President Obama and Criminal Control Policy

¶ … Comorbidity and Continuity of Psychiatric Disorders in Youth After Detention." The criminal justice issue selected is: juvenile detention reform. The article presents information of CCJTDC or the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Some things to highlight is the comparison to nationwide statistics stating 90% of detainees are male. Of the detainees in juvenile detention centers, the majority are racial/ethnic minority. Because the majority are non-white, the researchers looked for potential participants that fit within the strata. The range is ages 10-14, Hispanic males and females, African-American males and females, and non-Hispanic white males and females, however greater focused was placed on Hispanic and African-American youth.

One aspect of reform lies in changing the growth rate of transfers from juvenile court to adult criminal court. These kinds of transfers typically result from "judicial waiver on a case-by-case basis, automatic transfers based on the type of offense, criminal history, and age of the detainee; and prosecutorial direct-file mechanisms that allow prosecutors to determine when to file certain juvenile cases directly in adult criminal court" (Abram et al., 2015). Because of the increased availability of legal mechanisms that help process juveniles within the adult criminal court system, within the last three decades, transfers have occurred at a rate of 366% just from 1983 to 1998. In 2004, 7% of the total population of youth in the juvenile justice system have been transferred directly to adult criminal court.

In order for the researchers to conduct the study, they needed parental permission, interviews, and follow-up interviews. They included variables like history of incarceration. They also examined missing data meaning they compared information about participants that did both interviews and participants that did not. The results from the interview demonstrated a prevalence for PTSD in the participants. If juveniles experience PTSD in juvenile detention centers, they must face extreme stress and mental health problems if they are transferred to adult facilities should they face trial in adult criminal court.

Daily Review

Many of the articles for the three weeks focused on the Bernie Sanders, Hilly Clinton Democratic Primary results. Since the primaries are about to end, Bernie Sanders does not want to let go of the race and is making Democrats feel pressure to unite the party to make sure Clinton receives enough support to beat Trump. Trump was in the news for weeks as well. One specific news story was his racist remark about a judge handling a case involving Trump University. Trump referred to the judge saying "his Mexican heritage is affecting the court case outcome." "

Another big news story that seemed to continue for days and is still making headlines is the Stanford rape victim and the letter she wrote to her attacker. There have also been two school shootings. One in a college campus and one recently in a high school. These three main themes, politics, rape, and school shootings seem to have saturated the news and made headlines for the last year. This has influenced crime control policies because immigrants for one, are being heavily targeted. School policy has included the need to examine suspicious behavior more and increase anti-bullying tactics. People are calling for reform of sentencing for sexual assault crimes since cases have received lax sentencing.

Week 2 Discussion 1

The President of the United States holds significant power when it comes to crime control policy. This is because when a new law becomes part of the current body of statutes and laws, it must be signed by the President along with having the opportunity to perform other actions. He holds power in controlling and shaping the directions of crime policy. "He can issue Executive Orders that can have the force of law. He nominates the judges and Justices of the federal courts, members of his cabinet, and the heads of the executive agencies. He can appoint independent crime commissions" (Shahidullah, 2008, p. 10). Along with all the extra actions the President has the option to make, he can also exert influence over state legislatures, mayors, and governors to support a crime agenda he or she favors. The most important aspect of being President that shapes crime control policy is he or she makes the federal crime control budget.