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COURSE: GLOBAL STUDIES IIYEAR: 2015

University of South East- Asia

Chapter 3 Social Behaviour

UNIT 2 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

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Three Methods of Punishment Due to the increasing rate of

juvenile crimes committed in the U.S., the government has come up with some unusual solutions to the said crimes.

Three examples of methods of punishment are the following:

Teen Court Curfew Parental Punishment

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Teen CourtThe idea about the teen court is to

subject the teenage law offender to a court where everybody is teens just like them.

The jury are teens, the judge is a teen, the lawyers are teens, and of course: the defendant is a teen.

What is the reason for this? To make all teens be aware of

the seriousness of committing crimes.

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Teen CourtThe main objective of this type of

court is to serve as an “eye-opener” for juvenile offenders.

If everybody could see the harsh consequences of their wrong actions, they would think twice before engaging in such activities

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Teen CourtCase in point: A 16-year-old defendant

shoplifted a tube of lipstick, now she’s subjected to the trial of her guilt.

If she would plead guilty, her punishment would be lighter.

If she denied the charges against her, but would found guilty later on: the punishment would be harsher.

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Teen CourtIn teen courts, bad attitude is a

serious offense:sleeping during the session“dissing” (disrespecting) the court is punishable

Teen courts are not “Mickey Mouse”courts – everything is serious

There are more than 50 teen courts existing around the U.S.

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Teen CourtPOSSIBLE PUNISHMENTS:For shoplifting a lipstickPerform 48 hours of community

service attend an anti-theft class write a 1,000- word essay serve on a teen court jury

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Teen CourtCONTROVERSY:Teen courts are not a guarantee

to change the behaviors of teens Legal experts criticize whether

teen courts are really fair to defendants because sometimes the punishments are too harsh

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CurfewNew Orleans, Louisiana14-year-old boys spray gunfire in

to the nightTeenage girls vomit in the street

after a night of heavy drinkingThe police arrested two 17-year-

olds and a 16-year-old in a motel room full of stolen goods

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CurfewWhat is a curfew?Curfew is the directive of the

government ordering teenagers to get off the street and must be indoors by 8 P.M. on school nights and by 11 P.M. on Friday and Saturdays

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CurfewThe police say the curfew has

produced dramatic resultsRounded up teenagers: 3,900Decrease in rate:

Criminal activities

Percentage

Juvenile murdersRape

Armed robbery Car theft

33 %67 %33 %42 %

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Curfew 59 out of 77 largest cities in the

U.S. are implementing curfew Offenders are either taken in to

detention, handed a citation (like a parking ticket) and escorted home

Law enforcement groups say that curfew is successful in curbing the rate of crimes

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CurfewCONTROVERSY: criticism from teens, parents,

and civil liberties advocates parents and their kids complain

that curfews get in the way of after-school jobs, social activities, and athletics

civil liberties groups say that curfew violate the right to peaceful assembly

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Parental Punishment15-year-old Jeremiah Beck

shoplifted a bottle of cologneHe got off scot-free.His mother didn’t.

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Parental PunishmentAnita Beck went to court for

Jeremiah’s mistake because of failing to supervise her son.

In Silverton, Oregon, they passed a law where parents will be the ones responsible for their kids’ wrongdoings.

POSSIBLE SENTENCE:Fine of $1,000 and attendance to

“parent effectiveness” classes for minor crimes.

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Parental Punishment The law was recently adopted

statewide for being effective Juvenile crime in Silverton has

dropped 55% Parents are now making sure

that their children are well-controlled by them

Getting the parents to be actively involved in the consequences of their kids’ actions is deemed effective

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Parental PunishmentCONTROVERSY: Many parents claim it’s

unconstitutional to charge one person for someone else’s crimes

These parents say that it’s too much government intrusion into families’ lives.

A guilty parent would soon appeal to a higher court where this law would be judged as unconstitutional.

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Parental Punishment17- year-old Scott, who was found

guilty of drinking beer and his mother is stuck in court says:

The government’s trying to be my dad, and

it’s not right!