Building a Culture of Lawfulness: Law Enforcement, Legal Reasoning, and Delinquency among Mexican Youth

Building a Culture of Lawfulness: Law Enforcement, Legal Reasoning, and Delinquency among Mexican Youth
Heath B. Grant
May 2006

ISBN-13:  978-1-59332-138-3 / Hardcover
Dimensions:  8.6 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches / xii, 200 pages

Price   $62.00

Description

Grant examines the legal socialization of youths by conceptualizing legal reasoning (how youths reason about the importance of rules and laws) as a resiliency variable that can mediate the negative influences of risk factors drawn from the criminological literature on self-reported delinquency. Grant's study also examines the effects of legal culture on socialization through youth perceptions of the legitimacy of law enforcement. The sample of over 10,000 Mexican youths participating in a state-wide program designed to positively influence perceptions related to rules and laws is unprecedented in the legal socialization literature.

About the Author

Heath B. Grant is a Deputy Chair in the Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Current projects include work on an international school-based effort to combat organized crime and corruption, a DOJ funded effort to assess nationwide best practices related to cultural diversity and policing, and a Fulbright/NIJ project to create a counter-terrorism training program that highlights the need for human rights and community mobilization strategies.