Describe how society defines crime. Do not provide a definition – instead, explain how the definition is reached. Discuss how society decides what to define as a crime.

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This is three separate assignments. Please do not combine the two. This is due today (By 10pm).

#1
Determining whether to try a child in the juvenile or the criminal justice system will have an impact on every step of his or her experience. Although the exact laws and practices of the systems vary from state to state, broad underlying beliefs differentiate the two systems. While the juvenile system is often thought to be more lenient in its punishments, there are often stricter regulations throughout the process. In the juvenile system a child may not have a right to a jury trial or bail. Juvenile records are not open to public access like criminal records and parole is very different between the two systems. When the child in question is considered a child, the courts act as more of a parent attempting to punish but also protect.

Differences between juvenile and adult criminal justice systems exist at every step of the way. In the website Four Kids, Four Crimes, follow four cases and examine how and why two defendants were tried as juveniles and two were tried as adults. After reading all four case stories, answer the following questions:

  1. Would you try Christian Fernandez, from the beginning of Chapter 5 of your text, in adult court or juvenile court?
  2. What criteria did you use in making your decision?
  3. How did you apply those criteria to the case of Christian Fernandez?

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references

Link to website- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/four/

 

#2

Women’s relationships in prison commonly fulfill an emotional need. They are different from men’s sexual relationships in prison in that they are less likely to involve coercion or be motivated by power and status grabs. In addition to romantic relationships, female inmates are also likely to form prison families with roles that mimic mothers, sisters, and even grandmothers. For many inmates, their prison family is the first positive female role modeling they have encountered.

In the article, Inside a maximum security women’s prison, reporter Diane Sawyer spent a day and a night inside a prison to explore the relationships of female prisoners, particularly as they pertain to sex. In addition, read the report, Managing sexual relationships in a female prison, that takes a deeper look at the culture from the perspective of the guards of Bandyup Women’s Prison in Washington.

  1. Should guards allow or encourage familial and/or sexual relationships in prison? What are the pros and cons?
  2. Why do you think women who are straight in the community choose to enter into homosexual relationships in prison?
  3. How might prison families help women cope with incarceration?

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.

Link to article- http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=607554&page=1#.UA3TgtkpnMA

 

#3

Myths and Reality of Crime

As we learn in the video, Crimes of the Powerful, our justice system tends to focus on street crime, often ignoring much more significant problems such as white-collar, corporate, and state crime.

Write a paper discussing the myths and realities of crime. Please elaborate on the following points in your essay:

  1. Imagine asking 100 strangers to describe a criminal. Predict whether those descriptions would be likely to focus on street criminals, or the variety of topics covered in this video.
  2. Describe how society defines crime. Do not provide a definition – instead, explain how the definition is reached.
  3. Discuss how society decides what to define as a crime.
  4. Present a clear statement about a particular crime, something we know to be absolutely true. Illustrate how we know that this is an accurate statement.
  5. Present an example of a widely held myth or misconception about crime and society. Determine how we know that this is a myth. Explain why this myth is so difficult to abandon.

The paper must be three to four pages in length and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least two scholarly resources other than the textbook to support your claims and subclaims. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page.

Link to video- https://secure.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=47476&aid=18596&loid=137445&Plt=FOD&w=320&h=240