Neutralization In Criminal Justice

Many of the nation’s officials believe that criminals do not think about possible punishment when they commit a crime. Rational choice theory is linked to deterrence theory; it came into play after rehabilitation was ineffective, and this theory grew out of the same utilitarian philosophy as deterrence (Pacotti, 2005). Rational choice theory can be defined as a person reasons before taking an action, also balancing the cost and benefits of the situation. The focus is upon situational opportunities, and victim factors (Gordon, 2010). The model consists of individuals desire utility (e.g. happiness, wealth), operating within their means individuals attempt achieve their desired goals, the rational choice is the one that obtains desired goals (e.g., the most utility) for the lowest cost (Pacotti, 2005). It fails to explain expressive non economically motivated criminal activity such as vandalism (Burke, 2009). The policy that links these two theories together is boot camps, and scared straight for young offenders scare tactics, also disciplining their behaviour. “Programs like correctional camps are to act as deterrence to first-time offenders from offending again. Incapacitation means confinement, restricting the offenders' freedom and activities. Rehabilitation works through physical military type training and educational awareness about a variety of issues facing teens today. Punishment is giving

The school to prison pipeline continues to be one of the huge issues in an education system. In 1990s, zero-tolerance policies, which is “a strict enforcement of regulations and bans against undesirable behaviors or possession of items” (“zero”), have been adopted in various education system in the U.S. The purpose of these zero-tolerance policies was to prevent minor crimes that could become serious crimes, such as violation, murder, negligence, terrorism and more. Thus, many students get prosecuted and sent into the juvenile justice system because of this policy. Under this circumstance, schools should accept exception and consider the reason why they broke the rule. Also, students should not be given heavy punishments

A number of studies do, in fact, find that young people do seek justification before engaging in delinquent behavior (Siegel and Welsh, 2015). But Ronald Akers (1997) asserts that adherence to neutralizing attitudes has been found to be moderately related to delinquent and criminal behavior. Akers suggests that while there is support for the theory it may be because neutralization attitudes dispose individuals to violating the law – instead of offering rationalizations for committing delinquent acts.

Schools that are low performing have the highest rates of suspension and expulsion and the lowest graduation rates. According to Mississippi Today, “the dropout rate for students fell slightly to 11.8 percent in 2016, the lowest in five years.” If I were to eliminate funding as a barrier, zero tolerance policies would still exist- especially in public school systems in the South, amidst people of color. Zero tolerance policies are obstacles put in place for small infractions performed by students, which can lead to disciplinary actions such as: corporal punishment, detention, and suspension. These small infractions may be in the form of getting up without permission, excessive talking, etc. Schools should offer more alternative measures, which counsel students on their misbehavior and give the student an opportunity to amend his or her actions. These methods fall under a restorative justice model. Community organizations, like Nollie Jenkins Family Center, have proposed alternatives such as peer mediation and conflict resolution to help keep youth in a learning environment, off the streets, and away from a life of crime. A case study performed by Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program, discovered that after counseling students for infraction their number of juvenile arrests and suspension “dropped by 54%.” This could potentially be a catalyst in bending the moral arc in the direction of justice,

Juvenile delinquents have created a subculture that provides them with motives, reasons, and justifications that enable them to account for their involvement in proscribed activities. Within this subculture they have developed a rational to justify their misdeeds, during times when they are brought under scrutiny by police, courts etc. For instance, when youth engage in a crime, and are charged with a criminal offense, they deny their involvement. What youth fail to realize, is that as they engage in criminal acts, they disrupt the fabric of society.

Many schools implement the concept of restorative justice, in particular; Good Shepherd Catholic College Mount Isa. The college implements restorative justice in their disciplinary system, they’ve created a new process in dealing with misbehavior through the Responsible Thinking Process (RTP). This process allows the the students to identify what's wrong in their behavior and gives them a chance to reflect upon this. The student is first warned when they misbehave then the teacher proceeds to give them a second chance to correct said behavior after a warning. If the student continues to misbehave, the teacher will go through the responsible thinking process in which they ask “What are you doing? What should you be doing? Where will you go if this continues to happens again?” This allows the students to take responsibility for their actions and think about their wrongdoings which allows them to correct themselves. This is more effective than sending a student away and punishing them, because without verbally addressing the issue, they don’t understand the repercussions of their actions and will often re-offend. If the student then chooses to misbehave again they will be sent to The Responsible Thinking Classroom (RTC), in which they will have to further reflect on their actions. Once this process has occurred, they then have to negotiate with their teachers about returning to the class and what they have to do, in order to be allowed in. (Good Shepherd Catholic College, 2017)

One of the keys to success for the criminal justice system is the effective use of deterrence. General deterrence is a style of deterrence that punishment for offenders that is conducted in order to prevent other individuals in society from committing a similar crime. The United States criminal justice system is designed to benefit from the positive effects of a deterrence model in the court sentencing system. An article published in the 2015 Minnesota Law Review discussing the key components to deterrence stated, “Key to deterrence is a belief on the part of the person being deterred (1) that prohibited behavior will be detected and (2) that an immediate, negative consequence is certain to accompany any detected violation” (Klingele, p. 1633).

In my opinion on a theory that out of all the theories we have learned, the rational choice theory is a good theory to juvenile delinquency. “Rational choice theory and its assumptions about human behavior have been integrated into several criminological theories and criminal justice interventions. Rational choice theory originated during the late 18th century with the work of Cesare Beccaria. Since then, the theory has been expanded upon and extended to include other perspectives, such as deterrence, situational crime prevention, and routine activity theory. The rational choice perspective has been applied to a wide range of crimes, including robbery, drug use, vandalism, and white-collar crime”.

However, not all theories this subject offers can be applied with a sociological standpoint due to the psychological effects a student undergoes experiencing a harsh policy. Literature provided in support constantly reminds the community about the disparities, the gender factors, minorities, socioeconomic levels, and the ever-growing barriers. Recently, research is further exclaiming the crisis America’s public education system is undergoing. It is becoming apparent how the rise of suspensions and expulsions in middle schools, further affects the future decisions a student makes (Losen, Skiba 2010); further in, the role reversal from being a student to becoming criminal/prisoner. Hence, the research is pure. It further examines and exclaims the damage, zero-tolerance policies have in the education system and students; further on, the penetration into the criminal justice system. Overall, there is a deficit on the in-depth explanations why and what are the internal/external factors that continuously push a student to fail, and further on becoming a number in the criminal justice

The criminal justice response to crime begins when a crime is reported to the police or the police

When students feel respected and protected, studies have shown that they are less likely to participate in illegal activities. According to Celia Vimont 2013, “students attending school with positive school congrats were 15 percent less likely to start smoking cigarettes, and 20 percent less likely to start using marijuana.” Probable cause creates an environment where students are not subject to random searches. Searching suggests an antagonistic relationship full of mistrust. An institute with such a negative connotation is not where drug use will decrease. According to Celia Vimont 2013, “students who attend schools where they feel respected, who have already started smoking, escalate their smoking at a slower rate than their peers at schools with less positive atmospheres.” Evidently, respect is very important in a school in order to promote and raise students who are our future. Probable cause encompasses

The zero tolerance policy has become a national controversy in regards to the solid proven facts that it criminalizes children and seems to catch kids who have no intention of doing harm. Although, there has been substantial evidence to prove that the policies enforced in many schools have gone far beyond the extreme to convict children of their wrongdoing. The punishments for the act of misconduct have reached a devastating high, and have pointed students in the wrong direction. Despite the opinions of administrators and parents, as well as evidence that zero tolerance policies have deterred violence in many public and private schools, the rules of conviction and punishment are unreasonable and should be modified.

Lawmakers and criminal justice personnel are meant to be guarded against prejudiced laws, policies and practices and to enforce equal and effective protection of the law to everyone (Findlay, Odgers and Yeo, 1994). However, if justice is indeed blind, why is it that police are relentlessly targeting Aboriginal people and why are they severely overrepresented in the criminal justice system of Australia? The disconcerting truth is that racial policing does happen in our criminal justice system. This paper accentuates how certain groups in society such as the Aboriginals or indigenous people have been discriminated against somehow or another by the police or by the criminal justice system itself; particularly directed towards the issues of overrepresentation, over-policing, and under-policing.

Firstly, the school environment plays a pivotal role in the creation of delinquents. Through the use of techniques such as streaming, schools are able to categorize students into different groupings: strong, average or weak, based on their capabilities. “Different labels are attached to students that causes them to be treated differently by their teachers thus making their school experience different” (Haralambos & Holborn, 2008), suggest that successful students are more favoured and are treated better than unsuccessful students. Educators overlook the reasons for academic failure that maybe directly related to the teaching methods employed or learning disabilities like dyslexia that both can impede on an individual’s ability to learn. Instead

The Criminal Justice System goes as far back as the days of Jesus. There were Soldiers who acted like policeman, the tribune which was the court system, and Caesar, Herod and even Pontius Pilate stood as judge. The prison system was that of dark caves and dungeons. As we journey to the twenty-first century, nothing has genuinely changed. In my essay I will explicate how the various aspect of criminal justice relate to one another as well as why it so important in society. Criminal Justice refers to the facet of social justice that concern violators of criminal law. The