St. Thomas University
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
CRIM 4003: Special Topics in Criminology:
Advanced Studies in Youth Justice Policy

Instructor: Dr. Susan Reid
Office: BMH 401
Office Hours:Mon. 10-12 or by appointment
Tel: 452-0456
reid@stu.ca

Calendar Description:
The focus of this senior level seminar will be a critical analysis of the interplay between government initiated programming and social policy for children and youth and the ideological foundations upon which they are based. For any given semester, the content of the course will reflect current controversies as well as faculty and student interests. Topics may include social control theory and juvenile justice; an assessment of theories of rehabilitation; the legal philosophy of the young offenders legislation and its impact on juvenile justice; and an evaluation of zero tolerance policies, anti-bullying campaigns, curfews, school codes of conduct, and other policies which lead to more state intervention into the lives of young people.

Prerequisites: CRIM 2223, CRIM 3013, CRIM 3023, CRIM 3103 or CRIM 3113 and permission of the instructor

Course Description:

This course will explore youth social policy from a critical perspective. The effectiveness of government-initiated intervention programs (and the underlying assumptions upon which they are premised) will be evaluated, including programs coming out of zero tolerance, restorative justice and other more crime control driven models. Further analysis will include the public discourse related to the moral panic of misbehaviour on the part of children and youth as reflected in popular books, articles, and media reports. Students will select an area of study related to youth policy that is of interest to them and conduct an applied research analysis of the issue. A particular area of interest for the group this term will be youth homelessness and students will be involved in preparing a fact sheet and interviewing key social service agencies with respect to this issue. Participation in a student leadership conference to be held on campus September 21 will form the culmination of the work completed by the class with respect to this issue.

Course Format:
The course will primarily follow an advanced seminar format. Teaching methods are designed to maximize student participation and will include class discussion of assigned readings and seminar presentations by students. Students are expected to attend all classes and to be prepared to discuss the issues raised in the assigned readings as well as provide informed, constructive feedback to their peers on their individual seminar projects.

Student Seminar Presentations begin the week after Thanksgiving!

Seminar Presentation: 25%
5% visual aids/ student handouts, 5% student involvement,5% critical analysis, 10% content
Students will be responsible for presenting the topic of their research paper to the seminar class for feedback and discussion prior to submitting the final research paper. The class will be provided with the draft 1 of the paper by e-mail, 3 days before the date scheduled for the seminar presentation. Students who are in attendance at the seminar are required to provide substantive feedback and generate additional questions of the student presentation topic based on readings and other materials in the course.

Research Paper: 40%
(outline/draft 1 = 15%, final 25%)
Students will complete a ten to fifteen page research paper on some aspect of child and youth policy that is consonant with the course topics. This paper will show evidence of a clear analysis of the scholarly literature, applicable laws and policy documents, and critical analysis of the data collected. The first draft of the paper will be circulated to the seminar class 3 days prior to the seminar presentation. Students in the class are responsible for providing feedback and suggestions on the draft. Integration of the key areas raised by students during the seminar presentation will be required for the final paper

Seminar Feedback to students on draft paper 10%

Field Interviews, Homelessness Project,September 21 25%

Bibliography of Resources 

Selected Articles Available at UNB

Ainsworth, F., & Hansen, P. (2005). A dream come true-no more residential care. A corrective note. International Journal of Social Welfare, 14(3), 195-199.

Alexander, R.,Jr. (2000). Battered child syndrome as a legal defense: Is it sound juvenile justice policy and practice? Journal for Juvenile Justice and Detention Services, 15(2), 85-98.

Apel, R., Paternoster, R., Bushway, S. D., & Brame, R. (2006). A job Isn’t just a job: The differential impact of formal versus informal work on adolescent problem behavior. Crime & Delinquency, 52(2), 333-369.

Arthur, R. (2004). Young offenders: Children in need of protection. Law & Policy, 26(3-4), 309-327

Ayre, P., & Barrett, D. (2000). Young people and prostitution: An end to the beginning? Children & Society, 14(1), 48-59.

Baro, A. L., & Ballard, J. D. (2005). Immunizations or incarceration: Can policy choices equal governmental child neglect? Humanity and Society, 29(1), 5-23.

Bittle, S. (2002). When protection is punishment: Neo-liberalism and secure care approaches to youth prostitution. Canadian Journal of Criminology/Revue Canadienne de Criminologie, 44(3), 317-350..

Blumstein, A., Rivara, F. P., & Rosenfeld, R. (2000). The rise and decline of homicide-and why. Annual Review of Public Health, 21, 505-541

Brank, E. M., & Weisz, V. (2004). Paying for the crimes of their children: Public support of parental responsibility. Journal of Criminal Justice, 32(5), 465-475..

Brezina, T., & Wright, J. D. (2000). Going armed in the school zone: An unfounded faith in the power of laws to change criminal behavior disguises the root causes of juvenile violence. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, 15(4), 82-87.

Brown, D., Maxwell, S., DeJesus, E., & Schiraldi, V. (2002). Barriers and promising approaches to workforce and youth development for young offenders. overview. U.S.; Maryland: Annie E. Casey Foundation..

Browne, J. A. (2003). Derailed! the schoolhouse to jailhouse track. U.S.; District of Columbia: Advancement Project.

Caputo, R. K. (2003). SES and other correlates of health in a youth cohort: Implications for social justice. Journal of Poverty, 7(3), 85-112

Carpenter, T., Cornelius, A., Francis, A. P., & Parsons, L. (2002). When the school bell rings... juvenile crime or constructive time? after-school programs are the answer. U.S.; Illinois: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois.

Chesney-lind, M., & Eliason, M. (2006). From invisible to incorrigible: The demonization of marginalized women and girls. Crime, 2(1), 29-47.

Clark, M. (2006). Commitment to crime: The role of the criminal justice system. European Journal Of Criminology, 3(2), 201-220.

Doob, A. N., & Sprott, J. B. (2006). Punishing youth crime in canada: The blind men and the elephant. Punishment & Society, 8(2), 223-233.

Giroux, H. A. (2003). Racial injustice and disposable youth in the age of zero tolerance. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 16(4), 553-565.

Goddard, J. (2003). Youth justice policy in the united kingdom. Criminal Justice Studies, 16(4), 329-338.

Goldson, B. (2002). New labour, social justice and children: Political calculation and the deserving-undeserving schism. The British Journal of Social Work, 32(6), 683-695. 

Halsey, M. J. (2006). Negotiating conditional release: Juvenile narratives of repeat incarceration. Punishment & Society, 8(2), 147-181.

Israel, M., & Chui, W. H. (2006). If ‘Something works’ is the answer, what is the question?: Supporting pluralist evaluation in community corrections in the united kingdom. European Journal Of Criminology, 3(2), 181-200.

Kiriakidis, S. P. (2006). Perceived parental care and supervision: Relations with cognitive representations of future offending in a sample of young offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50(2), 187-203.

Lerner, R. M., Fisher, C. B., & Weinberg, R. A. (2000). Toward a science for and of the people: Promoting civil society through the application of developmental science. Child development, 71(1), 11-20.

Lipsey, M. W., and others, & United States. Dept. of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2000). Effective intervention for serious juvenile offenders National Criminal Justice Reference Service

Littlechild, B. (2005). The stresses arising from violence, threats and aggression against child protection social workers. Journal of Social Work, 5(1), 61-82..

Madoc-jones, I. (2006). Anti-social behaviour: Findings from the crime and justice survey (C &! J survey). Probation Journal, 53(1), 78-79.

McDowall, D., & and others. (2000). The impact of youth curfew laws on juvenile crime rates. Crime and Delinquency, 46(1), 76-90.

McKeen, W. (2004). The shifting discourses of the progressive social Policy/Child poverty advocacy community: Whither social justice? Canadian Review of Social Policy/Revue Canadienne de Politique Sociale, 53, 88-107

Morrison, W., Doucet, C., Archibald, C., & Cormier, T. (2004). Strong families, strong children: A family-focused crime prevention program. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, 19, 179-185.

Myers, D. L. (2003). Adult crime, adult time: Punishing violent youth in the adult criminal justice system. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 1(2), 173-197.

National Crime Prevention Centre, Ottawa (Ontario). (2000). Policy framework for addressing crime prevention and children ages 0 to 12. national strategy on community safety and crime prevention. Canada; Ontario: National Crime Prevention Centre.

National Crime Prevention Centre, Ottawa (Ontario). (2000). Policy framework for addressing crime prevention and youth ages 12 to 18. national strategy on community safety and crime prevention. Canada; Ontario: National Crime Prevention Centre.

National Crime Prevention Centre, Ottawa (Ontario). (2000). Policy framework for addressing personal security issues concerning women and girls. national strategy on community safety and crime prevention. Canada; Ontario: National Crime Prevention Centre..

Newman, L. J. (2001). Youth violence: A complicated policy network for a complex problem. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 10(1-2), 5-29.

Patchin, J. W., Huebner, B. M., Mccluskey, J. D., Varano, S. P., & Bynum, T. S. (2006). Exposure to community violence and childhood delinquency. Crime & Delinquency, 52(2), 307-332.

Pattavina, A., Byrne, J. M., & Garcia, L. (2006). An examination of citizen involvement in crime prevention in high-risk versus low- to moderate-risk neighborhoods. Crime & Delinquency, 52(2), 203-231.

Skeem, J. L., Emke-francis, P., & Louden, J. E. (2006). Probation, mental health, and mandated treatment: A national survey. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33(2), 158-184

Sprague, J., Walker, H. M., Stieber, S., Simonsen, B., Nishioka, V., & Wagner, L. (2001). Exploring the relationship between school discipline referrals and delinquency. Psychology in the Schools, 38(2), 197-206.

Stephen, D. E., & Squires, P. (2004). 'They're still children and entitled to be children': Problematising the institutionalised mistrust of marginalised youth in britain. Journal of Youth Studies, 7(3), 351-369

Stretesky, P. B., & Unnithan, N. P. (2002). Criminal justice versus education: An analysis of the priorities of local policy makers. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 13(3), 199-218.

Vaughan, B. (2000). The government of youth: Disorder and dependence? Social & Legal Studies, 9(3), 347-366.

Winfree, L. T., Jr., Taylor, T. J., He, N., & Esbensen, F. (2006). Self-control and variability over time: Multivariate results using a 5-year, multisite panel of youths. Crime & Delinquency, 52(2), 253-286.

Wolcott, D. (2003). Juvenile justice before juvenile court: Cops, courts, and kids in turn-of-the-century detroit. Social Science History, 27(1), 109-136.

Wotherspoon, T., & Schissel, B. (2001). The business of placing canadian children and youth "at-risk". Canadian Journal of Education/Revue Canadienne de l'Education, 26(3), 321-339.

Zimring, F. E. (2000). American youth violence: Implications for national juvenile justice policy. Update on Law-Related Education, 23(2), 6-9.

Letter Grades:

A candidate’s final standing in a course is indicated by the following letter grades:

Susan Reid
CRIM 1006: Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice
CRIM 2223: Young Offenders and Juvenile Justice
CRIM 2943: Victimology
CRIM 3803: Child and Youth Rights
CRIM 3253: Intensive Writing and Research
CRIM 4003: Advanced Youth Justice Policy