NCJ Number
60050
Date Published
Unknown
Length
17 pages
Annotation
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OPEN CUSTODIAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR FRENCH JUVENILE OFFENDERS HAS BEEN PROVED BY THE PROGRAM AT THE CENTRE FAMILIAL DE JEUNES DE VITRY (CFDJ).
Abstract
THE POPULATION OF THE CFDJ IS COMPOSED OF DIFFICULT MALE DELINQUENTS AND MALE NONDELINQUENTS OF AVERAGE TO HIGH INTELLIGENCE AGED 14 TO 21 YEARS WHO REMAIN FOR AN AVERAGE OF TWO AND ONE-HALF YEARS. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS ARE MAINLY NEUROSES. DURING THE DAY YOUTHS WORK OR STUDY OUTSIDE THE HOME, RETURNING TO THEIR 'FAMILY' (THE CFDJ) IN THE EVENING AND GENERALLY COMING AND GOING AT WILL. INDIVIDUALIZED SOCIOTHERAPY CONSISTS OF PARTICIPATION IN SOCIOCULTURAL ACTIVITIES (E.G., OUTSIDE CLUBS, A HOME NEWSPAPER, PHOTO EXHIBITS, POETRY READINGS), SOCIODRAMAS, AND PSYCHOTHERAPY SESSIONS WITH A TREATMENT TEAM. A FOLLOWUP STUDY OF 138 YOUTHS PLACED IN THE INSTITUTION BETWEEN 1950 AND 1966 INDICATES THAT 80 PERCENT OF THE YOUTHS DID NOT RESUME THEIR DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR, THAT THERE WAS NO APPARENT CARRY-OVER OF ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS INTO ADULTHOOD, THAT MOST (63 PERCENT) HAD MARRIED AND MANY HAD BECOME CONSCIENTIOUS FATHERS, AND THAT MOST YOUTHS HAD REMAINED OUTSIDE THE LEADERSHIP CLASS, BUT WERE EMPLOYED IN WHITE-COLLAR RATHER THAN BLUE-COLLAR JOBS. ON THE WHOLE, 50 PERCENT OF THE YOUNG MEN WERE REGARDED AS WELL ADJUSTED, 22 PERCENT AS GOOD WITH RESERVATIONS, 13 PERCENT AS AVERAGE OR POOR, AND 15 PERCENT AS UNCLEAR. RESULTS OF THE FOLLOWUP STUDY SUGGEST THAT ONLY DELINQUENT YOUTHS COMMIT NEW OFFENSES AFTER THEIR STAY, I.E., THAT DELINQUENT YOUTHS DO NOT 'INFECT' NONDELINQUENTS, AND THAT LONGER STAYS IN THE HOME ARE CONDUCIVE TO PROFESSIONAL STABILITY, TO AVOIDANCE OF LATER DELINQUENT ACTIVITIES, AND TO BETTER ADULT ADJUSTMENT. IN CONTRAST, INVESTIGATIONS OF TWO HOMES, ONE IN BRITTANY AND ONE IN THE BASQUE REGION, SHOW A 37 PERCENT AND 28 PERCENT RECIDIVISM RATE, RESPECTIVELY; BOTH FIND THAT THE CONTACT WITH DELINQUENTS HAS INCREASED THE LIKELIHOOD OF CRIMES BY NONDELINQUENTS. THIS DEVIATION FROM THE VITRY HOME STUDY FINDINGS MAY BE ACCOUNTED FOR BY THE DIFFERENT CLIMATES ESTABLISHED IN THE HOMES; IN VITRY, PAST CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES ARE NOT THE CENTER OF DISCUSSION. APPARENTLY, TWO OTHER FACTORS SEEM TO INFLUENCE A PROGRAM'S SUCCESS: ADULTS' TOLERANCE OF THE BOYS BEHAVIOR IN THE INSTITUTION AND THE ADHERENCE OF ALL PERSONS CONCERNED TO THE PRESCRIBED PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENT. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS FURNISHED. --IN FRENCH. (KMD)