Turn on Speakers Phone Numbers

◦ Tech Support - 866-522-7747 (2) (3) (open 24/7)

Class Rules What’s New Unit weeks run from Wednesday –

Tuesday

Call me Dan Introduction/Background Ask Questions Any Time in Seminar Text Book – eBook – Doc Sharing Class Rules

◦ Participate in Discussion Boards and Seminars

◦ Turn in assignments on time◦ Keep communication open with me◦ Must use Netiquette

What’s New?

Posted each week under Weekly Unit # Also found in Gradebook Also found in Weekly Announcement

from me

Week 1 Assignments are◦ Quiz◦ Seminar◦ Discussion Board

Discussions Minimum 100 words to get creditMust post a QUALITY response to at least one other

student – BE NICE!Post early in the week and post often PLEASE

(Wednesday to Tuesday)Units 1,2,3,4,6,7,8, and 10. 35 points in each Unit

except 6 (50 pts) The Course is 1000 points total, so the DB totals almost 30% of the course.

OK then, Let me start by telling you a little about how I grade: Discussion Board (db) - each week will have one discussion question. You are required to write a comprehensive comment for that question. I expect it to be about 100 words in length and while you may wish to copy something from the text or internet as part of your posting, I do not want a total cut and paste (unless it a second posting). For this comprehensive comment, I want more than just your opinion. If you give me your opinion, tell why you feel that way. Your posting should add to the discussion. FYI: this paragraph is EXACTLY 100 words.

Questions?

The QUIZZES are worth 20 points and can be found in the same Units (1, 2, and 6), totaling 6% of your total grade.

How to get 100% every time◦ Take a few questions at a time, submit, redo

as necessary

The seminars are worth 25 points each (20% of your overall grade) and also occur every week except weeks 5 and 10.

Tonight’s seminar is being used as an introduction. The remainder of seminars will consist of power points and discussion. These seminars are to be fun in nature but also a learning tool. This is where we can all communicate at the same time. Feel free to ask questions and participate.

However, if you should miss it, and would like to receive credit for the seminar, you are required to write a 300 - 500 word paper on the seminar topic. The alternative assignment goes in Doc Sharing.

Questions on seminars?

• Unit 3 – PowerPoint Analysis– 100 Points• Create a 5 to 6 slide PowerPoint presentation

responding to specific questions relating to a specific website.

• Unit 4, 7, and 8 – Analysis Essays– 100 Points each (30% of your grade)◦ 3 to 5 pages each responding to specific questions◦ Remember – I want more than your opinion◦ Document your sources◦ I submit everything to Turnitin.com

• Unit 9 – PowerPoint Analysis – 100 Points• Create a 4 to 7 slide PowerPoint presentation

considering the pros and cons of several delinquency prevention strategies.

• Please Note – these “other assignments” account for ½ of your grade – do not ignore them!  

General context of youth and youth crime Problems of youth in American culture What is “at risk”?

◦ Risk taking among kids Recent social improvements of American

teens Kids’ lives during feudal times Childhood in the American colonies What is meant by “child savers”?

◦ Creation of the concept of delinquency Juvenile delinquency today and the status

offender

80 million children in the United States◦ 50 million are between ages 5 and 17

Many have same problems as Aaliyah By age 18, they have spent more time in

front of a television set than in class Each year youth may see up to 1,000

rapes, murders, and assaults on TV

What impact might these facts have on youth?

General Context of Nature and Extent of Delinquency Be familiar with ways to gather data on delinquency Know problems with collecting data on delinquency Know how age and gender influence juvenile crime

rate List and discuss social correlates of delinquency Discuss concept of the chronic offender Be familiar with factors that predict teen

victimization

FBI compiles information on the number of criminal acts reported, this information is published in the Uniform Crime Report◦ The UCR is compiled of statistics from more

than 17,000 police departments Part I offenses include homicide, rape,

burglary etc. Part II offenses include vandalism,

liquor law violations, and drug trafficking

Victim surveys show that less than half of all victims report the crime to the police ◦ i.e. teens are unlikely to report crimes to the police in which they are vulnerable

The arrest data count only adolescents who have been caught

Victimless crimes (drugs, gambling, prostitution) are significantly undercounted

UCR arrest statistics are not divided by age

National Crime Victimization Survey◦ A comprehensive nationwide survey of

victimization in the U.S.

Validity of the NCVS Findings must be interpreted with caution

◦ Over-reporting due to victims’ misinterpretation

◦ Inability to record the personal criminal activity of those interviewed

◦ Inadequate question format

Asks adolescents to describe, in detail, their recent and lifetime participation in criminal activity

Contains questions about attitudes, values, and behaviors

Self-reports can be used to examine the offense histories of the criminal population

Validity of Self-Reports Comparisons between groups can be

highly misleading Can skew data and provide misleading

results

UCR remains the standard unit of analysis

NCVS includes unreported crime and important information on the personal characteristics of victims

Self-Report surveys can provide information on the personal characteristics of offenders

Crime rates increased gradually following the 1930s until the 1960s

UCR finds about 14 million arrests are now being made each year, or about 4,700 per 100,000 population

Official Delinquency Trends ◦ In 2008, juveniles were responsible for 16%

of Part I violent crime arrests and 26% of property crime arrests

◦ Number of offenses and offenders have been in a decade long decline

Self Reported Patterns and Trends◦Dark figures of crime are the incidents of crime and delinquency that go undetected by police

Monitoring the future (MTF) is the nation’s most important ongoing self-report survey◦If the MTF are accurate, the juvenile crime problem is much greater than the official statistics would lead us to believe