Facilities and Inmates

Objective: reflect on student's prior knowledge of justice systems and the effects of social norms on youth.

Procedure:

• Ask the students to reflect and write down their answers to the following questions for 5 minutes.

  • • What do you think happens when a young person under the age of 18 gets in trouble with the law?

    • Where do they go?

    • How do think the justice system processes cases involving minors (youth)?

    • In your opinion, what kinds of impacts do you think putting children in jail could have on the child's life?

• After 5 minutes, ask a few students to share some of their responses with the class. Discuss common situations or events we have recently seen in the media.

• Then lead the students in a discussion answering, "What is juvenile incarceration or detention?" based on the previous aspects that were mentioned in the warm-up reflection. Ask one of the students to read the definition aloud. Ask the students what their thoughts are on this definition compared to what they have seen.

First Activity Troubleshooting

• If students go completely silent during discussion, bring some common media news to analyze what the student notice and how this relates to the definition.

Incarceration Synonyms

• Imprisonment

“he was sentenced to two months' imprisonment”

• Internment

“he was threatened with internment in a concentration camp”

• Confinement 

“he was immediately released from his confinement”

• Detention

"one of the effects of police detention is isolation from friends and family”

• Custody

“my father was being taken into custody”

Objective: To expose and define words that we will see most commonly throughout the lesson and activities.

Procedure:

• Direct students to read and discuss the meaning of "juvenile incarceration or detention." Do they agree with this meaning based on the juvenile systems they have seen? Why or why not?

• Next, lead the students through the new vocabulary. Explain situations where the students will see these words. 

• Ask students to write 4 sentences interchangeably using the synonyms of imprisonment in the context that they would "naturally" see this vocabulary being used.

Caveats and Troubleshooting: 

• Students may be confused on the various synonyms of the new vocabulary. Teachers can have students practice filling in example sentences that use the synonyms in various contexts.

Procedure:

• Lead the students through the history of the first juvenile detention facility, "House of Refuge." 

  • Ask the students if they have seen any institutions or facilities that have similar rehabilitation facilities today. Discuss their thoughts on these types of juvenile facilities. 

• Next, students will analyze the two pictures of different juvenile facilities in two different countries. In pairs or groups, they should discuss what they see and notice in the pictures. 

• After 3 minutes, lead students in a class discussion about

  • How are the pictures are the same? 

  • How are they different? 

  • Why do you think they look like this in these countries? 

  • What outside factors could impact the way these facilities are built?

• Remind students to think of these questions in the next activity.

Procedure:

• The students will watch this video twice (linked). This video is about the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center in Michigan, US, their facilities, their institution, their process, and the inmates responsibilities.

• Introduce the video and as they watch, have them think about the questions and responses from the discussion they had participated in the previous activity. 

• Watch the video again, and during the video, have the students answers these questions.

  • What do you notice about the detention center? 

  • What is given to the inmates as a positive reinforcement?

  • Do you think this type of environment promotes positive behavior changes? Explain why.

  • What are your thoughts on their methods to correct behavior?

• After watching the video twice, the student should share their answers to these question with their table mates and their thoughts about the detention center from the video.

  • Ask at least 2 groups to share what their partners had said about the facility in response to the questions or their personal thoughts.

Procedure:

• Now that students have analyzed juvenile facilities, transition to inmates in the "juvenile systems across the world" (Slide 11). 

  • This slide is an introduction to inmates in juvenile systems what they experience, and some reasons why juveniles are being incarcerated. The teacher should talk through this information, but students do not need to write this slide down. 

• The students should analyze the data on slide 12 on inmate racial and gender disparities. Discuss the definition of "disparities", noticeable significant differences in treatments of different races and genders.

• Have the student investigate the demographics in the US (slide 13) for 1 minute. The students should share what they notice, then ask the following questions:

  • Why do you think young AA and L/H are incarcerated more than other ethnicities?

    • ex. Historical injustices, racial and ethnic disparities.

  • Why are there a lot more males in juvenile residential placements than females?

    • Males are more likely to take higher levels of risk than females.

    • ex. domestic violence, historical disparities of sexism

  • What are some factors outside the justice system that affects who gets incarcerated?

    • ex. socioeconomic status, city residential and commercial zones, government policies.

  • If an extra activity is needed, have the student annotate one of these articles.

    • https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4111266/

    • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070612090301.htm

  • This transitions into "Systemic Racism in the Juvenile Justice System" (slide 14). 

  • Before watching the video (linked), ask the students what is systemic racism? 

    • If there is confusion, ask the students what each word means, then have them combine the two to fully comprehend the phrase.

  • Ask what does "systemic disparities" mean? Then have the students share some examples.

  • Watch the video. 

  • After, ask the students to name racial disparities they saw in the video. Write these down on a whiteboard or chalkboard in order for the student to analyze these ideas in the next activity. 

• Students will reflect on these questions at the end of the lesson.

  • Are there societal norms or laws in the country you are from that may affect juvenile incarceration? In what ways do these affect the youth in your country?

  • What is the difference between jail and penitentiary/prison?

  • What is the difference between correctional and incarceration?

  • What 2 countries did you choose to research?

If an extra activity is needed, lead the students in a discussion on the two countries they chose and why they chose those countries. They can then share their answers to the questions on slide 17.

• Google Slides presentation 

• Lesson Plan Outline

• “Jim Crow Juvenile Justice.” YouTube, youtu.be/7hgXWK7-1ZM?si=igHFQAieeUig2f3i. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

• “Kent County Juvenile Detention Center.” YouTube, youtu.be/ypUvPcwt9fg?si=tde4tjmr9Vny3-EX. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation. “Juvenile Detention Explained.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 14 Nov. 2020, www.aecf.org/blog/what-is-juvenile-detention.

• Author(s)                                  Philip W. Harris. “A Century of Juvenile Justice.” National Institute of Justice, nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/century-juvenile-justice. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

• Barnert, Elizabeth S, et al. “How Does Incarcerating Young People Affect Their Adult Health Outcomes?” Pediatrics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5260153/.

• Mendel, Richard. “System Reforms to Reduce Youth Incarceration: Why We Must Explore Every Option before Removing Any Young Person from Home.” The Sentencing Project, 20 Mar. 2024, www.sentencingproject.org/reports/system-reforms-to-reduce-youth-incarceration-why-we-must-explore-every-option-before-removing-any-young-person-from-home/.

• RE;, Barnert ES;Perry R;Morris. “Juvenile Incarceration and Health.” Academic Pediatrics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26548359/#:~:text=Incarcerated%20youth%20face%20disproportionately%20higher%20morbidity%20and%20higher,engagement%20in%20high-risk%20behaviors%2C%20and%20underlying%20health%20disparities. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

• Rovner, Joshua. “Youth Justice by the Numbers.” The Sentencing Project, 14 Aug. 2024, www.sentencingproject.org/policy-brief/youth-justice-by-the-numbers/#footnote-3.

• “Youth Involved with the Juvenile Justice System.” Youth Involved with the Juvenile Justice System | Youth.Gov, youth.gov/youth-topics/juvenile-justice/youth-involved-juvenile-justice-system. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.