Richelle Baisch

7/20/16

Criminal Justice
Term Paper
Saving the Children
Preventing children from entering the criminal justice system and beyond

Why do people commit crime, why do children commit crime? Were they not raised with any
moral standards? I once had a conversation with a gentleman that taught in a California prison,
helping prisoners work towards getting their GED. I had mentioned to him that I feel bad for
criminals, that maybe if theyd had a better childhood, a better example in their lives, that they
wouldnt be in the predicament that theyre in. He stated you cant think like that. Theres
criminals that come good homes that commit crime and good people, that come from bad homes.
It boils down to choice, we all make choices.

But my mind doesnt work like that. Children need a positive influence in their lives and positive
experiences, in order to have a better chance of having a positive adulthood. Theres the saying
it takes a village, parents, teachers, law enforcement, coaches, church leader, neighbors.
Children need positive interactions from all adult contacts in order to have the best chance at
succeeding at life. When theres abuse, neglect and ridicule, children are less likely to succeed
and more likely to get into trouble with drugs, alcohol and the law. Children need to know what
honesty, work ethics, and the value of a dollar is.

I try to have positive interactions with the neighbor children. I want them to know that someone
cares, I want them to have a connection and to feel a unity in our community. Children are our
future and what are we doing to make it better?

There are children in homes where theres drug and alcohol addiction, parents in jail, children in
foster care, parents with chronic disease and parents who just dont care. Parents who expect too
much; whether its at school or extra-curricular activities.

Children need to learn good work ethics at school, at home and in extra-curricular activities, in
order to have good work ethics and positive interactions with society later in life. Children need
to know its not ok to lie, cheat and steal. Theres so many parents that show their children that
theyre an exception to the rule. Whether its sneaking treats into the movie theatre, where it
clearly states no outside food. Or lying about your childs age, because you dont want to pay the
higher price to get them into an amusement park. But what is this teaching our children? That
rules are only applicable where we decide them to be.

When it comes to white collar criminals, generally I believe theyre from good homes. My
thought is that these particular criminals were handed everything on a silver platter. They then
come to believe that they deserve everything. Sports cars, high end fashion, vacation homes
and then nothing is enough.

The research I will be doing, is about what causes children to commit crimes and what we can do
to prevent children from committing these crimes. With and end result of reducing the amount of
adults who commit crime.

According to www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2010/10/toxic_persons, in
1980 1 in 10 black high-school drop-outs were incarcerated. By 2008, that number was 37%. In
2012 they found that less than 30% of black male high-school drop outs were employed.

I dont care if someones white, black yellow or purple. I do care about why this is such a large
number and what can we do to fix this number. If high school drop-outs are more likely to
commit crime, what can we do to keep these children from dropping out of school? There are
many factors that come into play as to why someone may drop out of school. Some kids have a
more difficult time learning, some are just a different type of learner, it shouldnt be a one-sizefits all environment. Up until high-school it really is, but in high-school theres a lot more
options, theres vocation schools, how its a hands-on approach to learning. Where kids learn real
life skills. But how do we get more kids that have a harder time with the book learning
interested and involved in these type of programs. I love the quote by Einstein if you judge a
fish by the way he can climb a tree, hell spend his whole life thinking hes stupid.

Thats not the only thing that makes a child drop out, theres bullying. Thats a huge one, when it
comes to school shootings, it seems like it always boils down to bullying, a loner that doesnt
fit in. How do we get these kids to fit in, to not allow bullying? There needs to be a no tolerance
policy against bullying. There cant be a mind-set of kids will be kids. Get all children involved

in activities, involved in volunteer work and in the community. This will help all children to feel
a connection. If youre helping people, you are more kind, you see the good in people, youre
less judgmental, you care about how you make people feel.

Parents need to be involved in their childrens lives. Volunteer at school events, volunteer with
activities. Let your children know that you care, that school is important and most importantly
that they are important. Read to your children, be around if they need help with their homework.

Why do some children bully? Low self-esteem, being bullied themselves at home. My 12-yearold daughter had a recent bully experience. The girl who had done the bullying through text
message was a friend my daughters known since they were 3. It was over something silly, but
for a 12-year-old, I was shocked by what this other girl had wrote through text message. I had
told my daughter not to respond, your response is what youll be remembered by. My daughter
was hurt and by the next week this girl was wanting to be friends again. I was glad my daughter
was comfortable enough to come to me when this happened. While I do feel bad for this other
girl and I do believe this was a result of a low self-esteem. I told my daughter its important to
forgive this other girl. She would not be allowed to hang out with this friend, because I wont
allow someone to treat my daughter this way.

How do we protect the innocence of children? According to the book The Guardian of
Innocence, it accounts the story of a former porn star by the name of Shelley Lubben and talks
about the degree of sexual violence and degradation experienced by modern-day pornography. At

the age of nine Shelley was sexually molested. The damage done to Shelley sent her into a
downward emotional and mental spiral.

The sex industry and a lot of its porn stars (willingly and unwillingly) is that this life of
degradation and pain is portrayed by usually drugged, sexually diseased actresses (with an
abnormally young life span of 37.5 years.) These stars get so into drugs and alcohol to numb the
pain and shame. They turn themselves off emotionally and die.

These women totally lose their identity and live on drugs and alcohol. The survivors commonly
have STDs and fake boobs to show for their life of porn.

Its not just adult porn, theres kiddy porn, baby porn, human trafficking and prostitution. Its
repulsive to think that someone gets off on sexual acts with a child or even a baby. But according
to the Guardians of Innocence its demand is increasing.

Talk to your children about pornography, with the exposure our kids have to electronics and the
television and movies that are out there, our children are exposed way to young. And sexual
images are glorified and are made to seem the norm.

So how can we help protect our children. Again, be involved. Predators are generally someone
you know. Its less likely to be a creepy guy in a van and more likely to be a family member,
friend or neighbor. These predators have a grooming period, they want to see what the parents
notice, if the parents are involved, before they move in on their prey. Dont judge your children,

be someone they can confide in, without ridicule. Talk to your children about what is appropriate
touching and that they should never feel guilty for something someone has done to them.

Drugs are becoming increasingly popular. Talk to your children about drugs and alcohol, about
the dangers they pose. They are being exposed at a younger and younger age. According to How
to Raise a Drug Free Kid; take a hands on approach, set a good example, set and enforce rules,
monitor your childrens whereabouts, establish family traditions, incorporate spiritual practices,
both parents involved, engage in community, know your kids friends and their parents, eat meals
together, do not keep controlled substances in the medicine cabinet. Lock them up and dispose
properly when theyre no longer needed, trim television time and keep the communication lines
open.

Know that you can love your children and not like what theyre doing. Let your children know
that youll always love them unconditionally. You dont have to like or support negative
behaviors, but make sure they know theyre loved.

But what about the children that dont have parents that can provide the necessary love and
support needed for a child for whatever reason. Theres children that live with their parents and
the parents dont seem to care. Single parent homes, children in foster care, children living with
grandparents, theres even homeless youth. What do we do as a society, to give these children the
help that every child deserves?

According to the Social Learning Theory, criminal behavior is learned through close relations
with others, it asserts that children are born good, but learn to be bad. This theory states that all
people have the potential to become criminals because modern society presents many
opportunities for illegal activity, but one has the choice not to engage. If a child is raised in a
clean community that has strong morals and if that child has positive role models at home and in
the community, he or she is more likely to grow up achieving their goals. Opposing that scenario,
when you have a child growing up in a poor neighborhood where he or she is surrounded by
gangs, drugs, and violence every day, it is very likely that this child will grow up committing
crimes. (McDavid and McCandless, 1962)

What do we do as a community to provide positive role models and a strong community for the
children that their parents dont provide it for them. I believe some has been done in this area,
with after school programs like The boys and Girl Programs, reduced activity fees for recreation
and school programs, reduced and free child care. But theres more to be done, if everyone in
society took even an hour or two a week to volunteer and try to meet the needs of children in our
community we could make a huge difference. We all need to take part, let a child know you care,
teach children about something your talented in.

Quick List of Positive Needs of Children:

Positive role model

Two parent home

Extra-curricular activities (dance, swimming, student government, chess club, band,

football, piano, karate, debate club, choir, girl scouts, boy scouts, church groups, etc.)

Positive School Experience

Eating meals with your family

Parental involvement (whether at school or with activities)

Family rituals

Volunteer experience/community involvement

Parents knowing friends and parents of friends

Values

Spirituality

Resources:

How to Raise a Drug Free Kid

By: Joseph A. Califono Jr.
The Guardians of Innocence
By: Mary Mulle
http://juvenilejusticeblog.web.unc.edu/2012/08/20/delinquent-by-reason-of-poverty/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2010/10/toxic_persons.html