Ad Populum Argumentation in Criminology: Juvenile Diversion as Rhetoric

1984 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Binder ◽  
Gilbert Geis
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Large Array ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Ad Populum ◽  
Juvenile Diversion

For a variety of reasons, some valid, many irrelevant, it has become fashionable within sociological criminology to condemn juvenile diversion. Participants in the condemnatory rituals identify each other as insiders by catchy words and phrases (like “widening the net”), and frequently substitute rhetoric for logic in their argumentation aimed both at gaining cultic recognition and winning over the unwary. Perhaps the most damaging consequence is the forfeiture of influence in an important social process by a large array of social scientists. Contrary to the predictions of some in the cult, diversion remains a flourishing mode of serving young offenders, as indeed it must so long as the present juvenile justice system remains in operation.

Ad Populum Argumentation in Criminology: Juvenile Diversion as Rhetoric

1984 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 624-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Binder ◽  
Gilbert Geis
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Large Array ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Ad Populum ◽  
Juvenile Diversion

For a variety of reasons, some valid, many irrelevant, it has become fashionable within sociological criminology to condemn juvenile diversion. Participants in the condemnatory rituals identify each other as insiders by catchy words and phrases (like “widening the net”), and frequently substitute rhetoric for logic in their argumentation aimed both at gaining cultic recognition and winning over the unwary. Perhaps the most damaging consequence is the forfeiture of influence in an important social process by a large array of social scientists. Contrary to the predictions of some in the cult, diversion remains a flourishing mode of serving young offenders, as indeed it must so long as the present juvenile justice system remains in operation.

scholarly journals La justice des mineurs au Québec : 25 ans de transformations (1960-1985)

Criminologie ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Trépanier
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Court Referrals ◽  
Court Dispositions ◽  
Legislative Changes ◽  
Over Time

This paper provides an overview of some of the changes undergone by the juvenile justice system in Quebec since 1960, with a particular attention to the evolution of its legal framework. Major legislative changes have stressed children's rights and diversion. The underlying philosophy of the law has been changed extensively, particularly concerning young offenders. Statistics reveal that the number of court referrals has increased considerably over time, and that diversion policies have been unable to change this trend. Juvenile court dispositions seem to show a greater degree of intervention than before.

Young Offenders, ‘Secure Colleges’ and Reforming Criminals

2015 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zia Akhtar
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Control

The UK government has decided on a policy goal that is set out in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014. This goal is to invest in ‘Secure Colleges’, which are institutions planned to make young criminals ‘better citizens not better criminals’. The question is: What is the role of punishment: deterrence, incapacitation or rehabilitation? This article considers the juvenile justice system in Scotland with reference to the objectives set out in the Kilbrandon Report in 1964 and evaluates the perspective of early criminologists who state that offenders exercise a free choice in embarking on a life of crime. It is also evaluated in the light of those empirical studies that expose the harsh discipline and control in prisons as ‘oppressive’ and not likely to reform the offenders. The UK policy regarding young offenders underwent a change after the James Bulger murder in 1993 and became a deterrence-based approach. This has led to measures on both sides of the border which were retributive, such as the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility and the early intervention of probation services. This article considers the modern themes of juvenile justice and argues that the ‘Secure Colleges’ will be a corrective institution that should inculcate a more informed policy towards reintegration for the young offenders so that they emerge from the criminal justice system as improved citizens after completing their sentence.

Evaluatin the Impact of Juvenile Diversion Programs

1976 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don C. Gibbons ◽  
Gerald F. Blake
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Diversion Programs ◽  
Hard Evidence ◽  
Juvenile Diversion ◽  
The Impact

One of the major current fads in criminal and juvenile justice programing is diversion of offenders. At the same time, little hard evidence exists in support of diversion policies. Nine studies of the outcomes of specific juvenile diversion programs are reviewed in this paper, along with an investigation of the impact of diversion programs upon the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles County. Most of these evaluation studies were flawed by small sample numbers and other methodological defects. As a result, it cannot yet be said that diversion arguments and proposals are buttressed by firm research support.

A Critique of the Principles of the Young Offenders Act*

1987 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 440-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Awad
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Unique Feature ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Clinical Process ◽  
Therapeutic State ◽  
Young Offenders Act

A unique feature of the Young Offenders Act is a section on the Principles of the Act. The principles clearly focus on the responsibility of young offenders, their legal rights, and the protection of society. The focus on the due process of the law is a welcome addition to the Juvenile Justice system. However, these principles do not recognize any other rights for adolescents, downgrade the importance of their needs, and do not take into account the cognitive, psychological and social functioning of adolescents. In addition, the principles implicitly reverse those important principles that have guided our society and the clinical process for more than a century; namely, a shift from a “therapeutic state” to a “legalistic state”, the roles of institutions in our society, and the adultomorphization of adolescence.

From Punishment to Control: Assessing Juvenile Diversion in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 372-397
Author(s):  
Enshen Li ◽  
Mingyue Su
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Juvenile Offenders ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Juvenile Delinquents ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Juvenile Diversion ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
Juvenile Justice Policy

China’s juvenile justice system has grown and changed substantially since the 1980s. While considerable research focuses on institutional treatment of juvenile delinquents, little attention has been paid to the diversion processes and measures that allow troubled juveniles to be directed away from the formal justice system. Through a comparison with juvenile justice in the United States, this article aims to investigate the development of the juvenile diversion framework in China. We argue that despite their similar efforts to divert juvenile delinquents from traditional court proceedings, in practice China’s diversionary arrangements diverge from those of their US counterparts. Unlike in the United States, Chinese juvenile diversion does not operate according to welfarist or restorative models. Rather, juvenile diversion in China is a managerialism-driven scheme that rests on two key pillars: institutional diversion, which imposes punishment and control on juvenile offenders pursuant to their level of offending and dangerousness, and noninstitutional diversion, which revolves around risk-based management and correction through community-level interventions. We conclude that China’s distinctive sociolegal culture and political priorities have shaped a practice that appears to be at odds with the officially advertised narratives of the state’s juvenile justice policy.

Juvenile Diversion: A Look at the Record

1984 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 648-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Polk
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Recent Article ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Diversion Programs ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Juvenile Diversion ◽  
Gathering Data ◽  
Empirical Record

A recent article by Binder and Geis (1984) observed that the negative response to diversion on the part of sociologists is at variance with the actual record of juvenile diversion, and concluded that this response results from disciplinary narrowness, distrust of police, and overidentification with the underdog. An alternative explanation is that sociologists are, in fact, responding precisely to the empirical record available regarding diversion. That record suggests that although some research reports positive effects of diversion, it is difficult to ignore the data which show that diversion programs may either have no effect or may possibly even be harmful. That record indicates that diversion may not be achieving its stated goal of diverting offenders away from the juvenile justice system, but instead may be a device for expanding both the size of the juvenile justice system and the forms of behavior that come under its control. An argument can be made grounded in data which suggests that diversion programs may be taking on particular functions with respect to girls, and thus may be leading to unanticipated forms of hidden sexism. In gathering data and in making these arguments, sociologists may not be engaged as much in some antidiversionist frenzy as they are expressing their concern for the drift of an important policy away from its intended course.

scholarly journals A Critical Appraisal of the Juvenile Justice System under Cameroon's 2005 Criminal Procedure Code: Emerging Challenges

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Simon Tabe
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Procedure Code ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Government

The objective of this article is to examine the changes introduced by the 2005 Cameroonian Criminal Procedure Code on matters of juvenile justice, considering that before this Code, juvenile justice in Cameroon was governed by extra-national laws. In undertaking this analysis, the article highlights the evolution of the administration of juvenile justice 50 years after independence of Cameroon. It also points out the various difficulties and shortcomings in the treatment of juvenile offenders in Cameroon since the enactment of the new Criminal Procedure Code. The article reveals that the 2005 Code is an amalgamation of all hitherto existing laws in the country that pertained to juvenile justice, and that despite the considerable amount of criticism it has received, the Code is clearly an improvement of the system of juvenile justice in Cameroon, since it represents a balance of the due process rights of young people, the protection of society and the special needs of young offenders. This is so because the drafters of the Code took a broad view of the old laws on juvenile justice. Also a wide range of groups were consulted, including criminal justice professionals, children’s service organisations, victims, parents, young offenders, educators, advocacy groups and social-policy analysts. However, to address the challenges that beset the juvenile justice system of Cameroon, the strategy of the government should be focussed on three areas: the prevention of youth crime, the provision of meaningful consequences for the actions of young people, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders. Cameroonian law should seek educative solutions rather than to impose prison sentences or other repressive measures on young offenders. Special courts to deal with young offenders should be established outside the regular penal system and should be provided with resources that are adequate for and appropriate to fostering their understanding of juvenile crime.

Over-represented and misunderstood: Pacific young people and juvenile justice in NSW

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marg Liddell ◽  
Meredith Blake ◽  
Supriya Singh
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Violent Offending ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Family Connections ◽  
Offending Behaviour

In New South Wales, Australia, statistics show that Pacific young people are over-represented in the juvenile justice system. They enter later than other young offenders, frequently for violent offending. Drawing on research with Pacific young people on correctional orders, their families and communities, we outline the reasons for their over-representation using a risk and protective paradigm. Family connections, religious faith and cultural identity are reportedly strong for Pacific young people, but they struggle to negotiate differences between Pacific and Australian cultures. Misunderstanding of these issues and Pacific young people’s typical offending trajectory results in a lack of interventions to reduce this offending behaviour. This article makes a contribution to knowledge of a rarely researched group of young people in the juvenile justice system. It highlights the need for increased awareness of issues that Pacific young offenders face.

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