Download Juvenile Justice Chapter 4

Juvenile Justice
CJ3650
Professor James Drylie
Chapter 4
Theories of Delinquency
There are several theories related to the
causation of crime and delinquency
A theory is a principle or an idea that
attempts to define and explain a
phenomenon.
Classical & Positivistic Theory
Two major schools of criminological
thought
Classical
People choose to commit crime
Positive
The environment influences behavior
The Classical School
Behavior is rational
Product of free will
Juveniles choose to commit delinquent
acts/crime
Decisions in this regard are rational
Based the pleasure/pain related to the act
Strongly influenced early American
thought through the 1800s
Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)
Italian nobleman
Believed that people
are hedonistic
Maximize pleasure
Minimize pain
Often referred to as
the pleasure-pain
principle
Focuses on the
offense committed
Not the offender
Concerned with how
punishment is applied
Must fit the crime
Pain vs. pleasure
Positive School
Influenced juvenile justice practices by the
late 1800s
Grounded in the belief that behavior is
beyond individual control
Factors other than free will influence behavior
Emerging thought
The emergence of the scientific method as a
means to study phenomenon
The classical approach toward punishment
was proving ineffective
Early positivist thought
Cesare Lombroso
Early criminologists looked to biological
factors as a cause of crime
Over time there was more of an emphasis on
isolating psychological and social factors
Family
School
Peer relationships
Choice Theory
In the 1970s the classical school of
thought reemerged as
Rational Choice
Choice Theory
The renewed interest in the classical
school based on
Questioning the premise of positivism
An increased crime rate
Questioning if rehabilitation was working
Routine Activities
Based on rational choice
Contends that the motivation to commit
crime and the number of offenders are
constant
Some would argue that the change in
crime rates are due to fluctuations in the
number of available offenders
Cohen & Felson believe that there is a
steady stream of offenders willing and
capable of offending
Additionally, Cohen and Felson posit that
crime rates fluctuate due to the following:
Motivated offender
Suitable target (victim)
Absence of capable guardian
Parent
Neighbors
Police
Teachers, etc.
All three factors must be present for a crime
to occur
Deterrence Theory
Follows from choice theory
Juveniles commit crime because they
choose to do so
The choice is based in perceived risks and
benefits
If the risk outweighs the benefit they will
most likely not commit the act
Two types of deterrence:
General
Specific
General deterrence
Discourages would-be delinquents from
committing delinquent acts because the
threat of punishment is real
The fear of punishment outweighs the
benefits of the acts
Specific deterrence
Is designed to impose a sanction on an
adjudicated delinquent to prevent them
from committing additional delinquent acts
Imposing stiff sanctions on a juvenile for
committing an offense or delinquent act
Do six months of community service every
weekend and you may think twice before you
do something to get in trouble again
The Assumptions of Deterrence
Individuals are rational actors
Weigh potential risk against benefits
Juveniles are aware of sanction/penalty
The risks associated with punishment are
unpleasant
The sanction is swift, certain, and severe
Biological theory
The oldest approach in the biological
theories of crime are morphological
Criminals are viewed as biologically inferior
Biological inferiority produces certain physical
characteristics that make the appearance of
criminals and noncriminals different
Two particular theories are:
Lombroso’s atavism theory
Sheldon’s somatype theory
Ativism
Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) considered
the father of the positive school
He identified several factors that he felt
influenced crime
Population density
Education
Unemployment
News coverage – Contagion
The born criminal
Atavistic anomalies
Large skulls
Large protruding jaws
Canine teeth
High foreheads
Flattened noses
Deep, close-set eyes
Especially large or small ears
Very long arms or legs
Somatotype
Sheldon focused on body type
Endomorph
Soft, round, and fat body type
Ectomorph
Thin, frail
Seeks comfort and are extroverted
Introverted and strong ability for self-control
Mesomorph
Muscular, firm, and strong
Assertive and aggressive
Refer to chart on page 101
Genetics
Criminal activity tends to run in families
Agree or disagree?
Twin studies (Denmark)
Monzygotic – identical
If one twin has a conviction, 35% of the cases the
other twin also has a conviction
Concordance rate is 35%
Dizygotic – fraternal
Concordance rate was 12%
Adoption studies
Better than twin studies in that they can
isolate biological influences on
delinquency because the environmental
influence of the biological parent is absent
Chemical & Neurological
Biochemical explanations suggest that
chemical deficiencies or abnormalities in
the body can affect behavior
Dietary
Sugar, vitamins B/C
Fetal alcohol syndrome & prenatal drug use
One study of FAS found that 60% of males and
40% of females reported trouble with the law
45% of youth between 12 – 20 with FAS had
committed a violent offense
Hormones
Autonomic nervous system
Controls involuntary body functions
Blood pressure
Breathing
Heart rate
Produces the “fight or flight” response
Anxiety increases involuntary body functions
Adrenal glands
These experiences are unpleasant and people
generally avoid anxiety producing behavior
Psychopaths or sociopaths do not develop
adequate consciences and may be incapable
of feeling fear or anxiety
Learning disabilities
School failure has been linked to drop out
rates and delinquency
LDs are biologically determined factors that
impose difficulties to learning
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Symptoms are
Inattention
Impulsivity
Hyperactivity
ADHD children are more likely to have contact with
the system
Psychological theory
Freud believed that personality is formed early in
childhood and develops into a three-part
personality structure
Id
Collection of unconscious desires and instincts
Ego
The identity and actual behavior
Superego
Sex and aggression
Conscience and moral character
Freud argued that juveniles have
underdeveloped superegos that are unable to
regulate the Id
Personality disorders
Personality refers to the emotional and
behavioral attributes of an individual
Delinquents characteristically are
Extroverted
Impulsive
Lack self-control
Hostility
Resentment
Destructiveness
Ambivalence toward authority
Antisocial Personality Disorder
APD is pervasive pattern of disregard for
and the violation of rights of others that
begins in childhood or adolescence and
continues into adulthood. Diagnosis is for
adults, 18yoa.
Deceitfulness
Impulsivity
Lack of remorse
Consistent irresponsibility
Reckless disregard for safety of self or others
Conduct disorder
The juvenile version of APD
Learning theory
Some believe that delinquency is learned
behavior
Learning is both psychological as well as a
social process
Classical conditioning
We learn by connecting a stimulus with a
response
Pavlov’s dogs
Modeling
We model or imitate behavior
BF Skinner
Operant conditioning is controlled by the
consequences of the behavior
Consequences that increase the behavior are
reinforcers
Praise
Money
Consequences that decrease behavior are
punishers
Parental or peer disapproval
Arrest
Punishment