The Child Savers: The Invention of Delinquency.
TL;DR: The 40th anniversary edition of The Child Savers as discussed by the authors was published by the University of California, San Diego, USA, with an introductory essay by Miroslava Chavez-Garcia, critically examining how Platt's influential study has impacted many of the central arguments social scientists and historians face today.
Abstract: \"The Child Savers deeply influenced me and dozens of other feminist scholars who have studied social policy critically. This reissue is remarkable in allowing us to rethink it, and nowhere more valuable than in Tony Platt's own thoughtful reconsideration.\"- Linda Gordon, professor of history, New York University \"The Child Savers, at forty, is a classic. Accompanied by lively contributions that reflect on its impact and outline recent research, this new edition will ensure that the book lives on, its message always challenging, its relevance undiminished.\"- Hugh Cunningham, emeritus professor of social history, University of Kent \"The Child Savers is a classic, and the updated edition is even more relevant today; a must for the informed public and the perceptive student.\"- Jock Young, Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice, Graduate Center, City University of New York and John Jay College \"Platt's brilliant inquiry into the oxymoron of juvenile justice demands again that we upend our ritualized system of punishing, containing, and crushing our defiant young.\" -Bernardine Dohrn, Northwestern University School of Law Hailed as a definitive analytical and historical study of the juvenile justice system, this 40th anniversary edition of The Child Savers features a new essay by Anthony M. Platt that highlights recent directions in the field, as well as a critique of his original text. This expanded edition includes insightful commentaries from cross-disciplinary academics, along with an introductory essay by Miroslava Chavez-Garcia, critically examining how Platt's influential study has impacted many of the central arguments social scientists and historians face today. Anthony M. Platt is a professor emeritus at California State University, Sacramento. He is the author of several books on American history, social policy, and race relations. A volume in the Critical Issues in Crime and Society series, edited by Raymond J. Michalowski
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TL;DR: In this paper, a series of propositions that form the foundation for the "social support paradigm" of the study of crime and control are presented. But they have not been identified explicitly as a concept capable of organizing theory and research in criminology.
Abstract: Although “social support” is present as a theme in many criminological writings, it has not been identified explicitly as a concept capable of organizing theory and research in criminology. Drawing on existing criminological and related writings, this address derives a series of propositions that form the foundation, in a preliminary way, for the “social support paradigm” of the study of crime and control. The overriding contention is that whether social support is delivered through government social programs, communities, social networks, families, interpersonal relations, or agents of the criminal justice system, it reduces criminal involvement. Further, I contend that insofar as the social support paradigm proves to be “Good Criminology”—establishing that nonsupportive policies and conditions are criminogenic—it can provide grounds for creating a more supportive, “Good Society.”
666 citations
TL;DR: In the United States, the public clearly accepts, if not prefers, a range of punitive policies (e.g., capital punishment, three-strikes-and-you're-out laws, imprisonment). But support for get-tough policies is "mushy" as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: "Get tough" control policies in the United States are often portrayed as the reflection of the public's will: Americans are punitive and want offenders locked up. Research from the past decade both reinforces and challenges this assessment. The public clearly accepts, if not prefers, a range of punitive policies (e. g., capital punishment, three-strikes-and-you're-out laws, imprisonment). But support for get-tough policies is "mushy." Thus citizens may be willing to substitute a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for the death penalty. Especially when nonviolent offenders are involved, there is substantial support for intermediate sanctions and for restorative justice. Despite three decades of criticism, rehabilitation-particularly for the young-remains an integral part of Americans' correctional philosophy. There is also widespread support for early intervention programs. In the end, the public shows a tendency to be punitive and progressive, wishing the correctional system to achieve the diver...
568 citations
TL;DR: The finding that adolescents, compared to adults, are relatively more approach oriented in response to positive feedback and less avoidant in responseto negative feedback is consistent with recent studies of brain development, as well as epidemiological data on various types of risky behavior, and may have important practical implications for the prevention of adolescent risk taking.
Abstract: Contemporary perspectives on age differences in risk taking, informed by advances in developmental neuroscience, have emphasized the need to examine the ways in which emotional and cognitive factors interact to influence decision making. In the present study, a diverse sample of 901 individuals between the ages of 10 and 30 were administered a modified version of the Iowa Gambling Task, which is designed to measure affective decision making. Results indicate that approach behaviors (operationalized as the tendency to play increasingly from the advantageous decks over the course of the task) display an inverted U-shape relation to age, peaking in mid- to late adolescence. In contrast, avoidance behaviors (operationalized as the tendency to refrain from playing from the disadvantageous decks) increase linearly with age, with adults avoiding disadvantageous decks at higher rates than both preadolescents and adolescents. The finding that adolescents, compared to adults, are relatively more approach oriented in response to positive feedback and less avoidant in response to negative feedback is consistent with recent studies of brain development, as well as epidemiological data on various types of risky behavior, and may have important practical implications for the prevention of adolescent risk taking.
437 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that juveniles should not be held to the same standards of criminal responsibility as adults, because adolescents' decision-making capacity is diminished, they are less able to resist coercive influence, and their character is still undergoing change.
Abstract: The authors use a developmental perspective to examine questions about the criminal culpability of juveniles and the juvenile death penalty. Under principles of criminal law, culpability is mitigated when the actor's decision-making capacity is diminished, when the criminal act was coerced, or when the act was out of character. The authors argue that juveniles should not be held to the same standards of criminal responsibility as adults, because adolescents' decision-making capacity is diminished, they are less able to resist coercive influence, and their character is still undergoing change. The uniqueness of immaturity as a mitigating condition argues for a commitment to a legal environment under which most youths are dealt with in a separate justice system and none are eligible for capital punishment.
432 citations
Cites background from "The Child Savers: The Invention of ..."
...They examined personal motivation as well as criminal intent, seeking to identify the moral reputation of problematic children (Platt 1977)....
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...These Houses of Refuge were designed to maintain class status and prevent unrest (Krisberg & Austin 1993, Platt 1977)....
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...[Ben B. Lindsey, “The Boy and the Court,” Charities 13 ( January 1905):352; cited in Platt (1977)] Julian Mack, Chicago’s second juvenile court judge, similarly described the ideal juvenile court proceeding: The problem for determination by the judge is not Has this boy or girl committed a specific…...
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17 Apr 2009
TL;DR: Qvortrup, W.Lange and J.Mierendorff as mentioned in this paper discuss the evolution of childhood in Western Europe c. 1400-1750 and discuss the need for social studies of childhood.
Abstract: List of Figures and Tables Notes on Contributors Introduction: Why Social Studies of Childhood? J.Qvortrup, W.A.Corsaro & M-S.Honig PART I: CONCEPTS OF CHILDHOOD STUDIES Childhood as Structural Form J.Qvortrup Agency A.James Child Development and Development of Childhood M.Woodhead How is the Child Constituted in Childhood Studies? M-S.Honig Method and Methodology in Childhood Research A.Lange & J.Mierendorff PART II: HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXTS OF CHILDHOOD The Evolution of Childhood in Western Europe c. 1400-1750 H.Hendrick Transitions to Modernity J.Gillis Institutionalization as a Secular Trend H.Zeiher Pluralization of Family Forms A-M.Jensen PART III: GENERATIONAL RELATIONS Generational Order L.Alanen Generational Relations at Family Level B.Mayall Children, Generational Relations and Intergenerational Justice T.Olk Collective Identities H.Hengst PART IV: CHILDREN'S EVERYDAY LIVES/THE LOCAL FRAMEWORK Children's Bodies L.Fingerson Policies in Early Childhood Education and Care: Potentialities for Agency, Play and Learning G.Dahlberg Localities: A Holistic Frame of Reference for Appraising Social Justice in Children's Lives J.McKendrick Children as Problems, Problems of Children K.Rosier Childhood: Leisure, Culture, and Peers I.Frones PART V: CHILDREN'S PRACTICE - CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS From Child Labour to Working Children's Movement O.Nieuwenhuys Peer Cultures W.A.Corsaro Play and Games A-C.Evaldsson Leisure Time and Cultural Activities I.Frones Children as Consumers D.Cook Children and Television D.Buckingham Children and Digital Media: Online, On Site, On the Go K.Drotner PART VI: CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AND PLACE IN THE WORLD Children's Rights as Human Rights: Reading the UNCRC M.Freeman Interests in and Responsibility for Children and their Life Worlds D.Buhler-Niederberger & H.Sunker Transnational Mobilities and Childhoods A.Bailey Closing the Gap between Rights and the Realities of Children's Lives N.H.Kaufman & I.Rizzini Author Index Subject Index
384 citations