NCJ Number
88071
Journal
Kriminologisches Journal Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (1982) Pages: 107-125
Date Published
1982
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Controversy continues to rage over the implemented closure of all secure juvenile corrections institutions in Hamburg, West Germany. Court assistance workers, juvenile judges, and police officers all have divergent viewpoints on the reform policy.
Abstract
Secure juvenile residences were abolished in Hamburg in the summer of 1981, and inmates were transferred to juvenile homes and other community-based programs. The focus of the ensuing controversy is on the dangerous juvenile offenders, for whom institutionalization is deemed by some to be necessary for the protection of society. Juvenile judges feel stymied in their sentencing options, having been deprived of the institutional alternative, the heaviest sanction available for the most serious cases. Police officers have expressed reserved agreeement with the new policies, although they suggest an interim 'conditioning' program of intensive counseling, supervision, and restraint for hardened juvenile offenders likely to abuse the liberties of community-based group homes. Court assistance workers and other representatives of the helping and treatment professions endorse the reform because they contend that educational rehabilitation for juveniles can only take place in noncoercive environments. Juvenile offenders themselves express positive reactions to the deinstitutionalized conditions which resemble real life. An analysis of these positions reveals a concern of each profession for its particular responsibilities as well as its share of power within the system. Footnotes and six references are given.