the effects of neighbourhoods on teenagers is that of Keaira Brown; if she had been from a better neighbourhood, there is a probability that she could have stayed out of trouble and her family could not be as troubled (Siegel & Welsh, 2016).

The challenge of predicting delinquency using neighbourhoods is that there are probabilities that many innocent teens are going to end up going to jail for crimes they probably did not commit. For instance, cases of police brutality and police-involved shootings are usually a result of misjudgment by the police because of the neighbourhood (Huang & Ryan, 2014). The police assume that because a teen comes from a certain neighbourhood, they are likely to be a criminal, leading to unlawful arrests and killings. This can also lead to racial profiling, as minorities mostly come from low-income neighbourhoods.

Choosing one specific ecological system was a challenge as all the ecological systems contribute to the delinquency of juveniles. There are probabilities that if a child comes from a low-income neighbourhood, the family too experiences other issues and the same neighbourhoods also harbour gangs. It is challenging to choose one specific system as they are embedded in shaping the life and future of teenagers. All the factors work together when it comes to predicting delinquency.

References

Graif, C. (2015). Delinquency and gender moderation in the moving to opportunity intervention: The role of extended neighbourhoods. Criminology, 53(3), 366-398.

Huang, H., & Ryan, J. P. (2014). The location of placement and juvenile delinquency: Do neighbourhoods matter in child welfare? Children and Youth Services Review, 44, 33-45.

Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. (2016). Juvenile delinquency. Chapter 7-11.