Lecture 1 Sep 9 Historical Overview PDF

Historical Views of “Juvenile Delinquency” in September 9, 2024 Canada  Course Overview Administrative details Key contact information ([email protected]) Office and Hours: BH-111 – Mondays, 11:30am – 12:30pm – Tuesdays, 10:30am – 11:30am – Thursdays, 11:30am – 12:30p...

Historical Views of “Juvenile Delinquency” in September 9, 2024 Canada  Course Overview Administrative details Key contact information ([email protected]) Office and Hours: BH-111 – Mondays, 11:30am – 12:30pm – Tuesdays, 10:30am – 11:30am – Thursdays, 11:30am – 12:30pm Course evaluation Dates, topics, and readings King’s/Western’s course-related policies  Explanations and Excuses Teen homicides occur across Canada Examining “why” behaviours occur Offering scientific explanations versus assigning “blame” (or offering “excuses”) Class views on teen violence/homicides? Objectivity in evaluating behaviours or specific events can be a difficult if issues “cut too close to home” Analytic challenge: explaining the inexplicable Youth Delinquency in Historical Perspective Not recognized with particular rights Similar treatment to adults Age linked to culpability Official data non-existent Difficult to estimate extent of youth in conflict with law in historical perspective  Social Construction of Adolescence Term adolescence rarely used prior to 20th century Youngsters more fully integrated into economic and social life Adolescence “invented” Removed from productive life with advanced technologies Public education expanded, but not yet fully developed to accommodate growing immigrants & displaced youth Tanner (2001): “The problematic image of modern youth is a consequence of their emergence as a separate and distinct age- based social category.”  Late 19th Century Reforms Introduction of compulsory education to combat morally corrupting street life Importation of destitute children (>90,000 from Britain in late 1800s & early 1900s) Concerns for those not just breaking laws, but for neglected, abused, and impoverished “Problem children” to be dealt with differently from adults, and hence the emergence of juvenile system  Early Youth Justice Reforms Much cross-fertilization across countries Common features surrounding diminished moral blameworthiness Concept of parens patriae “Best interests of the child” “Child savers” movement  Juvenile Delinquents Act Official history of juvenile delinquency in Canada starts with 1908 JDA & distinction between adult and young offenders Reformers viewed incarceration with adults as inhumane and would not assist with rehabilitation Some advocated harsh, lengthy sentences at reformatories, but others believed environments would compound problems Have struggled for past century with question of what “should” be done with young offenders  Key Features of Canada’s JDA Formalized separate system for youth justice Collapsed violation of criminal code offences into offence of “delinquency” for youth aged 7-16 Age limits varied across provinces Creation of status offences Disproportionate and disparate sentences Welfare model of youth justice  Revised JDA in 1924 According to the law, a delinquent was: “any child who violates any provision of the Criminal Code or of any Dominion or provincial statue, or of any by-law or ordinance of any municipality, or who is guilty of sexual immorality or any similar form of vice, or who is liable by reason of any other act to be committed to an industrial school or juvenile reformatory under the provisions of any Dominion or provincial statute.”  Age: Crime and Punishment Minimum age of legal responsibility remained seven years of age Upper limit for youth offences varied across jurisdictions Most severe penalties imposed? Institutionalization in training schools Judges had (and still have) considerable discretion regarding disposition of cases  Media Representations Long history of viewing youth in negative light through media portrayals Anecdotal evidence re: how newspaper headlines have not changed that much Pearson’s investigation of “youth problem” in United Kingdom, where “golden age” identified as previous generation  Canadian Media Overrepresentation of violent incidents (Sprott) 1990s reporting of gang activity revealed geographic concentrations in five main cities Often reports offer little by way of “explanation” Core narrative stressed the “growing problem” Racial factor Creation of “us” versus “them” mentality Presentation of extreme behavioral patterns, as problematic images of youths dominate coverage  Media Influence Public Perceptions Public overestimates amount of violence as proportion of all crime Viewing youth in negative light, as well as juvenile justice system Exaggerated fear of crime and greater support for more punitive policies Beyond public (mis-)perceptions, what’s the “reality” in terms of youth crime and delinquency?