Monthly Archives: July 2012

This is only part one of three of an episode from the History Channel show Gangland and it focuses on females in gangs. The video really highlights a lot of what we’ve been seeing in the assigned readings.

The women interviewed are from Compton, California, a city known for poverty and violence. This plays into the stereotype that lower classes are more likely to become involved in crime. Slyvia Nunn, one of the main women intereviewed, lived in the area when it was still predominantly white and admits to being part of the middle/upper class, becoming involved with gang activity only after the Watts riots when her dad taught her to use a gun to protect herself. I think it’s really important that the shows creators made it known that this women turned to gangs not because of her economic status.

Susan Cruz, former gang member and gang expert, says that women turn to gangs out of circumstance. Women join in order to create relationships that they are missing out on at home or because someone they are already in a relationship with (brother, father, boyfriend) has joined. This goes back to Lombroso’s belief that women are lead to commit crimes because of an excess of feminine traits. Intimacy (sexual or emotional) is a trait commonly associate with women and it is exactly what they seek in gang membership.

Cruz also mentions that some of her coworkers would rather work with male gang members than female ones. Since it’s believed that women do not generally exhibit violent or aggressive behavior, when they do no one, in this case it is rehabilitation workers, is unsure how to deal with them because their actions are so unfamiliar and scary. Female gang members admit that they are more successful at crime for that very reason, no one suspects them.

General Theory of Crime  << Click

Personally, I believe that strain, violent video, video game, internet, all have significant effects on delinquency. However, it is unable to explain the reason of the entire juvenile delinquencies as a certain one. If so, how the teenagers, who have encountered violent movies and video games, are categorized into juvenile delinquents and non- juvenile delinquents? Regarding this issue, there are a lot of theories and general principles; one of them is Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime. They believe that the entire delinquency or crimes occur accidentally and impulsively by the instant desire. They assumed the major cause of juvenile delinquencies as the low self-control. Although they believed that the low self-control is the necessity of delinquency this could not explain all with it. They also emphasized that the delinquency opportunity as another necessary condition, which is emphasizing that the juveniles with low self-control do not delinquent anytime, but in certain opportune situation. It could be said that the juveniles with low self-control do delinquencies impulsively as easily exposed to the delinquency opportunities such as; when they are likely decided as the benefits and pleasures are high enough to get through delinquencies or when supervisions of parents are loose. They observed as the self-control is formed by the nurturing method of the parents when juveniles were younger, and emphasized on the roles of parents in childhood by observing as the continuous tendency would be made after the adolescence, once self-control is formed. Eventually, the common factors of the general strain theory and the general crime theory are; the role of parents and the relationship between parents and juveniles are important, and the relationship between mother and child has a huge effect on juvenile delinquencies. That is, how juveniles were raised in what kind of environment from the parents, which is, the internal factors have the biggest effect on juvenile delinquencies and the external factors are the additional influences.

-Jaejung

https://www.ncjrs.gov/spotlight/wgcjs/summary.html

This article points out that crimes committed by females have traditionally been considered to be less of a problem that crimes committed by males, but statistics show that there is a rising trend, and therefore an area of concern. It is quick to point out that most female crimes are instances of “running away from a problem” as opposed to creating one, and that most of the crimes committed by them are non-violent.  This comment makes me think of the difference in the biology between men and women. Women and men are wired differently, and the presence and level of hormones contribute to that fact. It is generally understood that testosterone is a source of aggression-fueled behavior, and the fact that males have more of it accounts for the difference in the statistics.

In the reading for this week, LaFarge repelled her husbands advances during their honeymoon. The article points out that 92% of juvenile female offenders have been subjected to some form of phyiscal, sexual, or emotinal abuse. LaFarge saw her husband’s  advances as a problem and decided to run from it. But as serious a crime that murder is, LaFarge, in keeping with the traditional view of womanhood, poisoned him instead of violently killing him.

The present statistics do reveal a changing trend and bring more questions to the table. Should rehabilitation be more gender-specific in order to deal with the factors that lead women to commit crimes? And will there come a day when crimes will no longer be perceived as gender-specific?

In reading Social Forces by Merton I liked the chart should the paths to interpersonal aggression. Not that I feel this applies to me (or does it) but it applies to a lot of students that I mentor and speak to on a weekly basis. This happens to be the sequence of events for many students nowadays, where outside factors contribute to anger and aggression and ultimately interactions with the police. A lot of researchers fail to recognize or provide a solution for the reasons that these students have, they are always quick to diagnosis them with a behavioral issue, Attention Deficit Disorder and all other conditions. These conclusions without proper research and/or treatment cause doctors to prescribe medicine for kids that all they really need is someone to talk too. I remember a scene in my favorite show The Wire, one of the kids was acting out in his class and when he was taken to the principal’s office for them to inquire on why he was acting out he said “I went home and saw my mom sitting there in the chair not moving.” His mother was dead and that was the factor that made him act out in his class, not any disorder. Many children have outside problems that they cannot handle at home…so they bring it in to the classrooms. If there were programs set up to address those problems or the external issues with many families then there can be some progress and less anger and aggression in the classrooms and less juvenile delinquents.

Joe Wilson

In reading Social Forces by Merton I liked the chart should the paths to interpersonal aggression. Not that I feel this applies to me (or does it) but it applies to a lot of students that I mentor and speak to on a weekly basis. This happens to be the sequence of events for many students nowadays, where outside factors contribute to anger and aggression and ultimately interactions with the police. A lot of researchers fail to recognize or provide a solution for the reasons that these students have, they are always quick to diagnosis them with a behavioral issue, Attention Deficit Disorder and all other conditions. These conclusions without proper research and/or treatment cause doctors to prescribe medicine for kids that all they really need is someone to talk too. I remember a scene in my favorite show The Wire, one of the kids was acting out in his class and when he was taken to the principal’s office for them to inquire on why he was acting out he said “I went home and saw my mom sitting there in the chair not moving.” His mother was dead and that was the factor that made him act out in his class, not any disorder. Many children have outside problems that they cannot handle at home…so they bring it in to the classrooms. If there were programs set up to address those problems or the external issues with many families then there can be some progress and less anger and aggression in the classrooms and less juvenile delinquents.

LOVE STORY SHEDS LIGHT

A lot of people stigmatize people with disabilities, be it physical, mental or an emotional disability. We tell ourselves that they arent like us and dont see the world the same way we see the world. A lot of the time people with disabilities are often made fun of, ridiculed and judged as being “not normal” and not being able to fulfill everyday task like the rest of us when in all reality they are not that different. “Stigma and Social Identity”shows the world in the perspective of a few people with disabilities in an attempt to show the world that just because physically or emotionally they dont think like us they still share similar thought process which makes them no more disabled than the next person.

One example from the reading is the one legged girl who fell. She had many people come to her aid. though this seems like a regular act of kindness she saw it as  people coming to help the “poor girl with one leg” she felt like they completed disregarded the fact that she was knocked down by “a wild bronco” automatically blaming the fact that she only had one leg. In the link above tells of a woman who sets out to change the thought of how people see others with disabilities mainly because her sister has a disability. She says she hopes one day people will be able to see someone with down syndrom bagging groceries at a market for some extra cash like any other person and instead of judging them see them as just a normal person.

This video discusses the problem of juvenile crime on the rise is Mobile, Alabama. Although the video is from 2009, I did further research and found that this continues to be a problem today. This month, July 2012, “FOX10 has reported on violent teenage crime, including a 15-year-old accused of shooting his 16-year-old girlfriend in the face” and “16-year-old Kendall Howard was also arrested and charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting another teen on Althea drive.” Juvenile crime has continued to be a big issue in the society of Mobile County. The judge who discusses this problem, judge Namon, says it is mainly due to lack of parenting and parental vigilance and involvement.  This is often the case for minors that become involved in crime. If a child is not being attended to, not being cared for and not being supported by their home, they will find another source for that support. Often times this leads them to the streets and succumbing to peer pressures that get them involved in crime, amongst other possible activities such as drug use.

Although I agree with the judges view on that point, something he says leaves a big question as to what are the institutions of that society doing to fight this problem? Judge Namon says that “almost all serious crimes committed by minors start with the child being arrested for possession of a gun, the child is later arrested for robbery and down the line, murder.” If this is a trend that is seen, something is wrong with the institutions of Mobile that enable a minor to even gain possesion of a gun, and to then be free to go on to commit robbery and even murder. These minors that are arrested for weapon possession should be rehabilitated and/or their family situation should be looked into in order to prevent that child from committing crimes in the future.

Every year young adults are found involved in drug trafficking. When people think of criminal youth they will easily associate the crime made by an abandon kid without guidance, but sadly that is no longer the case. According to Gabriel Tarde in”Criminal Youth”, attending school can prevent delinquency but now a kid that is or isn’t in school can be involve in drug trafficking whatever their reasons are. Young adults  starting from their early teens are earning thousands each month, some even self-employed selling drugs.

The article “Ohio police: Teen ran drug ring that grossed $20,000 a month” states a 17 year old student was under investigation since he was 15 years old for selling drugs outside school property. This 17 year old boy had his own employees and even demanded them that selling within school property was not allowed. According to officials, the 17 year old whose name wasn’t given because he is a juvenile, is an intelligent kid who wouldn’t be written down as a criminal. At  the top of the drug chain were four older adults who basically hired teenagers to run their business. Are young adults in the line of illegal employment? It certainly seems like it is due to the fact that  teenagers consume drugs on a daily basis. That brings another social problem that America is facing, consumption of drug use from young adults. Just like the cycle of life, this seems to be the cycle of crime influenced by social factors. Social factors being glorification of crime by the media, peer pressure, money, or lack of a descent environment. It seems to me this cycle of crime involves social factor influence, drug trafficking of elders and the youth, consumption of drugs, increase of crime, police enforcement (jobs for cops, jail time, juvenile programs) and lastly the affect it has on the economy.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/17/justice/ohio-teen-drug-bust/index.html

I have read this research study about delinquency. According to this article, there are two types of delinquencies. They are classified into two categories, overt and covert delinquency. Overt delinquency refers to violent offences such as attacking someone with or without a weapon, threatening, murder, and rape. Covert delinquency refers to non-aggressive acts such as shoplifting; pick pocketing, arson, vandalism and selling drugs. Overt aggressive and more serious offences are more common in early delinquents. They are characterized by problems more from their childhood. There has been a study that shown the link between father and mother parenting to adolescent’s delinquency may differ for several reasons. The quantity of time the parents spend with their children is an important factor in their lives and also there are indications that parental involvement is also based on qualitatively different how a child will grow up later on. Covert non-aggressive delinquency on the other hand is found more often in non-persistent adolescent delinquents who have relatively normal backgrounds. In this research they have mentioned about the gender, that males are more involved in delinquent behaviors than female are. The reason for this is because males may be more vulnerable to risk factors for delinquency such as inadequate parenting than females. As mentioned before, it is important on the quantity and qualitatively of time the parents spend time with their children from the beginning of their childhood, it all depends on them. Also, it has been said that the longer antisocial fathers live with their families, the higher the risk for their children’s antisocial behavior and also a possibility that children have the tendency to model the behavior of the parent with the same sex. It is important for parents to talk to their children and have a good relationship with them in order to prevent delinquency later on because it all begins at an early age.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2708328/

Addressing the problem of juvinile bullying

This is from U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs – Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. It talks about bullying can create criminals and criminal activities. It stats in schools, when bigger kids pray on the little or weak ones. Bullying can be expressed in 3 forms: Physical, verbal, and psychological. Bullying takes place more in males than females. It usually starts in emelentary grades, and persists in high school. In the United States, the NICHD (National Institute of Child Health Development) reported that 1.6 million children in 6-10 grades are bullied at least once a week, and 1.7 million children are the bullies. Some efects of bullism for the bullies it is hard to make social adjustments and unable to make friends. For the victims is the humiliations, lost of self essteem, and insecurity. These issues can continue until adulthood for the victims. Victims can suffer from depression or have mental health issues such as schizophrenia, and suicide.

Bullying behavior is linked to antisocial behavior such as vandalism, fighting, use of drugs, shoplifting, vandalism, etc.

Professor Dan Olweus in Norway and Sweden suggests: ” bullying can lead to criminal behavior later in life: 60 percent of males who were bullies in grades 6 through 9 were convicted of at least one crime as adults, compared with 23 percent of males who did not bully; 35 to 40 percent of these former bullies had three or more convictions by age 24, compared with 10 percent of those who did not bully.”

SO, What causes kids to bully?. It is said that starts at HOME with the PARENTS. Bullies usually are physical abused at home, or see any type of violence within family members, or they don’t have any attention or love from their parents. So they need to take their stress to others.

why do some children become bullies?

Maria Leon