NCJ Number
218612
Date Published
June 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines juvenile justice in Europe with reference to the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of the Child, Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, and U.N. rules for the protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty.
Abstract
Although countries of the European Union are perceived by many as having enlightened and well-developed juvenile justice systems, the increase in juvenile delinquency since the late 1980s has brought more punitive measures in response to a public that believes tough sentences for juvenile offenders are the answer. The danger of such a trend is that punitive policies toward more serious juvenile offenders will set the trend for all juvenile offenders. This paper recommends that juvenile delinquency prevention efforts focus on early intervention for children and youth from dysfunctional families. A punitive approach that emphasizes custody and separation from community-based rehabilitative resources only aggravates the effects of their handicapped socialization. The paper further recommends that formal arrest be a measure of last resort and that police interrogation of youth be done by carefully selected and trained officers. Diversion from formal processing into community-based programs based in restorative justice principles is also recommended. Other recommendations are youth courts that use less formal proceedings and the use of custodial sentences as a last resort. A conference on juvenile justice in the European Union held in Paris in 2001 identified three primary reasons for the increase in juvenile delinquency. One reason offered was youths' exposure to the expanded portrayal of violence in mass media. A second reason is the failure to prevent delinquent behavior through socialization by intact families attentive to the needs of children and youth. A third reason is the increasing use of drugs by youth in Western Europe.