Punished Chapter 3 PDF

Preview

Summary

Chapter 3 notes for Punished ...

Description

Punished Chapter 3 The Labeling Hype Coming of Age in the Era of Mass Incarceration 



During the three years of observation, Rios counter forty-two citations for loitering, disturbing the peace, drinking in public, not wearing a properly fitted bicycling helmet, and violating curfew Played a crucial role in pipelining young men deeper into the criminal justice system - Some would miss their court days and others would appear in court, but could not pay their citations, which could lead to warrants for arrest or probation - Warrants and probation marked a permanent label upon them for future criminalization - Probation meant that they could be stopped, searched, or reported at any given moment

Tyrell’s Too Tall 





The Ville housing project, where Tyrell grew up, has been notorious for its crime rate since the 1980’s - Consisted of rows of two-story apartment buildings, showcasing its notoriety for drug trafficking and violence - Some of the recently remodeled unites have bullet holes in the windows, crack pipes in the lawns, and crack addicts and dealers at every corner - The millions of dollars in renovations would not transform the neighborhood victimized without implementing programs based on changing the social structure and social control of the community Tyrell’s Story - Was raised by his father, John, because his mother had left them for a drug dealer a. She was addicted to crack and showed up sporadically to ask for money b. This situation was not unique to Tyrell: eighteen of the boys Rios studied had at least one parent who had problems with drugs or alcohol - He was homeless for part of his childhood, sleeping in cars, shelters, crack houses, and in the parking lot of the Ville - Tyrell’s dad was a mechanic but could not find work for a living wage a. He attempted to keep Tyrell sheltered from the effects of poverty by teaching him positive values b. Often parents, like Tyrell’s father, became desperate in their failed attempts to guide their children, and sought guidance from probation officers, police, or school officials c. These officials advised them their punitive approaches to dealing with delinquents, therefore, teaching parents to criminalize their own children By sixth grad, Tyrell was facing the effects of his delinquent label

-

 



He felt that he could no longer exist outside of the violence that defined the Ville He claimed his height contributed to his forced entry into the street life a. He was the tallest student in the school, leading to many to assume he was a threat to them b. He was a constant target of police surveillance and random checks for drugs or suspicion - He felt that one thing he could control was making decision to sell drugs to support himself Over the course of three years, Rios heard or observed being stopped by police twentyone times, more than any other youth in the study His father took his stress and anger out on Tyrell due to his inability to find a stable job - He could only find work in the local informal economy where his clientele were the poor local residents who could not afford to pay him a living wage - His father’s lack of economic stability led Tyrell to realize that he would have to “hustle” for his own money Tyrell dropped out of school and devoted himself to selling drugs on the street - Breaking the law was his decision, yet he was pressured and forced by the conditions in which he lived - He felt he had nothing to lose

Jose Learns the Code 



Jose grew up in the neighborhood that hosted one of Oakland’s largest gangs, the East Side Gang - His family attempted to move to a safer apartment in Berkeley multiple times, but the high rent prices always forced them to return - Their apartment complex was the main hangout for the gang, and it set adjacent to a neighborhood liquor store where drug dealers, drug addicts, and gang members congregated - When Jose was 10, a gang member pushed him as he was carrying a gallon of milk home to his family - He found a police officer to report the dispute, and the officer laughed, saying “he had better things to do” In the study, Rios accounted twenty-two instances when police were called to solve minor community problems - In the twenty-two, police only intervened one time - In the others, police either ignored the residents who called or took down information and left the scene - Overpolicing-underpolicing paradox a. Police officers target easy “criminals”, such as youth who visibly display their deviance and delinquency b. These kids who have been labeled by the officer are the ones that they are most likely to ignore when they need assistance





The incident with the milk acted as a turning point for Jose, where he would turn to violence to prevent victimization - Sociologist Elijah Anderson finds that appearing aggressive and willing to commit violence is a self-defense process for some inner-city residents - The code offers a way for them to protect themselves from victimization and build respect from others - The code is a part of everyday life on the street, that encompasses and shapes their personal routines, income strategies, orientations to school, etc. a. He joined the gang to prevent from being victimized from them b. Although he was protected from the gang, being apart of the gang attracted violence from rivaling gangs - The code of the street was used as a form of street justice, when the criminal system had failed inner city youth Criminalization created spatial demarcation, where police set barriers for where individuals could loiter or commit crime - Violating the set barriers led to brutalization, harassment, and arrest - Structured the rules of the code of the street a. Crimes could be committed by the gang inside the complex, that was under policed

Police in School  







For all boys in the study, negative police encounters were not restricted to the streets and most of their first encounters took near or inside of a school Jose’s first encounter was after he had set the bathroom trash can on fire - The police came and arrested him and his friends with handcuffs - Although he was not taken to jail, his parents, friends, and school started to view him as a delinquent - Jose continued to act out and consistently failed academic endeavors - The school began to serve as a place of punishment and control, rather than a place of learning According to Jose, the school denied him of his “positive rite” - School functioned as a space where his need for acknowledgement was denied, and he was treated with indignity and disdain - Being shamed and feeling stigmatized from the creation of delinquent labels helped Jose to create a self-fulfilling prophecy or himself - Jose believed they were all against him, so he treated them with hostility, which resulted in officials acting severely towards him After he and his sisters were shot at, Jose was reluctant to tell anything to the police - He no longer trusted that they would find who was responsible, and was afraid that if he told them anything it would come back to those who had shot at him The culture of criminalization has created a corresponding culture that forbids snitching - Many of the boys vowed to never provide information to the police, even if they were the victims



This vow was an attempt to avoid further criminalization, unjust arrests, sentencing, and to protect themselves from being ratted out by the police By age fourteen, Jose was unofficially accepted into the gang after the attack on his sisters - He went on missions with other gang members to find and attack rival gangs - He began to smoke marijuana, which led to his first booking in juvenile hall - After two days in juvenile hall, Jose figured that if he was going to take risks and be arrested, he might as well make some money a. He attempted to become a crack-cocaine dealer b. Sixteen of the youths in the study sold drugs at one point, and all of these boys described making a lot of money in the process i. The reality was that most of the drug dealers were making less than minimum wage, all while risking incarceration, violence, and addiction - On Jose’s first day selling crack, the police arrested him and placed him in a gang database, CalGang a. Being placed in the database can add 5-25 years to a felony sentence, under the 1988 Street Terrorism and Enforcement Act b. Six of the boys in the study eventually charged with gang enhancements

Tyrell Gets Marked 



  



After Tyrell’s stint in juvenile hall for possession of marijuana, he was labeled as a deviant is his fathers’ eyes, who attempted to beat him as punishment - Tyrell fought back, resulting in his father disregarding him after the fight The stress of being criminalized in the neighborhood led him to view “juvy” as an escape - Differing from the street, he was only punished for breaking the rules in juvy - Detention facilities became preferred social contexts for many inner-city youths because they provide structure, discipline, and predictability By age fifteen, Tyrell was a target for the police They picked him out easily because of his height and they harassed him every time they saw him In fear of being arrested again, Tyrell changed careers to recovering debts for local drug dealers - Tyrell became extremely violent At sixteen, he was placed on two years probation with electronic monitoring as a condition of his release - Whenever he went a few hundred feet from his house, a message would be sent to his probation officer, who could arrest him for violating his parole - His home became a new hotspot for delinquent boys and a safe haven from criminalization

Jose Internalizes Violence 

When meeting up with Rios, Jose attacks a young man walking toward them - Jose said the other kid was Puppet, a member of a rival gang

-

Every time Jose or his friends saw him, the immediately attacked him as an attempt to drive his gang out of the neighborhood Jose served two weeks in juvenile hall and was sent to a group home after for six months, where he made even more enemies His mother worked long hours with little pay, leaving her children unsupervised for most of the day a. She was forced to work and abandoned her own children, leaving them vulnerable to the violence of the streets and the criminalization of the state

Jose’s Life at Seventeen 



He has served time at Camp Sweeny and Alameda County juvenile justice facility, which detained offenders during the week and attempted to rehabilitate them - He could return home on the weekends as long as he did not leave - Although he wished to change, Jose felt he had to prove himself to his peers or become a victim - Guards did not protect them, even encouraging a culture of street justice After he was released, he attempted to change his life around - School and community centers were unable to help him find a job, enroll in monitoring programs, or provide a space where he didn’t have to feel like he needed to prove himself - His probation officer served as the only possible source of support a. He provided unrealistic advice and suggestions, leading Jose to default on the only skills he knew - Many of the young people in the study reported that they expected probation and police officers to help the find alternative ways of coping with the violence a. The adults failed to realize their advice had little practicality with life on the street - Resources to change were not available to Jose, despite his desire to do so a. Committed half-truths by hanging out with those he said he no longer would be involved with - The boys were to self-blame; they were taught that poverty, victimization, criminalization, and neglect were products of their own actions

Code of the Street, Code of the State 

Schools, police, and probation officers help to perpetuate the code of the street - They either assume that all the boys were actively engaged in criminal and violent activity or by providing them little choice but to engage in the code - Police officers refused to provide them protection and enabling the overpolicingunderpolicing paradox - They created a label hype and culture of punishment that criminalized young people’s everyday style and pursuit of happiness...