Evidence Development
[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees]
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Abstract
The juvenile justice system has evolved from over time, so did the system of prosecution and sentencing. Many laws and rights have been passed by the legislature. This topic will cover the overall aspect of juvenile imprisonment or sentencing and its effect on the community. it is significantly focusing on the viewpoint of the society regarding juvenile sentencing in criminal justice. The study is conducted using two research designs because the first research question is the descriptive style of research which includes the observational methods and surveys. The second research question is the research question of causal or cause and effect research design. If research would be conducted, the results will suggest the effect of societal biases being measured on the category of offense and the selection of sexual behavior among teenage or adolescent victims. This research will impact the field of criminal justice as it is advantageous for investigating the effect on the community of juvenile sentencing.
Evidence Development
Introduction
The research is related to juvenile delinquency and imprisonment and its relationship with the community. This research topic is of mere importance to the entire world, as it is an evolving global issue. The juvenile justice system has evolved from over time, so did the system of prosecution and sentencing. Many laws and rights have been passed by the legislature. This topic will cover the overall aspect of juvenile imprisonment or sentencing and its effect on the community. The perception of a community varies from person to person and people hold a differing opinion regarding this issue (Petrosino, Turpin-Petrosino, & Guckenburg, 2017). This topic is significantly focusing on the viewpoint of the society regarding juvenile sentencing in criminal justice. The abundance of researches is present for supporting the evidence related to the juvenile justice system and its effect on the working of the community. Therefore, the relationship between youth and community will be significantly determined through the current study.
Literature Review
The juvenile justice system has evolved over time, so did the structure of prosecution and sentencing in this justice system. Many laws and rights have been passed by the legislature. This topic will cover the overall aspect of juvenile imprisonment or sentencing and its effect on the community. The perception of a community varies from person to person and people hold a differing opinion regarding this issue. The research topic is significantly focusing on the viewpoint of the society regarding juvenile sentencing in criminal justice. There is an abundance of researches and studies related to the topic of juvenile imprisonment and its effect on the community. The decision making within the justice system of juveniles is hugely impacted by the presence of minorities, i.e., Black and Hispanic communities.
According to Leiber and his peers, the juvenile justice system is under the influence of unemployment ratios of white and minority communities. The adjudication, intake, and judicial disposition are impacted greatly due to the presence of these factors (Leiber, Peck, & Rodriguez, 2016). Therefore, according to the contextual approach of decision making, the matters related to race are uncovered in such studies which focus on the biases involved in the decision making at the time of juvenile court proceedings. The threat of minority presence or racial threat is related to the severity of punishments or general outcomes of the juvenile justice system. The offenses and nature of offenses vary greatly in the minorities, such that Fix and her co-authors did research in which sexual behavior and experiences of Afro-Americans and European-Americans were determined and this article focused on the disproportionality among the juvenile offenders of a minority race (Fix et al., 2017). Hence, the victim age typology is specifically investigated on the bases of race/ethnicity. The effect of these biases is on the category of offense and the selection of sexual behavior among teenage or adolescent victims. The offender in the juvenile justice system is also the victim when assessing the protective or risk factors which are linked with the violent victimization of offending.
The research by Corrado and his fellows determines the typical profile of the victim which relates to any of the minority race or people from a minority background, i.e., black or Hispanic people majorly. It also outlines the major risk factors associated with the offenses or victimization (Corrado et al., 2016). The early interventions are crucial for controlling the rate of crime among juvenile offenders or victims for later in their life. The government has devised many measures to prevent the criminal rate of juvenile offenders. The aggravation in the proceedings related to juvenile cases is influenced by the specifier of Limited Prosocial Emotion(LPE) according to Prasad and his peer. They conducted a study on certain jurors to deduce the impact of diagnosed or undiagnosed jurors with LPE (Prasad,& Kimonis, 2018). It showed that jurors with diagnosed LPE were less restrictive towards the sentencing of the juveniles than the undiagnosed ones.
The youth correctness will come by applying the preventative measures which include the community programs which are responsible for promoting the wellness of the society and contribute to the development of youth. Reformation of steps within the juvenile justice system is needed. The implementation of correctness programs in various states has been initiated by the government (McCarthy, Schiraldi, & Shark, 2016). The overall aspect of juvenile imprisonment or sentencing and its effect on the community is discussed in this chapter and it relates to the research topic of the juvenile justice system, i.e., the effect of juvenile imprisonment on the community. The abundance of researches is present for supporting the evidence related to the juvenile justice system and its effect on the working of the community.
Methodology
Research Topic
The research topic I have chosen is related to juvenile delinquency and imprisonment. This research topic is of mere importance to almost any person in the country. The juvenile justice system has evolved from over time, so did the system of prosecution and sentencing. Many laws and rights have been passed by the legislature. This topic will cover the overall aspect of juvenile imprisonment or sentencing and its effect on the community. The perception of a community varies from person to person and people hold a differing opinion regarding this issue. This topic is significantly focusing on the viewpoint of the society regarding juvenile sentencing in criminal justice. There is an abundance of researches and studies going on related to the topic of juvenile imprisonment and its effect on the community.
Research Question/Hypotheses
‘What is the significance of juvenile imprisonment to the community?’ or
‘The effect of juvenile imprisonment on the community.’
These two questions have the same purpose of findings; however, the research method or design will differ accordingly.
Research Design
The research design regarding the first research question is the descriptive style of research which includes the observational methods and surveys. The second research question is the research question of causal or cause and effect research design. This type of research design focuses on the relationship between the two variables. As the second research question will be used in the entire research paper, therefore, this methodology will be used in the research regarding the imprisonment of juveniles in the jail, and its effect on the community. The cause and effect in the community of this variable will help in determining the main reason behind this imprisonment and what a community fails to do to save the juvenile delinquents from forming and imprisoning. This research design is advantageous for investigating the effect of one variable on the other. This is also useful in predicting the future prevalence of the issues which may occur with regard to the community. The causal research design is significantly evidence-based, and it is determinant in predicting the reason for the occurrence of the relationship between the two selected variables. Therefore, this research design will accurately calculate all the observational, treatment and time span related to the studies held in relation to this topic. This topic is significantly focusing on the viewpoint of the society regarding juvenile sentencing in criminal justice.
Defining Variables
The first variable is juvenile imprisonment and second is the community, juvenile imprisonment is the independent variable and community is the dependent variable. The effect of juvenile imprisonment on the community will be inferred by the results of this research. The time span of imprisonment will be noted in this research, i.e., 1 month to 5 years, along with the age and gender of the juvenile. The second variable will be measured by assessing the opinions of the community, their emotional response and working regarding this issue. The bias and stereotypes prevailing in society regarding the issue of juvenile imprisonment can be measured by using the qualitative and quantitative method of testing and analysis. The constructs like these can be assessed by using the technique of survey, questionnaires, and interviews.
A variable is measured in research on the bases of its category, i.e., either it is nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio variable. The variables which are measurable are measured on the scale of quantitative measures, i.e., interval, ratio, and ordinal variables. Which in this research paper is age, gender and time of imprisonment of the juvenile. The nominal is a qualitative variable which is immeasurable, and in this research, it is the emotions of community attached to the imprisonment of the juvenile. The prevalence of anxiety or depression will be measured as a response of the community to the juvenile sentencing.
Participant Selection: Process and Characteristics
The selection of participants takes place on the random bases so that bias may not occur in the research outcomes. Therefore, a systemized and randomized trial of sampling from a potential or target population will be taken in this research. For instance, among the population of juveniles, the one with criminal record and charges will have opted for this research so that the time of imprisonment could be noted (Ledford & Gast, 2018). The second main factor is sample size and characteristics. The sampling should be equally representing both genders and there should be no biases regarding societal stereotypes and prejudice. The sample should be selected on the bases of generalizability, to extend that finding is generally applicable to a majority of the target population. The selection procedure will be kept simple and unbiased in order to represent the sample as the majority of the target population. The sample should not so small or so large, it should be optimum.
Ethical Considerations
The research requires certain ethical considerations as follows:
No Harm
Voluntarily participating individuals
Consent was taken before research
Anonymous identity
Assessing the relevant components
Privacy and confidentiality
These measures are important to consider while researching a topic using qualitative research methods. The sample of a population is the subject to the study and its protection is the duty of researchers, and if any harm occurs it is penalized (Walliman, 2017).
Data Collection Process
It is the procedure of collecting all the information for relevant sources for finding out the answers to the research or hypothetical questions and evaluating the research outcomes. The data collection occurs through two sources; primary and secondary. The secondary sources are a newspaper, journals, books, magazines, and online portal, etc. this type of source increases the validity and reliability of research. The other type is of primary sources which come directly through research; qualitative and quantitative (Kumar, 2019). It is the process of collecting and measuring the information on the relevant variables involves the mistakes and errors in data items of the individuals, systematic errors, fraud and violation of protocols. The data collection requires answering the accurate research questions, the repetition, and validation of study. The distortion of findings of collected data wastes the resources.
Protection of Human Subjects
The protection of human subjects requires the rules and processes in research which does not harm the subject under a study. According to the Institute of review board (IRB), the ethical consideration includes not using a human as just a subject but also inferring the opinion regarding the research, and protection against any harm (Torous, & Nebeker, 2017). It also includes the informed consent and privacy and confidentiality of the human used as the subject in the study. All type of measures before doing research on a participant should be considered, which gives no unbound ram to the participant.
Study Timeline
The timeline for conducting research is sorted into three phases
Researching and reading stage
Sorting and marking research
Writing and formatting
So study time from the review of IRB to the accomplishing the collection of data it will come under the sorting and marking phase so it will need approximately the time of about 2-3 weeks for thesis or else it takes less time for a short paper or a research paper of up to 10 pages. It will take on or two weeks for collecting and analyzing the data, as this is the most crucial and extensive part of the research methodology. Then inferring results on the bases of these findings is another procedure.
Discussion
The research significantly focused on the viewpoint of the society regarding juvenile sentencing in criminal justice. Within the juvenile justice system, decision making is hugely impacted by the presence of minorities, i.e., Black and Hispanic communities. According to the related approach of decision making, the matters related to race are uncovered in such studies focusing on the biases involved in the decision making at the time of juvenile court proceedings. The threat of minority presence or racial threat is related to the severity of general outcomes or punishments of the juvenile in from minorities in the justice system. This research paper will provide enough research findings, i.e., the victim age typology is specifically investigated on the bases of race/ethnicity.
Moreover, these results will suggest the effect of these biases is measured on the category of offense and the selection of sexual behavior among teenage or adolescent victims. When assessing the protective or risk factors associated with the violent victimization of offending, the offenders in the juvenile justice system is also the victim. These findings are in accordance with the research investigation on the victimization of juvenile offenders.
The findings of the research will be concluded on the bases of the results derived from the study on juvenile imprisonment and its effect on the community. The results of various similar studies suggest that the incarcerated youth, after detention, develop the criminal behavior reputation in their communities and this gives them a tough time while re-entering onto the society. The stigma gets attached to their character and it gives a tough time to them for reintegrating into the society, for instance, employment opportunities also have forsaken. Therefore, the relationship between youth and community is significantly determined through the current study. The limitation of this study is that it is not done on a broad spectrum and only focuses on the youth from a minority background, i.e., Hispanics and Africans.
Conclusion
Although there is an ample amount of research present on the cause and effect in the community of this variable will help in determining the main reason behind this imprisonment and what a community fails to do to save the juvenile delinquents from forming and imprisoning. This research design is advantageous for investigating the effect of one variable on the other. This topic is significantly focusing on the viewpoint of the society regarding juvenile sentencing in criminal justice. Reformation of steps within the juvenile justice system is needed. The implementation of correctness programs in various states has been initiated by the government (Kretschmar et al., 2016). As suggested by the study, that overall aspect of juvenile imprisonment or sentencing and its effect on the community is discussed in this chapter and it relates to the research topic of the juvenile justice system, i.e., the effect of juvenile imprisonment on the community.
However, there are limitations to this study which could be catered to by future studies. As mental health is one of the most prevalent social issues discussed widely in the society, therefore, this research needs to be enhanced in the findings related to the mental health of the juvenile. Besides, focusing on the juveniles' time spent in prison, it is also important to explore the findings related to the time they spend after completing that incarcerated period and get back in the society (Prasad& Kimonis, 2018). The effect of incarceration on juveniles should also be investigated within the whole society just not focusing on some specific population or community. This way there would be more generalized findings and outcomes of the research which are applicable to all the communities regardless of their class, or culture (Kretschmar et al., 2016). More research connected to the incarceration is needed in exploring all the factors.
References
Corrado, R. R., Peters, A. M., Hodgkinson, T. K., & Mathesius, J. (2016). Crime Reduction, Reduction of Imprisonment and Community Crime Prevention Programs: Risk Factors and Programs Implemented to Reduce Them. Women and children as victims and offenders: Background, prevention, reintegration (pp. 395-433). Springer, Cham.
Fix, R. L., Fix, S. T., Wienke Totura, C. M., & Burkhart, B. R. (2017). Disproportionate minority contact among juveniles adjudicated for sexual, violent, and general offending: The importance of home, school, and community contexts. Crime & Delinquency, 63(2), 189-209.
Kretschmar, J. M., Butcher, F., Flannery, D. J., & Singer, M. I. (2016). Diverting juvenile justice-involved youth with behavioral health issues from detention: Preliminary findings from Ohio’s Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) Initiative. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 27(3), 302-325.
Kumar, R. (2019). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications Limited.
Ledford, J. R., & Gast, D. L. (2018). Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.
Leiber, M. J., Peck, J. H., & Rodriguez, N. (2016). Minority threat and juvenile court outcomes. Crime & Delinquency, 62(1), 54-80.
McCarthy, P., Schiraldi, V., & Shark, M. (2016). The future of youth justice: A community-based alternative to the youth prison model. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.
Petrosino, A., Turpin-Petrosino, C., & Guckenburg, S. (2017). The impact of juvenile system processing on delinquency. In Labeling Theory (pp. 113-147). Routledge.
Prasad, A. H., & Kimonis, E. R. (2018). Effects of the “limited prosocial emotions” specifier for conduct disorder on juror perceptions of juvenile offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(10), 1547-1564.
Torous, J., & Nebeker, C. (2017). Navigating ethics in the digital age: introducing Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE), a tool for researchers and institutional review boards. Journal of medical Internet research, 19(2), e38.
Walliman, N. (2017). Research methods: The basics. Routledge.
