In Mallicoat and Gardiner’s Criminal Justice Policy, read:
Chapter Eleven – Hagedorn and Chesney-Lind’s America’s “War on Gangs”: Response to a Real Threat or a Moral Panic?
Based on the reading and what you have learned in this module about the social construction of crime, respond to the following:
In 1-2 paragraphs, explain why the social construction of reality orientation is concerned with the definition of criminality and the criminal justice systems’ response to criminality. In an additional 1-2 paragraphs, analyze the portrayal of the Chicano youth gangs (as detailed in Article 10 and Hagedorn and Chesney-Lind’s work) and explain the impact of this portrayal on policy decisions related to the Chicano youth. Utilizing the theoretical assertions and data provided in the article, identify and explain how the construction of Chicano youth gangs as violent has impacted the public, the police, and the criminal justice response to these youths.
Determine whether the impacts and policy decisions made in response to this epidemic were related to legitimate criminal justice concerns or whether they were a reaction to a socially constructed issue. Give reasons for your answer.
Sample Solution
