Imagine that you have been appointed Sociological Advisor to the City of New York in turnstile jumping policy and awarded unlimited funds to pursue whatever set of reforms you dean necessary. The city has asked you for a summary report outlining your proposed interventions. The reforms you suggest can be as far-reaching as you choose, and expense is no object. Feel free to think outside the box and be as bold and creative as you want, even if that means discarding or overhauling major aspects of the current system.
Few issues to consider:
Which theoretical explanation for deviance is most closely aligned with your personal beliefs? Are you most sympathetic to positivist, relativist, or critical theories? How will you proposed reform reflect your theoretical inclinations?
To the extent that turnstile jumping policies incorporate sociological research that all, they have tended to rely on remedies that target the individual jumper, based on the assumption that jumping is nothing more than an individual “choice”. Far less common are approaches to turnstile jumping that implicate anomie theory, differential association, control theory, labeling, or conflict theory. Might a shift in emphasis benefit the system? Why or why not?
Which types of turnstile jumping deserve to be targeted? Are certain varieties of turnstile jumping currently afforded too much attention? Are others ignored or neglected?
How will your proposed reform rectify existing inequalities within the criminal justice system? Will it seek to ameliorate disparities of race, gender, sexuality?
Although your powers are limited in scope of the criminal justice system, the underlying causes of turnstile jumping are arguably even more intransigent. How can criminal justice reform interface with the root causes of turnstile jumping, if at all? How will your proposed reform intersect with other spheres of social life? Will your refrom in some way impact education, labor market, etc?
Which approach to turnstile jumping do you believe is most effective? How should the current system be changed to align more closely with prefered objective?