CC200 Final Exam Review (Youth Justice)

The single most important predictor of delinquency. Criminal behavior is learned by reinforcing non-conforming behaviors through group affiliations with delinquent friends.

Level 1: Fluid friendship groups, unplanned criminal activity, no leadership, no name, signs or symbols. Level 2: Criminal activity planned or deliberate, period of time (one year or longer), no leadership structure, may have name, signs or symbols. Level 3: Hierarchical structure with leaders and followers, planned criminal activity, control activities in territory, gang name, sign, and symbol, violence with firearms, conflict subculture. Level 4: Sophisticated hierarchical structure, planned criminal activity, legal and illegal acts, international business, violence for strategic purposes, criminal subculture.

Surveys and interviews with street youth and high school students. Toronto Street Gang Pilot project, qualitative interviews, 83% males, 63% single parent family, 14% grew up in child protection, 76% Canadian born. Street youth are more than twice as likely to be part of a gang than other high school students.

Refers to how families are structured in terms of living arrangements, such as traditional nuclear family or single-parent family.

The extent to which parents are supportive of their children's needs.

The extent to which parents are demanding of appropriate behavior from their children.

Supportive and demanding, set standards and expectations, discuss and explain disciplinary matters.

Rejecting and demanding, emphasize obedience and conformity, restrict children's autonomy, use punitive disciplinary measures.

Supportive but not demanding, allow children considerable freedom, oppose control or disciplinary measures, see themselves as resources for their children.

Rejecting and not demanding, spend little time with children, know little about their activities, put their own needs above their children's. Children of indifferent parents are most likely to engage in delinquent behaviour.

Aggression, emotional disorders, crime, substance abuse, running away, violence, and generational issues.

Focuses on an entire population (neighborhood, school, youth, or nation) to stop problems before they start.

Focuses on those within a population who are seen to have a problem (e.g., substance abuse or living in areas with high unemployment) to stop existing problems from worsening.

Focuses on individuals or populations with serious or chronic problems (e.g., violent offenders or areas with high crime rates) to stop or control future problems.

Predictors of a child or youth's potential for developing a problem and getting into trouble.

Refers to the relationship between protective factors, risk factors, and how those impact specific outcomes, like youth involvement in delinquency or gang membership.

School commitment lowers self-reported involvement in both violent and property-related delinquencies. Girls with high levels of victimization and low school commitment report more property and violence-related delinquency.

Lack of structure in classrooms leads to teachers losing control, resulting in violence, disruption, and drug use in contemporary schools. Lack of parental support leads to children losing interest. Marginalized students have less opportunity, leading to delinquency.

Students who are frequently disciplined for minor offenses, such as lateness, cutting class, or disrupting class.

Youth have the highest unemployment rate. Marginal position in the labor force due to less training, skill, and experience.

Higher levels of education lead to lower levels of crime. People with higher education have the lowest levels of unemployment.

Service industry, construction and landscaping (seasonal), minimum wage, student minimum wage. Positive effects: involvement in activities, teaches responsibility, exposure to the world of work. Negative effects: 15-hour threshold during school year can be problematic.

Daily activity, peers are important for survival, hunger motivates criminal activity, lots of boredom leads to hanging out.

Males: More power and control, leave home for work or legal trouble, more shelter or hostel users. Females: More time in foster care, leave home due to conflict or abuse, more stress, fear, depression, likely to go without food, more likely to have access to health services, more likely to stay in their own place.

Formal economy activities (short-term basis), informal economy activities (begging, squeegee cleaning, quasi-legal activities, criminal activities), social assistance (family benefits, disability benefits). Females: Pregnancy impacts employment by limiting work and adding additional risk to making money.

Lack of sleep, poor nutrition, repeated injuries, inability to maintain hygiene, vulnerable to debilitating illnesses, struggle with substance abuse and trauma, marginalized.

Voice of adults, violent crime committed by bad kids (class, race, gender), physically menacing, markers (tattoos and body piercing) as indicators of bad kids.

Offenders are typically depicted as poor or working-class youth. Indicators include dress, home, parents, and school. Drug stereotypes: Upper-class uses drugs, lower-class deals drugs.

Black youth communities are portrayed as sites of crime, lawlessness, and immortality. Black youth are depicted as a real threat. Cultural style and communication are often depicted as negative. The message is that 'other' youth are responsible for white deviance.

A condition, episode, person, or group becomes defined as a threat to societal values. Presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media.

Mods and Rockers (UK), media amplifying youth deviance. Folk devils (targets): Youth (sub)cultures, style: Rockers (motorcycle leather, boots), Mods (scooters, suits).

Media take an ordinary event and present it as extraordinary. Deviance amplification occurs when authorities demonize the perceived wrongdoers. Moral boundaries in society are clarified. Panics occur during periods of rapid social change. Young people are targeted as they symbolize the future of society.