NCJ Number
73445
Journal
REVUE PENITENTIARE ET DE DROIT PENAL Volume: 104 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1980) Pages: 71-75
Date Published
1980
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Juvenile codes and the juvenile court system in Italy are based on more permissive penological philosophies than adult laws, and a primary objective is to avoid detention by the widest possible use of diversion programs.
Abstract
Italy has a juvenile code and a juvenile court system which dates back to 1934 and is inspired by a progressive criminological and penological philosophy. Juvenile court judges are given wide judicial discretion and a broad range of diversions and alternatives to detention in dealing with juvenile offenders, whose criminal records are often expunged and sealed unless they become recidivists. Defined by a strictly chronological criterion, the criminal responsibility of minors is legally nonexistent before age 14. For juveniles aged 14 - 18, judges are required by law to establish criminal intent in each case and to justify each adjudication. Theoretically, juvenile court judges have several diversionary options available, including observation facilities, medico-psychological laboratories, remedial education facilities, psychopedagogical institutes, halfway houses, juvenile prison-hotels, and reform schools. Only juveniles diagnosed as dangerous to society on the basis of recidivism and violent committing offenses are incarcerated. The incarceration of juvenile offenders is considered a last resort, because it is recognized as counterproductive in terms of the rehabilitation and socialization objectives of juvenile justice. In reality, all juvenile crime control and prevention programs in Italy are a failure. The single most important reason for this nationwide failure is the ridiculously low number of juvenile court magistrates and institutions for delinquent, deviant, and socially handicapped minors. Decentralization of institutions, increased community involvement, and changes in public attitudes toward juvenile offenders are the only possible remedies for this situation.