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Justice: articles

Murray, in the article, Typologies of young resisters and desisters, Murray (2009) looked at what makes young people resist engaging in criminal activities, and why it is necessary to rehabilitee the criminal offenders. The author argued that there are innocent’s resisters who resist crime because of negative ramifications of the act and the streetwise resisters who can engage in crime and survive because of their experience. The article focuses on how to help the reformed characters and quasi-resisters to overcome the resister identities and be reformed.

I agree with Murray. Assisting the juvenile offenders grow out of their bad ways of crime should be encouraged. The role of the criminal justice is to help the offenders recover and reform. Helping the juvenile offenders becomes crime ‘desisters’ form the basis for building secure and safer neighborhoods and communities.

The author argued that there should restrain and no physical force when handling juveniles. The young offenders should be treated with a less amount of force than their adult counterparts, for the obvious reason that their physical system is still fragile in a way (Steinberg, 2005).

According to Murray, isolation times for juvenile offenders are also shortened in contrast to adults. Close observation and monitoring are usually encouraged in most delinquents, as opposed to the isolation that is imposed in adult offenders (Murray, 2009). In the agreement to this, I believed that juvenile crimes now encompass a significant proportion of the criminal activities in totality. The Juvenile offenders require special handling compared to their adult counterparts. This is due to the fact criminal behavior at this period is not necessarily continued into adulthood. They are considered to be in the formative period. Hence, rehabilitation is more essential for use among juvenile offenders than adults. There are variations and differences that exist in the programs utilized for juvenile and adult offenders. These differences exist in terms of staff expertise, environment, restraints and force use, education offered, work and access to inmates.

I also concur with the author on the argument that the staff that handles the juvenile cases needs to be specially trained. Handling adult offenders is much different from handling delinquents. Juvenile offenders are difficult to deal with. They are volatile despite their young age. A different level of expertise is, therefore, required for those who are to deal with juvenile offenders. They should receive special training so as to be able to handle the variations in behavior that is found between the above two groups.

The author called for the creation of proper environmental conditions for the young offenders to help them reform. I agree. The juveniles require sound environmental conditions. Juveniles in custody should be provided with supplies that are adequate for optimal hygiene levels. They should be given more opportunities for showering and change of clothes. This is for the obvious reasons that their immune system is highly susceptible to opportunistic infections as opposed to adults. It is in the same line of thoughts that children are usually supplied with balanced diets, and in some places, snacks at night. Food should never withhold from children because of disciplinary reasons as compared to the adult offenders. Adults wear specific uniforms when in custody, while juveniles may be allowed to wear clothes that are similar to those worn by those in the community.

According to Murray (2009), all juvenile offenders have access to educational services and none should be denied. The argument is factual. The juveniles are entitled to benefit from special education than adults. They are at a stage in life where this education can be employed in later life at a significant advantage than the adults. Delinquents are usually eligible to wide range of education and related services such as evaluation and assessment. In terms of labor while in custody, the range of work that can be done by the two groups is different in most ways. Delinquents cannot be exploited for their labor, in contrast to adults where this often happens. Delinquents should also not be made to work for the personal benefit of any staff member. Simpler tasks are usually issued to juvenile offenders such as cleaning up their cells.

Article 2: Disagree

In the article, The Biological Basis of Crime the author argued that there are somewhat possible links to criminal behaviors and genetic inheritance. The argument is that the organization of the human nervous system plays a role in the genetic inheritance. These inheritances may affect human behavior. Consequently, genes may have an influence on human criminal behavior.

A disagree with the author. I believe that criminal behaviors cannot be inherited by acquired. These are individualistic acts that are controlled by psychological and environmental factors. Crime relate to the development of an individual through the early childhood. I believed that criminal acts result from the lack of sufficient personality. It is on this basis why criminal correction programs under the justice process, psychological counseling is employed so as to correct the erratic behavior. I tend to agree with criminologists who base their arguments on the free will notion. This means that one makes the choice to commit a crime. In this school of thought, the individuals are believed to commit a crime after they have weighed the pros and cons of committing a crime. This theory is closely related to the expected utility principle which upholds that individual act to increase their benefits while reducing their losses.

The author argued that biological criminology explains criminal behavior as a result of an individual’s genetic composition. The theory argues that criminal behavior results from inborn genetic errors and abnormalities. In the 19th century Lombroso argued that the born criminals could be identified by their characteristics which were dictated by their genes (Cottle, 2001). In my view, criminality results adoption of behavior from those whom we interact with. Criminal ideas and behaviors are transmitted from one person to another. I believe that criminal behavior is learned from another individual. I concur with the learning theorists who advocate for punishment that eliminates the rewards for this behavior while increasing the consequences of the same. In the justice systems and programs various aspects are employed that are related to this theory this include segregation of the child from the society and limited access to various entertainment facilities.

The aim of justice system is to right a wrong and not isolate criminals based on their genetic compositions. A core principle justice is the deterrence which stipulates that crime can be controlled by use of punishment that has a precise combination of celerity, severity and certainty. Punishment in the justice system is aimed as rehabilitation of these individuals by helping them make better choices. They are also based on the fact that these individuals are in their formative stage and thus if corrected crime will not continue to adulthood.

The article is closely related to the evolutionary view in which criminal behavior is genetically inherited from one generation to another. The author thus advocates for punishment that aims at correcting the genetic abnormality so as to correct the crime. These forms of punishment include medications, segregation, and elimination of the gene so that it is not passed on to another person. Such arguments are not valid. Crime is an interactive and evolving phenomenon that can be learned and unlearned. The authorities thus need to come up with better strategies to deal with environmentally induced crimes to ensure effective justice system.

Works Cited

Chadwick, Agnes. Peer relations in childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(1): (2004), 84–108.

Cottle, Cindy. The prediction of criminal recidivism in juveniles: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 28(3): (2001), 367–394.

Murray, Cathy. Typologies of young resisters and desisters. Youth Justice 9(2): 2009, 115-12

Raine, Adrian. The Biological Basis of Crime. 2002. Web.

HYPERLINK “http://cooley.libarts.wsu.edu/soc3611/soc%20361%20summer%202008/BiologicalBasisCrime.pdf” http://cooley.libarts.wsu.edu/soc3611/soc%20361%20summer%202008/BiologicalBasisCrime.pdf.

Steinberg Laurence. . Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends in Cognitive

Sciences, 9(2): 2005, 69–74