Youth Crime in America: A Modern Synthesis, Paperback by Lotz, Roy

Paperback
Brand New
9780130261847
013026184X

Publication Date: 2004-06-20
Publisher: Pearson
Paperback : 352 pages
Author: Lotz, Roy
ISBN-10: 013026184X
ISBN-13: 9780130261847

Product Description This new book introduces readers to the latest developments in delinquency theory and research by providing a clear, jargon-free, in-depth treatment of the most recent and significant writings in the field. It provides wide coverage of youth crime, delinquency, and the justice system without overwhelming readers with dual and often confusing statements. Streamlined and easily readable, Youth Crime in America covers such topics as: social issues and youth crime; official data and victim surveys; American adolescence today; theories of youth crime; Chicago School and strain/anomie theories; social control and sensation seeking; the family and youth crime; schools; peers; the police; the juvenile court system; and corrections and prevention. A useful guide for those in the youth criminal justice system, as well as educators, therapists, and others that work with adolescents. From the Back Cover Youth Crime in America: A Modern Synthesis introduces students to the latest developments in delinquency, theory, and research. This book provides the student with a clear, jargon-free, in-depth understanding of the most recent and most significant writings in the field. The focus is on the newer theories and prevention methods rather than the dated ones. New ideas, be they absorbing or disturbing, fascinate readers-they help to keep the mind alive. Distinguishing Features Include: Chapter One closely examines how youth crime has been dealt in mass communication and how this treatment has affected public opinion and political rhetoric on youth crime. Chapter Three is devoted to the general topic of American adolescence today, including the significance of pubertal timing, parental reactions, and the adolescent subculture. Chapter Twelve discusses in detail eleven treatment programs that work, such as nurse home visitations; the incredible years, and functional family therapy This introduces students to the best programs. This text provides wide coverage of youth crime, delinquency, and the justice system without overwhelming the student. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Thomas Carlyle long ago described economics as the dismal science. There is some question about what he had in mind when he used this unflattering term. One line of argument is that the dour Scot was accusing the field of being boring, confusing, and contradictory, its paragraphs bogged down in "on the one hand, on the other hand" kinds of statements. Economics does not stand alone in this respect. For instance, there have been times when crime and delinquency texts, too, relied on these techniques, which students find puzzling and off-putting. Here I try to (1) avoid opaque writing and (2) engage students in a lively conversation about youth crime, its nature, causes, and attempts at control. The focus is on newer theories and prevention methods, not the dated ones that would be rejected by most sociologists and psychologists. Some of the newer approaches may be controversial, but academics who are worth their salt do not shy away from controversy. New ideas, be they absorbing or disturbing, fascinate readers—they help to keep the mind alive. How do Americans typically acquire their views about crime and delinquency? In most cases, it's not from textbooks, because that would mean they had to make the trek to some perhaps far-off university's bookstore. Instead, as a rule, they rely on sources closer to home and easier to access: the many crime stories appearing in the newspaper or on television news programs. Unfortunately, these reports are usually lean on information and barren of analysis. Rules of objectivity force reporters to isolate crimes and treat each as a sample of one; the rules virtually forbid generalizing to the wider picture. Reading about someone being mugged in a subway, we don't know whether this means that subways are becoming more dangerous or less. News reporters hug the shorelin