Jamie is a 14-year-old junior high school student in Dallas, TX. She tries to maintain good grades, but usually is satisfied with a “C” average in most of her course work. She has no real plans for college and really does not know what she wants to do with her life. Her mom and dad are divorced and she lives with her mother and two brothers. Jamie has several girlfriends, but no steady boyfriends. She is not active in extracurricular school events, but does attend the nearby Baptist Church where she engages in various youth activities. Last week, Jame and one of her girlfriends were arrested for shoplifting. They were caught placing two Britney Spears CDs in their purses. When questioned by store security, Jamie concluded that this was her first time ever being in trouble, and that it was her girlfriend’s idea to steal the CDs. Jamie’s case is referred to the local Teen Corut. Labeling theorists have argued that simply doing nothing about most juvenile first offenders would be the best course of action–do you think that is feasible for our society now? Why or why
Below is the response I need a 200 word reply to for the assignment. Only reply to whats below in 200 words please.
I believe that there is no straightforward answer to this. Each case of juvenile delinquency should be examined and looked at based on circumstances, such as the degree of crime and potential risk factors. But if the system does nothing after an offense, it can make it look as if they are doing no actions protect others.
Barrett and Katsiyannis (2016) claimed that, “juvenile offenses is greatest in the late teen years and diminishes as the individual moves through early adulthood.,” (p. 1094). This fact supports the labeling theory argument because if crime tends to go down with age, then a free pass could help those who are “good,” without something on their record. Paretta (2018) mentioned that “the disposition of courts and the amount of time a juvenile spends within the criminal justice system also has an impact on whether he or she will commit future crimes,” (p. 142). For example, the thought of entering this system could act as a scare tactic, preventing the person from committing criminal behavior. However, someone could keep reoffending if they are surrounded by less than favorable influences and/or given a bad label (thief, crack head, etc). The label could lead to a self fulfilling prophecy, which could turn the person into what they are called.
But it is important to note that criminal behavior can be due to biological, sociological and psychological factors. Because of this, doing nothing the first time could probably have no effect on those who are having troubles in those areas. I think a more effective approach would be intervention, since being locked up does not solve the issues that need to be corrected. And if a juvenile offender goes on to commit a major crime, after being dismissed for a more minor one, there could be major backlash for the courts and law enforcement for not taking preventative measures the first time. But not all crimes can be predicted or prevented.
I think that the best route would be to not let youth get off the hook all the time, but instead use discretion on a case by case scenario.
Now with Jamie’s case, I do not know what I would do unless I met her and knew more about her. Punishments work differently on different people, and by understanding her and what happened, the root issue can be tackled.
