Rehabilitated: The Effects of the Juvenile Criminal Justice System

A Study as Related to Walter Dean Myers’ Monster

A WebQuest for 9^th Grade Language Arts

Karen Tsoi

High School for Contemporary Arts

Karet22@aol.com

INTRODUCTION:

When a juvenile commits a crime in New York City, they must serve their time. With New York State’s goal to crack down on violent juvenile crime, more and more youth offenders are now being tried through the adult criminal justice system. But as recent research has shown, for a juvenile who is incarcerated and placed in detention centers, the repercussions of being surrounded with other criminals have damaging effects on their psyche and have not proven to rehabilitate their tendency to commit future crimes.

As a member of Mayor Bloomberg’s Youth Crime Task Force, you are asked to investigate the effects of youths detained in juvenile detention centers and in the state’s prisons, then recommend approaches for the city to improve the existing juvenile criminal justice system.

“Two recent large-scale studies indicate that juveniles who receive harsher penalties when tried as adults are not "scared straight." In fact, after their release, they tend to reoffend sooner and more often than those treated in the juvenile system.” -PBS Online and WGBH/Frontline (2001)

After finishing Walter Dean Myers’ book, Monster, we have seen the damaging effects of the criminal justice system on the main character, Steve Harmon. Even after being acquitted of the crime, Steve is never the same in the eyes of his family, society, or even himself. How did the criminal justice process affect Steve? How will this experience impact Steve’s life in the future? Should juveniles be tried as adults in criminal courts? What alternatives could the state have taken in the criminal justice process?

Using the internet to investigate the effects of the criminal justice system on youths like Steve, you will use your research and analysis to come up with alternatives to improve the city’s current juvenile criminal justice system. This is your chance to make a difference in how the city handles crime!

TASK:

Working in groups, you will produce a PowerPoint slideshow that will be presented to Mayor Bloomberg at the upcoming Youth Crime Task Force meeting. In order to successfully complete the task, you will have to do the following:

· Use the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) method to investigate the social problem;

· Research current public policies the State of New York currently has for dealing with juvenile offenders;

· Find research about the effects of the criminal justice system on juveniles;

· Develop a new policy as a solution to the social problem;

· Recommend alternative procedures the city can take for rehabilitating juvenile offenders to minimize their tendency to commit future crimes;

· Present a 3-5 minute oral presentation convincing Mayor Bloomberg to support your new policy proposal

· Your power point slide show should contain “varied information tools”. This will be discussed in class. You may use surveys, charts, graphs, illustrations, primary sources and materials to validate your opinions. You should use a minimum of 8 slides for your production.

PROCESS:

Step 1: You will be assigned to groups of 2 or 3 to complete this task.

Step 2: Each group will research juveniles in the criminal justice system. Use the internet to find studies, statistics, articles, and other research to prove that this is a problem, including information about the cause and effects of the criminal justice system on youths.

Step 3: Summarize your group’s research on the following six PPA worksheets:

A. Define the social problem (worksheet #1)

--Choose ONE from the following list, or construct your own:

a. Teens committing violent crimes are on the rise.

b. Youths who serve time in jail are more likely to commit future crimes.

c. The criminal justice system discriminates against adolescents from certain minorities groups and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

d. It costs the city millions of dollars each year to keep juvenile offenders in prisons.

B. Gather evidence (worksheet #2)

--Conduct research on the internet about the effects of the criminal justice system on juveniles. Remember to check the credibility of the web site you are using (i.e.-Information found is from an accredited organization, authority on topic, governmental agency, and/or is the most up-to-date information available). Record the exact URL/ internet addresses of the web sites you use so that you can cite your sources in a bibliography at the end of your presentation.

C. Identify the cause(s) of the problem (worksheet #3)

--Based on your research, list at least 3 causes of the social problem.

D. Evaluate existing public policies (worksheet #4)

--Analyze existing New York State policies for handling juvenile crime. What is New York City currently doing to resolve and prevent this social problem? Create a chart weighing the pros and cons of current policies.

E. Develop your own public policy solution (worksheet #5)

--Brainstorm a variety of new solutions for handling the social problem. List various tactics the city can employ to improve on the current situation (minimum of 3).

F. Select the best public policy solution (worksheet #6)

--Evaluate your list of possible solutions based on feasibility (if your plan can actually be carried out by the city, for example—cultural acceptance and cost effective) and effectiveness (how likely and how well your plan will improve the social problem). Select the best solution and expand on the action steps needed to carry out the plan.

Step 4: Create a PowerPoint slideshow (with 8 slides minimum) to present your findings and new policy solution proposal. Create one slide for each PPA worksheet your group completed, summarizing your findings and highlighting important points. Use graphics (i.e. pictures, charts, etc.) to make your presentation visually appealing and more convincing.

Step 5: Prepare and deliver a 3-5 minute oral presentation to propose your group’s new public policy solution to Mayor Bloomberg and the Youth Crime Task Force Committee.

RESOURCES:

Internet Search Engines—

Newspaper Articles Search—

Helpful Links about the Criminal Justice System and Current Public Policies—

Governor Pataki’s Plan to Combat Juvenile Crime:

http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/feb4_97.html

Action Alliance for Children:

http://www.4children.org/news/100pr21.htm

PBS/Frontline:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/kidslikeadults.html

Invest in Kids:

http://www.fightcrime.org/releases.php

Correctional Association of New York:

http://www.correctionalassociation.org/juvenile_fact.html

Citizens’ Committee for Children:

http://www.kfny.org/publications/jjmyths.pdf

Youth Crime/Adult Time:

http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/ycat/ycat.html

New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services: http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/index.htm

PBS/Frontline Article, “Troubled Kids”: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/little/experts/5.html

News Article, “Adult Justice for Kids, It’s Not Working”: http://www.buffalo.edu/reporter/vol27/vol27n25/n3.html

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/index.html

Report: “Rethinking Juvenile Detention in New York City”: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/articles_publications/publications/juvenile_detention_20020301/JJReport.pdf

EVALUATION:

Rubric for evaluating project—

CATEGORY	Excellent ~A~ 90-100 pts.	Above Average ~B~ 80-89 pts.	Below Average ~C~ 70-79 pts.	Unsatisfactory ~Redo~ 69 or less pts.	SCORE
Public Policy Analysis Worksheets	All 6 worksheets are completed; rationales for answers are clearly explained; *Accurately cites sources/references used in correct bibliographic format	All 6 worksheets are completed; rationales for answers are not fully explained; *Sources	1-2 worksheets are not fully completed; rationale for answers are unclear	3 or more worksheets are incomplete and/or missing; Does not explain rationales for answers and/or are unjustified *demonstrates a misunderstanding of the question(s)
PowerPoint Presentation	Fully developed and clearly presented material (8 or more slides); Exhibits advanced control of PowerPoint program; *Uses visually stimulating graphics to enhance presentation (8+)(moving pics, sound bites/music, transitions, etc.)	Clear display of material (8 slides); Exhibits control of PowerPoint program; *Uses stationary graphics throughout for effect (6-7)	Material is somewhat unclear (6-7 slides) some slides are missing Exhibit basic knowledge of Powerpoint program *Uses few images (4-6)	Material is unclear/confusing is missing 4 or more slides Demonstrates little or no knowledge of Powerpoint program Uses 2↓ images
Oral Presentation	Excellent speech with great eye contact	Adequate speech with some eye contact	Adequate speech but no eye contact	Inaudible speech and no eye contact
Collaborative Effort	It is evident that a mutual effort and cohesive unit created the final product.	The team worked well together, but could have utilized each other's skills to a better degree	The team had problems working together. Little collaboration occurred.	The final product is not the result of a collaborative effort. The group showed no evidence of collaboration.
Originality	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a high degree of originality.	The ideas expressed by the body of work are mostly original. The group may have improved upon a previous idea.	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a low degree of originality.	There were no original ideas expressed in this project.

New York City Standards

New York State English Language Arts Standards

E1C Read and comprehend informational materials

E3B Participate in group meetings

E6A Critique public documents

E6B Produce public documents

E3D Make informed judgments about media

E4B Analyze and subsequently revise work

Applied Learning

A1A Design a product, service, or system

A2C Develop a multimedia presentation

A3A Gather information

A5A Self-directed work teams

New York State Social Studies Standards

1: History of (the United States and) New York

5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

conclusion

By the end of this Web Quest project, you will understand the effects that they juvenile criminal justice has on minors and know what New York City currently has in place for dealing with juvenile offenders. You have researched, planned, and made an oral presentation to the city’s Youth Crime Task Force. In addition, your group will have proposed an alternative to the current way of dealing with truancy in teenagers and have proposed a plan of action for a positive change. Congratulations on a job well done!