Reaction Paper Assignment

Prepare a 2 to 3 page paper in which you will do the following:

Interview a juvenile (any juvenile, whether it be a family member or acquaintance) about one or two aspects of this course (their knowledge of the justice system, experiences with police, thoughts about drugs and alcohol, understanding of the court process, ect.). Perhaps they have knowledge or experience with one of these topics or have a lot to say about them. The questions you ask will depend on your relationship with the juvenile and the juvenile’s ability to think critically about the topic.

This should be written up as an essay and not written in interview style. You should include your own thoughts on the topic as much as the juvenile’s, and be sure to emphasize the juvenile’s remarks or criticize them based on your understanding of the topic(s).

Your paper should include:

1. What you learned from the course about the topic in question.

2. Your respondent’s thoughts and experiences about the topic.

3. Your critical reaction to the juvenile’s remarks.

*****Reactions to Juvenile Interview*****

What he knows (name is Nate, age 14)

Charged less than an adult

No experience

They think it makes them seem cool

Something that will ruin your life

Understand the process a little

If he ever gets out of jail, there is nothing he can actually do with his life because it’s basically over. They don’t get to see you ever. Bad name to the family, the community will look at them differently and treat them differently. It can make the entire town look bad, one bad seed can change the thoughts on all the other kids in the community.

*****Topic on Discuss the consequences of incarcerating juveniles. What effects does this have on the juveniles, their families, and society as a whole?******

Additional info/notes:

There are numerous of consequences for incarcerating juveniles for example mental health increasing crime and suicide. It ends up being more negative than positive because of the effects. When a juvenile is arrested then incarcerated, the juvenile is not familiar to incarceration life. The simple life and the environment that got him there can cause a negative effect, when the juvenile who may have had those standards and a conscience learns to adapt to the awful incarceration he is facing. Also incarcerating juveniles can impact their families because it cause them to “fall apart.” They don’t have the stability the family originally had, they now have to re-plan their lives around visits to the dentition center and/or they may just end up losing touch with their child causing their family to fall apart. Some families may also feel embarrassed because they feel like they did something wrong as a parent, they didn’t do their job properly. All together incarceration for juveniles is more negative than positive but in all reality how are they going to learn from their “mistakes” if they don’t do the time.

****must be done perfectly***

Personally I have no reaction to the class, besides that it was interesting and a learned a lot. Things that I thought were right were technically wrong.