Sociology 2267A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Status Offense, Truancy
13 May 2019
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Document Summary
We view youth delinquents differently than adults criminals. If a youth breaks the law, we generally view that person as immature and in need of our guidance and help. If an adult breaks the law, we generally view that person as someone who is responsible for his or her behaviour and deserves to be punished. Came from the notion that we cannot just lock them up and expect that they will be fine upon release. It is important to understand why and how this happens: age is the distinction whether people should help or not. The state felt it necessary to regulate the lives of youth more closely than adults. Issue is that it is very paternalistic from the government. Status offense laws were taken quite seriously until the late 1950s and early 1970s: often formally processed, sometimes subjected to severe punishments, especially likely to be enforced against females.
