Jeffery Jeffery Shook Summary

A research article written by Jeffery J Shook, an Associate Professor and Doctoral Program Director of Sociology at University of Pittsburgh, provides a detailed analysis of the policy and practices that allow an easy transfer of youth into adult courts. The study examines the delinquent behavior of youth as viewed by the society and the nature of transfer policy and how it has impacted juveniles since its creation. Shook looks into the race and ethnicity of juveniles and reveals that juveniles of color experience the consequences of transfer the most. As stated in the article by Shook (2005), “these disparities are justified by the assertion that children of color commit a disproportionate amount of violent and serious juvenile crime” (pg.

Shook argues that this assertion ignores the correlation between poverty and crime. Children of color experience the gap between the rich and poor, and are frequently exposed to crime whilst living in underprivileged communities where there is lack of community policing. Shook also explains that the public in general is more accepting of transferring youth into adult courts based on experiences with racial minorities or the presumption that youth of color are naturally prone to do crime at a greater scale. This presumption is often referred as the ‘super predator threat’ in the article, which undermines that the youth are now criminally charged for longer periods of time and are deemed as dangerous to the society. Shook encourages a need for ‘rethinking transfer’ of juveniles and argues for youth development rather than social control. Shook argues for its importance as the youth are still developing by what they experience and their social