Criminals Play Summary

In “True Notebook” written by Mark Salzman, the author states his own experiences at a Juvenile Hall. Salzman was stuck in a book he was trying to write. In order to help him find research material, his friend took him to a Juvenile Hall and wanted him to help teenagers who were in Juvenile Hall with writing. During the period when Mark taught in Juvenile Hall, not only did he meet lots of teenagers, but also, he knew some people, such as Sister Janet, and some of the guards. Mark, Sister Janet, and some of the guards treated the inmates of Juvenile Hall as their friends and their children. They helped humanize the inmates of Juvenile Hall and made the inmates feel that they still have mental freedom, and their lives still have hope.

The focus of this paper will be on two contemporary criminological theories and their application to the crime film, Eastern Promises. The two theories to be discussed, and subsequently applied to the film, are labelling theory and differential association theory. Labelling theory falls under the symbolic interactionist approach, and the primary level of analysis of this theory is micro, as it tends to focus on the effect of labels on an individual’s sense of “self”. The basis of labelling theory is that no act is inherently deviant; it is only when the act is labelled deviant that it becomes so. When someone is labelled as deviant, they begin to see themselves as the label they have been assigned. This can cause the behaviour to happen more frequently, as the individual who has been labelled begins to see themselves as they label they have been given. A criticism of labelling theory is that it lacks empirical validity, and is deterministic. There is no way to effectively test this theory, so there is no way to know for sure how accurate the concept of labelling is and the effect it has on an individual and their propensity towards criminality. This and other aspects of labelling theory will be broken down and discussed later on in the paper.

Just as Conover explains and reveals, it takes years to become a professional in the field. Reading Conover’s text, gives a lot of important information and was something unique that I haven't read before. Before reading New Jack, I didn't imagine that working in a prisons could be so difficult. Hearing the information from someone that has experienced prisons in the United States and the ways facilities, corrections officers, and inmates function with one another, has helped me get a better

There are several steps to the criminal justice system, one of them is Probation; a program where the offender’s freedom is limited; usually they have a curfew, and have limits on the things they do. Probations Officers are a huge factor in getting the juvenile offender back on the right track following their sentence. One of the problems with probation is that rather than helping the offenders, sometimes it can hurt them. Some scholars argue that the officers do not take the juveniles, specifically females, seriously when it comes to referring them to receive mental health treatment. In contrast, other scholars argue that Probation Officers are the key to connecting the offenders with mental health care. I will begin by talking about how the gender of the juvenile contributes to the unjust treatment of juveniles on probation, then I will talk about probation officers as “the problem,” and lastly I will talk about a solution. I will conclude by stating my research question and making some contributions as to what can be done to build a stronger relationship between the offenders and the probation officers.

In the literature, mentoring programs are often advocated as an effective intervention in helping young offenders in fostering one-to-one relationships (a young offender with a caring adult) and in connecting them to promising education and employment opportunities upon their release Supporters of this view highlight that positive relationship with caring adults strengthens the protective factors which help young offenders to overcome structural and institutional hurdles to having healthy and productive lives. Keating,

After reading the book I have gained a new understanding of what inmates think about in prison. Working in an institution, I have a certain cynical attitude at times with inmates and their requests.

He explained that many of the people that he face in doing his job make it especially hard to compartmentalize convicts characteristics and charges versus the fact that they are nonetheless human beings – and with that must be treated accordingly. Of course, there is extensive training prior to becoming an active employee. Training continues on the job after the fact. Initially, he found it the most difficult to know that some of these inmates were child molesters and rapists, and he was, by law required to treat every inmate professionally and equally. In addition, in order to gain the respect needed from each inmate he had to first show them respect. Earning their trust was the key to

I had the pleasure interviewing Ms. Sabrina Anderson. Ms. Anderson is a Probation Counselor II at Foundations Residential Facility in Fairfax, Virginia. Foundations Residential Facility counsels young women between ages of 12-18 who are mandated by Fairfax Juvenile Court System due to various offences. Most of the women were victims of sexual and drug abuse. There are six residents at the facility whose probation period ranges from eight to twelve months long. The maximum number of ladies that are allowed is twelve: each counselor has two clients. The residents are required to stay at the facility for a week and then may go home on the weekends if they well behaved. In the beginning, Ms. Anderson and her client will come up with a plan/agenda

After touring both the Pendleton maximum security prison, and the Pendleton juvenile correctional facility I can say that while they both house inmates, the way they treat their inmates is totally different compared to one another. In Pendleton maximum facility, the staff would treat their inmates like any other criminal and hold them until it was time for them to be released, while in the Pendleton juvenile facility the staff called the inmates “students” while holding them until they believe the students are ready to behave when they are released. In this paper I want to explain how both facilities handles their inmates differently, the facilities themselves and their layouts, the rehabilitative programs available at both facilities, and how the security levels and the number of inmates assigned to the facilities effect how the treatment is implemented at each facility.

At any given time, a single corrections officer, can expect to be outnumbered by upwards of 400 inmates (Conover, 2011). It can be chilling to work in the midst of hundreds of inmates, some of which initiate attacks and inappropriate relationships. However, other issues have impacted the psychological health and physical safety of the staff. Detrimental factors have included heavy workloads, the prisons physical structure, and a lack of support from both peers and superiors. Each workplace issue has been in addition to role problems, specifically role ambiguity and role conflict (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2011). It is believed that anyone of these undesirable facets of prison should be enough to deter the public from attempting to enter such

An interesting article written by Alison Knezevich for The Baltimore Sun entitled “After Jail Scandal, Spotlight on Growing Role of Women Officers” tells of accounts and experiences some women have had working in corrections. The article specifically discusses the experiences of two women, Ashley Riley and Shantel Lyons, had as a corrections officer at the Baltimore City Detention Center supermax prison. The article discusses different aspects of the prison from the dark dingy environment, corruption, manipulation, gangs, and relationships all the way to pay and

My thoughts have not changed after reading the first chapter of the book. Actually, I feel like they are now stronger than ever. The study of philosophy is essential for those who, like me, want to have a deeper view of what life is. Something that is in constant motion, ever changing, and always a wonderful

As an illustration, Watson (1982) conducted a study on prisoners using concepts and premises of dramaturgy to analyze prisoners’ self-portrayal. Watson found prisoners generally cons and manipulate to influence judgments and responses of others. Goffman refers this technique as a cynical performer. Prisoners who cons are essentially people who are motivated by self-interest and distrustful. Con and manipulation obviously displays the non-commitment to the personality. Ultimately, prisoners who are willing to say or do anything for this behavior style, their desired goal is for an earlier release. However, it is argued that prisoners have no choice but to pretend and deceive the staff in order to survive in the institution. Prisoners are convinced

It made me start reflecting on the things I have been exposed to since childhood to ascertain whether any of them has had a direct or indirect influence on my perceptions and assumptions. To my surprise, I realized that the things I have been exposed to has played a very great role in the perceptions and assumptions I have. For example, I grew up in a city where every social amenity exists and I thought that is how the world is and everybody elsewhere is benefiting from the same experience. On the contrary, it was very surprise when I moved to a nearby village one day to realize that things I perceive as common or normal does not even exist at their place. Also, since I was born into a Christian family, I was nurtured with the Christian faith and that was all what available to me until I grew up and started reading books. Before then, only the Christian beliefs were what I knew and what I thought exist but I discovered others through books and meeting new people as

This book didn't really change my thinking, it was more of a reminder that you need to be aware of what you are taught. At the time of a huge election for our country, you really need to be aware of what is true and what is fake or you could be voting for the wrong candidate. Also, if people around you lie to try and get you to vote for the person they are, you could get changed to a person you don't