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Labelling theory and youth crime
Labelling on juvenile delinquents
Personality disorders related to psychopathy
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These youth have been convicted of dangerous crimes such as rape, murder, arson, burglary, and numerous other offenses. Commonly, the correctional system of America is more into warehousing criminals and focusing on the punishments of the crime; not focusing towards rehabilitation or treatment to attempt to fix the criminal and their behaviors that cause these actions. This particular youth facility was one of the very few to use different forms of aggressive rehabilitation to treat each juvenile. With different types of therapists working at Giddings, there are as many unique treatment sessions to be offered for each offender. During “Part One: The Boys,” Hubner begins discussing how the staff is able to identify if a student is a psychopath and unaffected by the treatment provided.
A prime example of a forensic psychology concept, psychopathy, is a television series called "Dexter". Throughout the whole show, but specifically season two episode eleven, titled "Left Turn Ahead", Dexter Morgan, the show's protagonist, represents the nature of psychopathy. Psychopathy is defined as a neuropsychiatric disorder marked by deficient emotional responses, lack of empathy, and poor behavioral controls, commonly resulting in persistent antisocial deviance and criminal behavior. In this specific episode, the main character begins to worry that his adoptive sister was showing psychopathic tendencies that may have been brought out by him.
Teenagers lack a mature frontal lobe where cognitive thought processes, emotions, and reasoning occur. Paul Thompson, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine discovered,“These frontal lobes, which inhibit our violent passions, rash actions, and regulate our emotions, are vastly immature throughout the teenage years.” Because of this biological factor, teenagers, involuntarily, act upon impulse and temporary emotions. Unlike the systematic algorithm adult murderers use, the killings from teenagers are usually abrupt, personal, disorganized, and chaotic. Most homicides by adolescents are not conducted with malice of forethought, yet they are punished to the same standard as adult killers who commit first-degree murders.
Criminal Justice Psychologist The psychologist is a vital asset to the criminal justice system. The psychologist can examine victims, police officials and various witnesses thus making them ethically obligated to make the right decisions and evaluations. This essay will discuss the roles of psychologist as they work within the criminal justice system. I will Identify and describe the psychologists’ roles within the criminal justice system as it pertains to the applied scientist, the basic scientist, the policy evaluator, and the advocate.
The social identity theory compares, categorizes, and identifies with certain groups. Memberships to specific groups are important. Elliot placed people in groups based on eye color so all of the blue eyed people tended to stick together and so did the brown eyed people. In the adult groups, the blue eyed people became defensive at times because of the way they were being treated and others stood up to defend from the same group in some instances, The Social Identity Theory is also defined by a sense of superiority to others (Myers, 326). Lacking a positive personal identity, people often seal self-esteem by identifying with a group (Myers, 327).
The developmental differences are what set an adult apart from a child. In Judging Juveniles, Aaron Kupchik argues that if we understand the psychological needs of adolescents, why do we transfer them to criminal court? In his study
For these students and me, labeling was not necessarily a negative phenomenon. However, much of the labeling that occurs in the media and in society is not positive. For
There are many children in the world who are being put behind bars and detained for alleged wrongdoing without protections they are entitled to. Throughout the world, children are charged and sentenced for actions that should not be considered as adult crimes. Here in the United States, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is age 12. Law enforcement officials and those in the juvenile justice system nationwide tend to mistreat underage individuals by trying cases while working through the lens of an adult. Unfair punishments are still handed down domestically, which is in violation of Supreme Court law.
What people don’t realize is that these children and teenagers that commit crimes, are still young and they do not have the mental ability to understand the consequences of their actions. These kids are not aware of what they are doing and are not aware of the reality of all the craziness they will face behind those adult prison bars. The youngest kids to be sent to prison was a 12 and 13 year old boy, who were convicted on January 30, 1996 of murder for dangling and dropping a 5 year old from a 14 story building. These two did this because the youngest refused to steal candy for them, the two were 10 and 11 at the time. “The use of adolescent neuroscience in the development of public policies affecting young people is a blurring of some very different issues that need to be separated: (a) what science does and does not say about brain development in adolescence; and (b) what neuroscience does and does not imply for the understanding of adolescent behavior”(Steinberg,psycnet.apa.org).
INTRODUCTION In the current media and television, Serial killers are becoming an increasingly popular Phenomenon . Movies are being made about many of them, such as “IT” which was created is in relation to John Wayne Gacy ‘ The Killer Clown’. Many professionals such as criminologist, Academics and Psychologists have been searching for reasons, as to why a person would feel the urge to engage in committing heinous crimes and sequential murders. Wright (2003) states that, very little academic attention has been focused on the childhood characteristics of serial killers.
Therefore, when a person argues that a juvenile was not aware of their crime is a discrediting claim. In 1990 in the city of Chicago, a couple expecting their first child were murdered in cold blood in the hands of a juvenile teen. The teen shot both the husband and the wife who pleaded for their lives and the life of their unborn child. Author of “Juvenile Justice Information Exchange”, Jennifer Jenkins states, “He reported to a friend, who testified at his trial, about his ‘thrill kill’ that he just wanted to ‘see what it would feel like to shoot someone’”. This killer was aware of his crime and was aware of who his victims were due to planning the murders months before.
Because there are many differing opinions as to how to deal with juveniles with juveniles who commit a crime, we need to understand the various arguments regarding this problem. For example, while many believe that juveniles should not be treated as adults if they commit capital crimes. Other research, however, shows that juveniles need to be treated as adults if they commit serious crimes and sentenced to life in prison. Being mentally challenged does not justify committing heinous crimes around the world. Jennifer Jenkins, in “ On Punishment and Teen Killers”, argues that is not a coincidence that juveniles are committing crimes everyday.
Topic: Psychopath Specific Purpose: To inform my audience on the characteristic shown by psychopath and common psychopathic behavior Central Idea: Psychopath will sometimes shows unique behavior or characteristic such as speech pattern, abnormal sexual behavior and lack of emotional control. Organisational Pattern: Topical Introduction: Attention, Look around you and look at the person next to you they might be a psychopath.
Juvenile Justice Should juveniles get treated as adults that’s one of the biggest controversy in our nation now days, with many juveniles committing crimes that are inconceivable according to their age. Judges have the last word on how to treat this young people. Many people argue that “the teens that are under eighteen are only kids, they won’t count them as young adults, not until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager this people are to call them adults” (Lundstrom 87). This is why people can’t come to a decision as how these young people should be treated like.
Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.
