NCJ Number
75235
Date Published
1978
Length
163 pages
Annotation
This four-part guide provides secondary students with information about Maryland laws, court, and legal system.
Abstract
One section examines the nature and causes of increasing involvement of youth in crime and identifies those crimes most commonly committed by juveniles. A special section on shoplifting is included. Also examined are the nature of the police force, procedures followed by the police, and the constitutional limits of police power. Students are directed to analyze television crime drama, answer a self-rated quiz concerning whether the student would make a good police officer, and conduct fingerprint tests. Students are also asked to compare juvenile court with adult court and consider the effectiveness of the juvenile system. In one activity students role play police officers and decide appropriate action for hypothetical juvenile cases. In addition, the types, purposes, and impact of correctional facilities upon youth and the family are analyzed. The guide emphasizes the gathering and interpretation of information and statistical data. Suggestions for field trips, resource speakers, simulations, films, and books are included. Charts and tables are given, and student resource sheets and pretests and posttests are provided. (ERIC abstract modified)