NCJ Number
73750
Journal
Nachrichtendienst des Deutschen Vereins fuer oeffentliche und private Fuersorge Volume: 58 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1978) Pages: 95-98
Date Published
1978
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The author reports his impressions of the Finnish system for juvenile social work and resocialization after a study trip financed by the Council of Europe.
Abstract
In Finland, professional and volunteer social workers are present in police stations to handle immediate treatment planning for juveniles. Juveniles are tried in normal courts, but a special court decides whether juveniles are to serve their sentences in an adult facility, a juvenile facility, or a work camp. In two work camps, inmates participate in restoration of historic buildings; they live in minimum security facilities and are paid for their work. Social assistance for released prisoners is provided by private organizations such as the Kriminaalhuolt, working closely with representatives of the community and institutions. Volunteers recruited from the community receive a monthly stipend and compensation for activities undertaken with the ex-convicts. The organizations also run hotel-like residences and furnish material assistance in the form of loans and furniture. The only closed juvenile corrections facility, Kerava near Helsinki, trains juveniles in occupational skills. The central prison in Haemeenlinna is without walls and even provides special living quarters for mothers with small children. The prison in Turku specializes in offenders who have committed crimes under the influence of alcohol. Despite the prisons' policy of employing all inmates, job placement and work release programs have been hindered by high unemployment levels. Efforts to control the severe alcohol consumption problem in Finland extend to special clinics and social field work in the form of hikes, juvenile clubs, and discussion groups. Drug addiction in general is not a significant problem but glue sniffing has become widespread enough to require school education programs.