Integrity, Service, Excellence : JROTC’s Potential as a Delinquency Prevention Program

( Kenny Loui ) 한국소년정책학회 2013 少年保護硏究 Vol.23 No.-

The United States’ Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) is a high-school based youth leadership development program established in 1916 with the mission of developing in American youth the values of citizenship, service, and personal responsibility. Although primarily a youth leadership program by design, this report will examine the potential of JROTC as a delinquency prevention program. Topics covered include JROTC’s role and effectiveness in the areas of ethics education, peer-to-peer relations, youth mentoring, and students’ involvement in their schools and communities. Noteworthy is JROTC’s prevalence in inner-city neighborhoods and appeal to students who are considered to be at-risk―in particular, the JROTC unit based in Birchwood High School, an academic institution under the aegis of South Carolina’s Department of Juvenile Justice and the United States’ first JROTC program housed within a juvenile correctional facility. Overall, JROTC shows promise as a program that can be effective in helping to prevent delinquent behavior while instilling pro-social attitudes in youth.

Rehabilitation or Retribution? -The Effects of Educational Programs and Punitive Measures on Juvenile Delinquency-

kenny Loui 한국소년정책학회 2014 少年保護硏究 Vol.25 No.-

Given the media hype and political rhetoric surrounding youth crime and school violence in the United States in recent years, there has been great concern among Americans that juvenile crime has been on a rapid ascent, especially violent crime. Needless to say, a generation of “super-predators,” a term coined by John Dilulio (1995) to describe preadolescent, “fatherless, jobless, and Godless” youth that would grow up to become dangerous criminals, struck fear in the hearts of average Americans. But despite sensationalization by the media, politicians, and certain academics regarding the rise of juvenile crime and violence, contrary to popular belief, research has revealed that school crime has been on the decline in recent years, and for that matter, so have the rates of violent and property crimes in general (Greenwood, 2006; Lawrence, 2007). Regardless of whether crime rates are high or low, there are endless debates on what constitutes effective means of combating crime. Although violent crime committed by juveniles has declined in recent years, punitive measures taken against juvenile offenders have become harsher. The key question, therefore, is whether or not harsher punishments are an effective deterrent to juvenile delinquency. If not, are there more effective alternatives to the “get tough” approach to crime and delinquency? This paper will draw upon the sociological theories of crime— in particular Travis Hirschi’s social control theory—while exploring the effects of academic and vocational education programs as both preventative and reactive approaches to mitigating delinquency among youth, in contrast to punitive measuresthat emphasize incarceration. Specifically, it will be shown that an educational approach emphasizing rehabilitation over retribution helps to decrease delinquency, while incarceration of juvenile offenders—whether in youth detention centers or adult prisons—leads to continued and increased offending among youth. This is not to say that education programs and other preventative approaches should replace all punitive measures wholesale—one may argue that no punishment for a criminal or delinquent act, like excessive punishment, may very well motivate one to continue to be delinquent—but if shown to be effective, may serve as supplements to the “get tough” approaches to crime control.

Enhancing ‘Democratic Policing’: The Role of School Resource Officers in Improving Police-Juvenile Interpersonal Relationships

( Kenny Loui ) 한국소년정책학회 2014 少年保護硏究 Vol.26 No.-

The role of the police officer in democratic society is somewhat of a paradox and may best be described as a double-edged sword. Specifically, the duty of a police officer is to preserve law and order, without which civilized society would devolve into chaos. Nevertheless, in carrying out their duties, law enforcement officers often times are required to infringe upon the rights and freedoms of others. In the end, a degree of social control is necessary for a democratic society to survive, but how much control is sufficient to preserve democracy? This seemingly never-ending battle between freedom and security with regard to law enforcement’s role in society can be witnessed throughout history and in the present day. Given the nature of police work, law enforcement officers have developed a “working personality” that influences their perspective of the world around them and of the citizens that they are sworn to protect and serve.” As Skolnick (2011) explains, police officers tend to experience feelings of isolation from the general public while developing feelings of trust and solidarity with one another. This in turn can lead to an ‘us vs. them’ mentality among police officers. In the end, a police officer’s attitudes and perceptions of the general public―and certain members of society specifically, such as ethnic and racial minorities―can influence their actions and behavior when interacting with the citizenry. Moreover, how a citizen is treated by a police officer can influence his or her views of that particular officer and of the police in general. Ultimately, interpersonal relationships and social interactions between the police and general public are important aspects of democratic law enforcement. Related to the balance between social control and personal freedom is the debate of police presence within America’s schools. Many schools have implemented school resource officer (SRO) programs in which police officers are assigned to schools for the purpose of providing security and crime prevention. It could be argued that having police officers in schools serves not only as a means of crime prevention but allows officers to serve as mentors to juveniles, especially those from at-risk populations, which in turn allows for a development of rapport between officers and youth who are representative of the overall community that the officers serve. On the other hand, there may be concerns that officers, due to the nature of their profession, are likely to “criminalize” certain acts and behaviors of the juveniles they encounter on campus. This report will examine the role of SROs and how their presence in schools affects their perceptions of juveniles (and by extension, the general public) as well as the perceptions of juveniles toward police officers. In brief, the paper will explore whether the presence of school resource officers helps to improve relationships between police officers and juveniles, while additionally mitigating officers’ feelings of social isolation.

Once a Delinquent, Always a Cadet: JROTC as a Basis for a Model Juvenile Diversion Program

( Kenny Loui ) 한국소년정책학회 2014 少年保護硏究 Vol.27 No.-

The use of diversion programs in juvenile justice is for the purpose of processing youth offenders by means other than through the use of the formal juvenile justice process. The rationale behind diversion is to provide rehabilitation―as opposed to retribution―for youth offenders, without the stigma that may come with being formally processed via the juvenile courts. Many different types of juvenile diversion programs used in the United States today such as traditional counseling programs, teen courts, conflict resolution programs, and wilderness camps. One American youth program that has been in existence for almost a century is the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Although not a youth delinquency program by design, JROTC has the potential to be utilized as a model for an effective juvenile diversion program. Key considerations for a proposed JROTC juvenile diversion program that are examined in this report include administrative concerns, ethical and legal issues, management of staff and workplace conflict, and application of evidence-based practices in effective juvenile diversion techniques ―specifically, positive versus negative labeling of the youth offender, the use of token economies in correctional institutions, positive adult role models, and community service restitution. In recent years, JROTC has expanded to encompass schools located in inner-city neighborhoods and communities with youth who are considered to be at-risk. Success stories in these areas are indicators of JROTC’s potential for success with not only at-risk youth but youth who have already been deemed delinquent.