Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice & Psychology
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2010, Vol. 4, No. 1 JOURNAL OF KNOWLEDGE AND BEST PRACTICES IN JUVENILE JUSTICE & PSYCHOLOGY Prairie View A&M University College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center ii © 2010 College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology, Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center, Prairie View A&M University. All rights reserved. ii The College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology at Prairie View A&M University invites papers for publication in the Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice & Psychology. The journal seeks relevant application research for the academic and practitioner communities of juvenile justice, psychology, and criminal justice. The edi- torial staff is soliciting both qualitative and quantitative articles on juvenile justice policy, delinquency prevention, treatment, and evaluation. The journal is published in hard copy and electronically. All articles submitted for review should be sent electronically to the senior editor [email protected]. The articles should follow the APA style and be typed in 12 point font. All inquires and submissions should be directed to the senior editor. All submissions must be done electronically and manuscripts will be promptly refereed. Reviewing will be dou- ble-blind. In submitting manuscripts, authors acknowledge that no paper will be submitted to another journal during the review period. For publication in Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice & Psychology: Manuscripts must follow the APA style (as outlined in the latest edition of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.) The title of all papers should be centered and typed in caps on the first page with 12 point font. The title page must include the name, affiliation, title/academic rank, phone number, and the email address of the author(s). Submission of an electronic copy in MS Word as an attachment to co-editor: [email protected] maximum of 25 pages with references and tables. The submission must be entirely original. All papers must be typed, double-spaced, on regular 8.5" x 11" paper, and fully justified with margins set to 1-inch top, bottom, left, and right with 12 point font. Acknowledgment should be placed before references. Manuscripts that meet the above requirements will be published in the forthcoming volume of The Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice & Psychology. Editor-in-Chief H. Elaine Rodney, Ph.D. Dean, College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology Prairie View A&M University Prairie View, TX 77446 Phone: (936) 261-5200 Senior Editor Gbolahan S. Osho, Ph.D. Associate Professor College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology Prairie View A&M University Prairie View, TX 77446 Phone: (936) 261-5236 Senior Editor Joseph W. Dickson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology Prairie View A&M University Prairie View, TX 77446 Phone: (936) 261-5218 i ii Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology Editor-in-Chief H. Elaine Rodney Dean, College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology Prairie View A & M University, Prairie View, Texas Senior Editors Gbolahan S. Osho College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology Prairie View A & M University, Prairie View, Texas Joseph W. Dickson College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology Prairie View A & M University, Prairie View, Texas Managing Editor Monique Grant Prairie View A & M University, Prairie View, Texas Editorial Advisory Board Erin Espinosa, Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, Austin, Texas Delores James-Brown, John Jay College, New York, New York Ihekwoaba Onwudiwe, Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas Susan Ritter, University of Texas, Brownsville, Texas Barbara Scobey, Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, Austin, Texas Alejandro del Carmen, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas Kathryn Sellers, Kaplan University, Boca Raton, Florida Donna M. Vandiver, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas Published by The College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology, Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center. Prairie View A&M University. ii ii Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology 2010, Vol. 4, No. 1, iii-iv © 2010 College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology at Prairie View A&M University The Applicability of Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency to Recent Juvenile Gang Membership in Houston by Dawkins and Gibson ..................................................................................................................................................5 Same Bang, Less Buck: A Cost-benefit Analysis of South Carolina’s Youth Courts by Miller and Miller..................................................................................................................................................... 17 The Relationship Between Race and Suicide Ideation in Delinquent Females in the Texas Juvenile Justice System by Belshaw and Rodriguez ...........................................................................................................................................25 Analysis of Gender Responsiveness and Cultural Responsiveness by Carson and Greer .................................................................................................................................................... 33 Africentrism and Africentric Rituals: Their Role in Jamaican Male Motivation to Pursue Higher Education by Oliver .......................................................................................................................................................................43 The View Behind Rubber Bars: An Analysis and Examination of Faith and Non-Faith Jail Reentry Programs in Central Florida by Nayer........................................................................................................................................................................55 iii iv Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology iv iv Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology 2010, Vol. 4, No. 1, 5-16 © 2010 College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology, Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center at Prairie View A&M University The Applicability of Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency to Recent Juvenile Gang Membership in Houston Marika Dawkins Camille Gibson Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Abstract This qualitative descriptive study used Agnew's general strain theory of crime and delinquency as lens through which to interpret the recent developments of juvenile gangs and gang-related activities in Houston, Texas. Agnew strain theory's main prepositions describe: 1) an inability to achieve goals that are valued positively, 2) an absence of positive goals, and 3) a presence of negativity or crime. These were assessed in terms of applicability to joining gangs in Houston. Data were collected by unstructured interviews of city employees who respond to Houston's gangs (e.g., Mayor' Anti-Gang Office staff and Houston Police Department officers), area observations, and a review of city and police documents regarding gang activity in Houston. There appeared to be support for Agnew's assertion that strain precedes much juvenile delinquency. Misconceptions and outdated information shape jurisdictions. The problem appeared to be heavily con- much of people's perception of juvenile gangs. Rightly, centrated in the largest cities and increasing, according juvenile gangs remain a significant concern as gang to numerous media reports from 2007 to 2009, espe- members are more delinquent than non-gang members. cially, in Texas cities with a large Hispanic population The United States experienced tremendous growth in such as Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, El Paso and juvenile gangs in the 1980s and 1990s as the number of Laredo. In some of these cases, juvenile gang members gang members in cities and jurisdictions with or teenage death squads (Laredo, Texas - Mexican drug gang-related problems increased from 286 to about cartels using teenage death squads in America, 2009) 4,800 (National Youth Gang Center, 1999). More recent were believed to be the perpetrators. Therefore, these gang developments are unclear and largely limited to compounding factors emphasize the significance of media stories. This qualitative study is an attempt at exploring the issue of gangs. updating the knowledge on juvenile gangs, specifically, Juvenile gang members are individuals who are in the United States' fourth largest city, Houston, Texas. under the age of 18 or individuals who are below the age Gang activity appears to be increasing. The limit set by their state as the legal age of majority. They National Gang Threat Assessment (NGTA) (2009) indi- also identify themselves as gang members and have cated that in 2005 there were 790,000 gang members engaged in criminal activities as a result of their gang with 26,000 gangs. By 2009, gang members had affiliation. The Texas Penal Code § 71.01 (2009) has increased to 900,000. The report also stated that gangs defined the term gang as three or more people engaged were responsible for a great number of crimes commit- in criminal activity. ted in many urban and suburban communities across the An impediment in comprehending the development United States. Gang members engage in different activi- of gangs is the direct and, or indirect impact of poverty ties such as theft, assault, alien smuggling, burglary, as opposed to various stressors of youth. Agnew's drive-by shootings, extortion,