Week 5 --in Class Hw

Week 5 -- In class

Chapter 1 Question 6

Should juveniles who commit felonies such as rape or robbery be treated as adults?

I think that juveniles should be charged as adults if an adult crime is committed. In the constitution it states that it’s not appropriate for a child under 16 to receive capital punishment; which I agree with completely. I think that things that can be handled efficiently for that age group. Something realistic would be serving in a juvenile facility until turning 18 and then deciding what to do then. In some cases the charges are dropped and they are released from custody. If the child understands that what was done was wrong and can be held responsible, than they should be charged like an adult would.

Chapter 3 Question 2

How would you apply psychodynamic theory to delinquent acts such as shoplifting or breaking and entering a house?

According to the psychodynamic theory there are 3 major components; id, ego and superego. If one of the personality’s become dominant, (such as id) that can cause an unbalance in decision making. So if a juvenile is shoplifting or B&E, the pleasure seeking component (id) is dictating the needs and wants. When ego and superego do correspond with id the child’s life could potentially be morally balanced. Imbalanced components have been the results of childhood traumatic situations and can cause long term psychological difficulties. The superego is what directs the right and wrong morals that are taught by parents and interaction with other adults, so lack of connection and social interaction will lead to poor judgment skills. Later in life, aggression may be shown along with lack of emotion.

Chapter 4 Question 4

How does poverty cause delinquency?

People who live in poverty are more likely to suffer from low self-esteem, depression, and loneliness. It makes sense that people at the lowest point of the economic status will have the greatest motive to commit crimes. They are angry because of the lack of finances, and they are desperate or sometimes delusional for the essentials. With the rapid advance of technology today presented to kids, it can be frustrating if they lack the social and educational training that they need. Not to mention, it may seem dangerous but also appealing to join the life of delinquency. A lack of moving up may make drug dealing and other crimes seem socially acceptable; especially when youth groups and gangs are free to wander the neighbors. Being detached from the social world may increase the risk of joining a recruiting gang, for both boys and girls.

Chapter 5 Question 3

Do you believe there is a latent trait that makes a person delinquency prone, or is delinquency a function of environment and socialization?

I believe that there are both biological and psychological traits that will cause someone to be prone to delinquency. I also think that it can fall under the category of environment and socialization; most children are products of their environment. I believe that genetics can play a role in why people are prone to delinquency; you can’t fight bad genes. Psychological has more of an influence because it’s what you are, it’s what you have encountered. Lacking in self-control will increase the chance of bad decision making, unfortunately the risk of being born with it is there. If a baby is born and there is lack of oxygen and nutrition, the risk is there. Impulses are a side effect of lacking self-control, they don’t take in the factor of other people’s feelings; they are very here and now.

Chapter 7 Question 3

What are the meanings of the terms child abuse and child neglect?

In most cases, child abuse and child neglect will both be present. Neglecting a child would refer to depriving your child of their basic needs; food, shelter, health care, love. Abusing a child would be showing aggression towards a child, sometimes to the point where they need medical attention. Some forms of abuse and neglect can take form of both physical and emotional; which often leads to abandonment. Children who suffer from abuse and neglect are in danger of making unhealthy decision later in life for themselves. Showing concern about family life has increased because of reports that many children are physically abused or neglected by their parents and that this has serious consequences for their behavior over the life course.

Define the term General Deterrence

General deterrence is a way of influencing the crime flow by presenting an example of what the end results of their actions may be. The main concept of general deterrence is making it clear to everyone that the crime is not worth what the punishment is going to be. By setting examples, these crime shouldn’t be committed at all if they were thinking about the end result. A majority of people who commit crime have no intentions of being caught for what they did, which should deter even more knowing that the risk of getting caught is outstanding.