The Declining Significance of Delinquent Labels in Disadvantaged Urban Communities¹

Abstract

Labeling theory posits that formal sanctions contribute negative defining information to a youth's reputation and that novice delinquents internalize these negative appraisals. Reflected appraisals and social rejection, in turn, reinforce delinquency. In the context of severely disadvantaged inner-city communities-where arrests have become a normal and expected ritual of male adolescence, and official labelers and labels have less legitimacy-the alleged preconditions for a ''labeling'' effect of an arrest are generally not met. Retrospective, personal interviews with 20 minority youth (aged 18-20) from high-poverty urban neighborhoods, who experienced at least one juvenile arrest, suggest that juvenile arrests typically carry little stigma and do little discernible harm to self-concept or social relationships. Micro-level labeling theory is an inadequate framework to understand the social impact of mass criminal justice intervention in inner-city communities. Whereas the individual social psychological impact of the official labeling process has weakened, the mass criminalization of inner-city African-American youth has exacted collective costs in terms of social exclusion and diminished social expectations.

Lived Experiences of Youth of Color in Secured Facilities

“…Researchers have indicated that formal criminal labeling has contributed to a negative youth reputation that becomes internalized and criminalized, resulting in subsequent involvement in delinquency and deviant social networks (Bernburg, Krohn, & Rivera, 2006) as well as social exclusion and low social expectations (Hirschfield, 2008). Specifically, gang-like attire and appearance have led to negative labeling of youth of color and resulted in decreased access to life opportunities (Davies & Tanner, 2003) and increased risk for arrest (Tapia, 2010).…”

No Evidence of Specific Deterrence under Penal Moderation: Imprisonment and Recidivism in Finland

“…In impoverished minority communities in urban areas of the US, there are few individuals who do not personally know somebody who has spent time behind bars. Under these conditions, potential targets may become desensitized to the deterrent and stigmatizing influences of imprisonment (Hirschfield 2008). The restrained use of custodial sentences in Finland makes this national context suit able for testing the scope conditions of specific deterrence.…”

“…All else being equal, someone with three prior prison sentences is unlikely to be deterred (or stigmatized) much further as a consequence of the fourth one. Indeed, it is possible that after the first few incarcerations any new custodial sanction will reduce these effects as imprisonment becomes an increasingly normal experience (Hirschfield 2008).…”

Diverting young offenders from crime in Ireland: the need for more checks and balances on the exercise of police discretion

“…They see this official intervention as the catalyst or spark that ignites a delinquent career [6, 32; pp.9-10, 34, 59]. Official sanctions also affix negative or stigmatising labels to youthful deviants with predictable negative consequences [1,6,7,19,29,30,34,55]. Therefore the longer the offender can be kept away from official intervention, the easier it may be to divert him from a criminal career [42; 49; para.9.5, 72; 73].…”