Answers to Questions One: Gang Intervention/ Prevention Program
An example of a gang intervention/prevention program: Mass Campaign against Gang Membership and Activities
Gangs in the United States have become a big problem in society. They engage in criminal activities and disturb the peace with every opportunity that they get. It is, therefore, important that these gangs be prevented from recruiting members and committing a crime. It is the duty of both the government and every citizen of the United States to participate in gang prevention and intervention activities.
Christian Outreach Planning Associates Incorporated or simply COPA is an organization that conducts sensitization campaigns against gang activity. There is a lot of violence involved in the life of gang members which at times leads to death. COPA and other organizations like it tackle the problem of gang violence in youths by showing them that there is more to life than drugs, money and expensive cars, some of the things that attract youths into the gangster lifestyle. They counsel the youth and provide recreational activities to keep their minds away from gang membership.
Example of Gang Suppression Program
Gang suppression programs are initiated with the aim of having a deterrent effect on gang activity. The most effective enforcer of suppression programs is the government (Spergel 136). It achieves this objective through saturation control, truancy enforcement and aggressive curfews in gang infested areas. Truancy enforcement is conducted in conjunction with education authorities. Kids who skip school and cut class are vulnerable to the temptations of becoming gang members. Teachers are therefore, required to keep records and deal with perpetual truants. Aggressive curfews and saturation control work hand in hand. In areas with rampant gang activities, the government at times places curfews and conducts patrols with the help of police to stop gang members' gatherings, especially after the set curfew time (Howell 13). The previously mentioned measures work well to suppress gang activity.
Describe how an injunction/abatement works as a gang strategy
Gang injunctions involve obtaining restraining orders for gang members. The restraining order is sought by the state attorney's office. Any gang member who a restraining order is sought against is instructed not to indulge in specified activities, usually criminal activities such as weapons' possession. Abatements are issued to prevent activities that are restricted by the law such as selling of drugs, but still serve the purpose of emphasizing to someone who indulges in a crime that they have to stop doing that thing.
How does each of these differ in what is emphasized with respect to addressing the problem of gangs and juveniles?
Some people are of the opinion that gang injunctions violate the civil rights of the people whom they are sought. They argue that injunctions violate the personal freedoms of individuals, such as the freedom of speech. Some also argue that injunctions make the application of the law selective for different people. Apart from emphasizing some obvious laws, they are largely ineffective. Curfews and patrols act similar to injunctions. They appear to apply selective justice to different groups of people, which only makes the youth devise advanced ways of breaking the law. It leads to more unrest as gang membership among youth’s increases. Truancy enforcement on its part involves some punishment for a child who is found to be cutting class. Some punishment methods include detention where a child cannot interact with their peers after class, or only gets to interact with fellow truant students. Such punishment increases the vulnerability of youths to become gang members.
Therefore, a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration during the formulation and implementation of gang suppression procedures
Which is a more effective strategy?
A more effective means of gang suppression than the ones mentioned above is community mobilization to prevent and control the emergence of gang activity. A person working alone does not have enough leverage to prevent gang activity in their community. However, if the community works together for the same cause, they will be able to foster a culture that does not allow gang membership and its activities. Rather than excluding some people, this method incorporates everybody for the same purpose and is, therefore, more effective in gang suppression than the four strategies above.
Answers to Question 2
Briefly describe the primary criticisms of corporal punishment used in schools? Corporal punishment is an abuse to children's rights. It denies them the right to protection from harm. If corporal punishment were to be allowed, some teachers would use it to settle personal scores. It may end up with teachers causing great bodily harm to children without any repercussions by hiding behind the law.
Corporal punishment is also mentally harmful to children. It reduces the self-esteem of a child who receives it more than the other children. It also creates an atmosphere of fear within the classroom which is not conducive to learning. Corporal punishment should, therefore, remain illegal.
What has been the U.S. Supreme Court position on the use of corporal punishment in the schools?
Federal laws do not address the issue of corporal punishment in schools. The Supreme Court in 1977 ruled that teachers did not need the consent of parents if they intended to punish their children, but unusual and cruel punishments were prohibited under the eighth amendment. Corporal punishment falls under cruel punishment. However, the Supreme Court’s ruling was not binding on all the states and as of 2015, only 31 states had made corporal punishment illegal.
Why do you believe the Court has established this position?
The Supreme Court’s decision in 1977 is appropriate. However, it does not efficiently cover the needs of the children since it does not clearly define what is and what not cruel and unusual punishment is. The Supreme Court should also take greater action to ensure that corporal punishment is abolished in all of the states. Based on these reasons, I tend to differ with the Supreme Court’s decisions.
Answers to Question 3
Provide key qualities of good parenting and why they matter to healthy child development?
Good parenting should involve a hands-on approach in the activities of a person's child. A good parent should be involved in the activities of their child but not to the extent where it may be considered snooping. The parent should also counsel their child on what the right thing to do is and what is not appropriate as they interact with society (Regoli, Hewitt, and Matt 67). A good parent should also be able to provide for their children so that they do not feel the need to commit a crime to get what they need. If a parent satisfies these conditions, their child develops healthily both mentally and physically.
Describe how two critical factors in parenting (responsiveness and demandingness) vary by each of the four styles of parenting (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and indifferent) and describe the consequences on the child subject to each style
Responsiveness involves how a parent reacts to different situations in the lives of their child. Demandingness, on the other hand, involves the expectations that a parent has for their child.
Indulgent parents are less demanding and more responsive, in other words, they are lenient and avoid confrontation. As a result, a child grows up learning self-regulation and restraint. Authoritarian parents, on the other hand, they are very demanding but show minimal responsiveness. Children raised this way grow up orderly and follow instructions well. Authoritative parents are a little similar to authoritarian parents; they are both demanding and responsive. Children from such families become self-regulatory and responsible. They use supportive methods when dishing out discipline. Indifferent parents have minimal involvement in the lives of their children. In advanced levels this parenting style becomes neglectful. A child raised this way will likely not conform to the norms of society (Shoemaker 31).
Indifferent parenting is the most associated with delinquent children (West 14). This is because the child grows under conditions of minimal restrictions. They are not taught to differentiate between what is acceptable and what is not. Such a child will, therefore, be vulnerable to breaking the laws and becoming a delinquent.
Works Cited
Howell, James C. Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive Framework. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009. Print.
Regoli, Robert M, John D. Hewitt, and Matt DeLisi. Delinquency in Society: The Essentials. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2011. Print 67
Shoemaker, J, Donald. Juvenile Delinquency. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.2013, Print.
Spergel A, Irving. Gang Suppression & Intervention: An Assessment, Springer Publishers, 1993, Print.
West, D J. Delinquency: Its Roots, Careers and Prospects. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Univ. Pr, 1982. Print.
