Perspectives of Juvenile Crime Prevention: The Case of Finland (From Comparative Criminal Justice: Traditional and Nontraditional Systems of Law and Control, P 526-547, 1996, Charles B Fields and Richter H Moore, Jr, eds. -- See NCJ-161138)

• NCJ Number: 161167
• Author(s): A Laitinen
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Waveland Press, Inc.
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, International Crime Statistics Program.

Annotation

Perspectives on juvenile crime prevention in Finland focus on the extent of juvenile crime, the juvenile justice system, reactions against juvenile crime, research findings on the young offender, and principles and means of juvenile crime.

Abstract

Regarding the extent of juvenile crime in Finland, in 1982 juvenile offenders (15- to 20-year-olds) committed 26 percent of total crime; in 1991, they accounted for only 20 percent. Under the Finnish juvenile justice system, young offenders serve their sentences mainly in a juvenile prison. In an effort to curtail the use of prison for juveniles, "conciliation" was begun in the early 1980's. The purpose of conciliation is to seek alternatives to formal processing as a way of settling conflicts. Assumption of personal responsibility for the offenses and for the damage caused is emphasized in conciliation. Community service is a new penal sanction in Finland. It consists of a certain number of hours of regular unpaid work performed under supervision. Juvenile delinquency prevention efforts have focused on early intervention with juveniles who have problems in social adjustment. Efforts at such intervention, however, have become too bureaucratic and fail to monitor how the juvenile is responding to various efforts at resocialization. 2 figures, 5 tables, and a 20-item bibliography