Teaching Ideas for Juvenile Offenders of Property Crimes
Juvenile offenders of property crimes often come from an impoverished background and broken families; many times they have lived in households where drug use and unemployment are prevalent. Opinions differ as to how to address juvenile offenders, ranging from harsher punishment to attacking the reasons that lead to property crimes. When teaching juvenile offenders of property crimes, try to focus on their personal stories, discuss what justice is, and help them learn to consider victim impact and offer compensation for crimes.
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Brainstorm
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In your class of juvenile offenders, discuss what makes people more liable to commit violence, including destruction of other people's property and examine what their lives were like as children or younger adolescents. Discuss what major changes occurred within the family unit and what decisions the juvenile offender made, both right and wrong. Present the juvenile offender with statistics and discuss what ways the offender might have dealt with a specific situation differently.
What Is Justice?
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Discuss what justice is and how the American justice system seeks to rehabilitate offenders. Discuss how crimes are punishable and how repeat offenses and more severe crimes carry a longer sentence. Examine how justice is meant to serve the victim of the crime and discuss what issues a juvenile may face in the detention system. Incorporate information about how juveniles are prosecuted in different states and how receiving stolen property may make more victims in property crimes. A teacher can include information from videos or outside sources to supplement teaching.
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Role Play
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Give the juvenile offender some item, preferably something that is not worth much, and let her keep it for a week or two. After time has passed, have her bring this object to the class and give it to someone else who may either destroy it or pretend to destroy it. Discuss how it feels to be on the receiving end of property crime and what that person might face to repair the damage to his property. Offenders should also consider whether or not the item is replaceable, as some items can never be restored and not everything has a face value.
Victim Impact
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Victims are greatly impacted by property crimes and often feel as if their privacy has been invaded. Have victims of property crimes come in and speak with the juvenile offenders about their experiences, or perhaps you can find another group so the victims and offenders are not together. This can help juvenile offenders see that their crimes have real victims.
Paying for Crimes
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The juvenile offender may not see jail time and may be sent to a youth facility or receive probation. To change your patterns, you must first see what it takes to pay for your crimes. Help the juvenile offenders see the consequences of crime by visiting a prison or even placing them on a work crew that goes out to different parts of the city to paint over graffiti, remove trash or do other community projects. Teachers of juvenile offenders may also choose to use a points or a fake money system to allow the teenagers to participate in specific projects and gain access to specific privileges when they reach amounts equal to the amount of property they destroyed.
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References
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